A busy week of Autism Events at La Trobe…

The first two weeks in December (and several weeks before and after) were exceptionally busy weeks for OTARC. During these weeks we hosted the Menzies Foundation Symposium on ‘Shaping Futures’, the second biennial conference of the Australasian Society for Autism Research, various events of the Autism CRC, and a workshop on eye-tracking technology for ASD research. All of these events were free of charge for delegates. Many of the OTARC staff, students and volunteers were involved in the organization and running of these events in addition to their usual workloads.

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Menzies Foundation Symposium on Shaping Futures

The Menzies Foundation Symposium: Shaping Futures will focus on recent advances in research and practice covering early detection, diagnosis, learning, and early intervention, for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Brought to you by Menzies Foundation together with Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC) at La Trobe University, Shaping Futures will showcase renowned local and  international researchers.

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Australia’s First Undergraduate Subject in Understanding and Treating Autism…

Report by Dr Kristelle Hudry

August 2013 saw the beginning of a very exciting new development. Drawing on the expertise of OTARC researchers, PSY3ASD: Understanding and Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders was launched through La Trobe University’s School of Psychological Science. This is the first, undergraduate semester-long subject dedicated to ASD in Australia. The vision of Prof. Cheryl Dissanayake, PSY3ASD was developed and coordinated by Dr Kristelle Hudry. Lectures were taught by various members of our team of OTARC researchers and staff – Dr Josephine Barbaro, Dr Giacomo Vivanti, Dr Cherie Green, Associate Professor Amanda Richdale, and Dr Nancy Sadka, as well as Professor Dissanayake and Dr Hudry – with support from other La Trobe staff and postgraduate students with interest and expertise in ASDs. Lectures were delivered to 340 students. These originated from La Trobe’s Bundoora campus in Melbourne, with video-conferencing to students at La Trobe’s Bendigo and Albury-Wodonga campuses. Fortnightly tutorials were facilitated by OTARC postgraduate students Lisa Rumney and Heather Nuske in Melbourne, by Tim Godber in Bendigo, and by Dr Sharon Hanna in Albury-Wodonga.  Students from various disciplines, including Psychological Science, Occupational Therapy, Health Science, Law and education, were enrolled in this new subject.

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DSM-5 Webinar Report

By Wojciech Nadachowski, Operations & Special Projects Advisor

OTARC continued its public dissemination of information about the upcoming changes to the DSM-5, hosting a webinar Wednesday 13^th February. Thank you to everyone who attended. This was the first time we have hosted a webinar and, despite some minor technical glitches, we were pleased to receive mostly positive responses from attendees. We expect to host other OTARC webinars in future, so please check the Events page on our website. Read more “DSM-5 Webinar Report” →