Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adulthood
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An investigation of behavioural experience, sensory experience and neural function in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
IRAS ID
212171
Contact name
Elizabeth Milne
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Sheffield
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NCT 15/68, Sponsor's insurance reference number
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neuropsychiatric condition diagnosed on the basis of impairments in social/communicative interaction alongside repetitive behaviour and restricted interests. To date, the vast majority of research into ASD has focussed on children and adolescents, therefore much less is known about the way in which ASD manifests in adulthood. In addition, there is current debate regarding the extent to which ASD should be considered as a continuous trait, i.e. the extreme end of a continuum which extends throughout the population, or as a set of symptoms and behaviours which are clearly distinguishable from the neurotypical population and therefore present a clear boundary for diagnosis. This research project addresses both of these areas by taking an ‘individual differences’ approach to the study of ASD in adulthood. The main aims of the project are to investigate (i) the extent to which neurobiological difference that have been shown to discriminate between individuals with and without ASD in childhood, are related to severity of ASD symptoms in adulthood and (ii) the extent to which the symptoms associated with ASD predict subjective life satisfaction.
This will be achieved by recruiting sixty-six adults with a diagnosis of ASD. Participants will be invited to come to the University of Sheffield in order to complete the research procedures which will include: interviews about their medical history and their current life-experiences; questionnaires about current symptoms; and undergoing EEG recording.
Two separate analyses will be carried out that investigate (i) the relationship between neural activity and ASD symptom severity and (ii) the experience of ASD in adulthood including subjective life-satisfaction. Furthermore, these analyses will identify if any particular symptoms of ASD are more strongly related to either neural activity or life satisfaction.REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/WM/0449
Date of REC Opinion
16 Nov 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion