Many autistic people describe masking (or social camouflaging), where people can use strategies, like making eye contact or preparing talking topics in advance, to try to ‘fit in’ or try to ‘hide’ their autistic traits. Autistic people have said that masking can be very effortful and can lead to increased stress and feelings of low mood. Despite this, there is not much research on masking and how this can impact fatigue and wellbeing. This study aims to address this research gap by inviting autistic young adults to complete some questionnaires to help us to better understand their experiences and to find out how masking affects fatigue and wellbeing. The study is inviting young people (aged 16 to 25 years) who are diagnosed with autism, or self-identify as autistic, to take part. The study also welcomes autistic people with co-occurring conditions, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The study consists of completing a survey using Microsoft Forms. The survey will ask about experiences of masking, autistic traits, sleep, fatigue, symptoms of low mood, symptoms of social anxiety,  symptoms of anxiety, and well-being. Additionally, there will be an open text box where additional thoughts can be expressed about experiences with masking and fatigue. We estimate that completing this survey will take around 15 to 30 minutes.

The Autism, Stress and Anxiety Program (ASAP Lab) at UBC is conducting a study that aims to understand how the ability to make sense of others’ thoughts, feelings and intentions (i.e., perspective-taking) relates to mental health and social well-being among autistic young adults. We often hear from autistic youth and young adults in our clinical and research work that, for some, their experience of “missing the social script” and struggling to understand others’ social cues (particularly neurotypical peers, friends and family) has led them to feel distressed, confused, and anxious in social situations. Through this study, we want to see whether autistic young adults with specific perspective-taking styles (e.g., tending to “overinterpret” social situations, or interpret them more negatively) are more likely to experience social distress and may benefit from more tailored mental health supports.

We are currently investigating how autistic youth between 13-18 years old perceive emotional and lexical information through vocal cues. In other words, how do youth with and without ASD understand the meaning of words depending on how they sound? To address this question, participants will be asked to complete a brief set of questionnaires about their background, emotional and lexical prosody tasks where they will listen to various sentences and answer questions about them, as well as an activity to assess their verbal skills. The entire study takes place over Zoom with a research assistant. The study takes about 1.5-2 hours to complete, and participants will be compensated with a $30 Amazon gift card for their time. In order to participate, youth require access to a working set of headphones, and a laptop with a working camera and microphone. If you are interested in this study, you can contact the study coordinator, Daniel Nault, via email at [email protected]. 

Study Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the efficacy of a culturally responsive group parent
training model of Family Centered Positive Behaviour Support (FCPBS) with new immigrant
Chinese families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). That is, whether the
group parent training model of FCPBS will result in improvements in child behaviour,
parental stress, and child and family quality of life.

Study Language

• The screening process and FCPBS group parent training workshop will be conducted in  Mandarin.
• The FCPBS group parent training workshop materials will be provided in Chinese.

What is Involved in the Study?

• Parents activities involved in the study include: (a) weekly, 2.5-hour in-person group parent training sessions for two workshop series; (b) each workshop series lasts 10 consecutive weeks with one month break in between; (c) development of knowledge about ASD, and knowledge and skills in functional assessment, positive behaviour support (PBS), and mindfulness; (c) practice of PBS strategies during weekly group parent training sessions; (d)home practice intended to promote daily use of PBS strategies in home and community.
• Research activities involved in study include: (a) brief telephone interview to ensure that
families meet basic requirements for study; (b) home-based interview and observations to
ensure that child and parent are good fit for study; (c) assignment to one of two groups, group A and group B; (d) for group A, one pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up
assessment; and (e) for group B, two pre-intervention assessments and one post-intervention assessment.

How Long Will Study Take?
• The study will take between 12 and 15 months. Each of the two workshop series comprised
of 10 weekly sessions will take 3 months. In between each workshop series is a one-month
break.

Who Can Participate?
Immigrant Chinese families of children with ASD who meet the following criteria.

Children:
• Primary diagnosis of ASD;
• 3 to 8 years old;
• Mild-to-moderate challenging behaviour with regard to intensity and potential harm to self, others, or property (e.g., noncompliance/defiance, leaving assigned area, whining or crying);
• Mild-to-moderate challenging behaviour occurring in a minimum of three family routines in home or community, one of which needs to be a transition routine; and
• Challenging behaviour has been occurring in target family routines for at least six months.
Parents:
• Reside in same household as child with ASD;
• Immigrated from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan to Canada;
• Speak Mandarin and reads Chinese fluently;
• Not participating in any other parent training programs during study;
• Willing to complete child and family functioning assessments instruments;
• Willing to participate in video recorded direct observations of parent and child behaviour in one target family routine in the home or community;
• Willing to commit to attend both workshop series (Essential and Advanced) of the group
parent training model;
• Willing and able to attend weekly sessions and complete weekly assigned home practice for
the duration of the parent training model; and
• Report levels of parenting stress below the clinical cut-off on Parenting Stress Index – Short Form (Abidin, 2012).

If you are interested in participating the study, please contact Dr. Joseph Lucyshyn at (604) 822-1904 and leave voice mail message; e-mail [email protected]; or Chloe Wang at (604) 499-3531 and leave voice mail message; email [email protected].