That’s a wrap on INSAR 2024!

May has been a very busy month for OTARC, welcoming the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. There were over 1,200 attendees from more than 20 countries over the four days of the meeting. Our researchers spent four days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, colloquially known as ‘Jeff’s Shed’ by locals, to delve into autism research from around the globe.

We kicked things off with three pre-conference workshops on 15th May.

The first was hosted by INSAR’s Cultural Diversity Committee, focusing on diversity in autism research from the perspectives of Asia-Pacific communities. OTARC’s Dr. Ifrah Abdullahi discussed the significance of incorporating Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) perspectives into autism research citing firsthand experience, and spoke to the importance of culture, language, and tradition in the framing of research. Ifrah’s forthcoming co-designed qualitative study, titled Taageero Hore (Somali for ‘early support’), investigates autism-specific early supports and services for CALD communities in Australia. This study will look at decreasing East-African families barriers to accessing autism supports and is currently in the pilot stage. Some attendees were also lucky enough to meet Ifrah’s newborn, Bukhari!

A/Prof Josephine Barbaro and Dr Rena Shresta (both of OTARC) were joined by Dr Chongying Wang (Nankai University, China), speaking about the cultural translations of OTARC’s screening tool for the early identification of Autism across Nepal and China.

Attendees learnt about the roll-out of our SACS screening tool in Nepal, and the ongoing dialogue with local communities in its implementation. Dr Shresta highlighted the importance of Nepal’s over 50,000 Female Community Health Volunteers in the adoption of SACS, who are seen as the backbone of rural health across the country.

A key takeaway from this talk was the sheer reach of this tool in terms of children screened in China. Dr Wang of Nankai University, based in China’s fourth largest city Tianjin, stated that over 10 years our SACS tool had screened approximately one million children across China. There were audible gasps in the room of around 50 people when this was stated, followed by scattered applause. Both Dr Shresta and Dr Wang also touched on the role of stigma in their respective communities in the Q&A discussion at the end.

The second pre-conference workshop was chaired by OTARC’s A/Prof Darren Hedley and Dr Sarah Cassidy (University of Nottingham) and focused on mental wellbeing, self-harm and suicidality in autism. Topics included the lived experiences of chronic suicidal ideation and the development of a new support framework for autistic adults, triggers and disclosure of self-injurious thoughts in autistic youth, predictive models of depression, screening protocols for suicidal thoughts and behaviors and sex differences in the impact of interpersonal life stressors on suicidality among autistic individuals.

The Student and Trainee Preconference Workshop was held in the afternoon and featured OTARC’s Dr Jac den Houting. The session was titled “From PhD to Postdoc” and focused on the transition from study/training to academic employment. The six panelists included Dr Sarah Cassidy (University of Nottingham), Dr So Yoon Kim (Yonsei University), Dr Laura Klinger (University of North Carolina), Dr Iliana Magiati (University of Western Australia), Dr Stephen Shore (Adelphi University), and OTARC’s Dr Jac den Houting. Each person gave a brief presentation on their career trajectory, followed by a Q&A session with the whole panel.

On the first official day of the conference, attendees were spoiled for choice with talks ranging from clinical, behavioural, cognitive, neurological and social perspectives. Credit to INSAR for the vastness of research topics and themes, including – therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in autism communities, addressing the service needs of aging autistic populations, and supporting sexual wellbeing in autistic adults. Researchers would flurry in and out of different conference rooms, with breaks for morning and afternoon tea to debrief with others on what they’d just listened to. The inclusion of a sensory break room was also welcome to escape the noise, and great for attendees with misophonia.

During the conference, researchers presented their research on posters and engaged with conference-delegates about their findings. “It was fantastic to see more research in areas that are a priority for autistic adults, including issues around higher education. While there was more evidence of co-production and neuro-affirming language, there’s still a way to go in these areas,” says OTARC PhD candidate Lyndel Kennedy. Below Lyndel is pictured presenting her research findings on disclosure and supports in higher education for neurodivergent students and non-neurodivergent students with mental health conditions.

OTARC papers discussed at INSAR 2024

• Georgia Lynch speaking on An Examination of Inclusive Practices in Delivering Group Early Start Denver Model for Young Autistic Children
• Dr Jennifer Spoor speaking about Autism at Work: A Systematic Review and Critical Analysis
• Dr Simon Bury speaking on Employment Profiles of Autistic People: An 8-Year Longitudinal Study
• Prof Amanda Richdale speaking on Sensory Processing and Neurocognitive Correlates of Sleep Disturbances in Individuals with Autism across the Lifespan
• Dr Lauren Lawson speaking on A Network Approach to Psychological Inflexibility and Sleep: Comparison of Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults, and Connecting Transdiagnostic Processes, Autism Traits, and Mental Health in Autistic Adults: A Network Approach
• Jane Mantzales speaking to the paper Is It Autistic Burnout or Depression? A comparison of the Aspire 27-item Autistic Burnout Measure and Patient Health Questionnaire-9
• Dr Patrick Dwyer speaking on Using Multiple Methods to Investigate Autistic Hyper-Focus and Monotropism.
  

Dr Wenn Lawson’s keynote speech on Saturday drew significant interest from INSAR attendees, particularly due to its focus on monotropism, a fundamental cognitive theory of Autism. Monotropism highlights a heightened concentration on a limited number of stimuli, contrasted with polytropic minds, which find it easier to manage multiple activities or information simultaneously. Dr. Wenn Lawson left an impression at the conference with his engaging speaking style. Incorporating monotropism into the presentation’s delivery was welcomed as a departure from a more clinical approach. His keynote address garnered enthusiastic responses and underscored the evolving appreciation of hearing from those with lived-experience and through a lens of intersectionality. It’s worth noting that Dr. Lawson identifies as autistic, and it’s also notable that he may be the first trans man to deliver a keynote speech at INSAR.

In addition to INSAR, a number of our staff attended the INSAR Community Conference (pictured above). This side conference featured talks from all of the INSAR keynote speakers, and gave community members in Melbourne an opportunity to hear about leading Autism research in a global perspective.

OTARC also welcomed some of our international researchers to La Trobe University Bundoora campus for a morning tea and tour of our facilities.

For the week succeeding INSAR, our attending staff have been in what has been coined as the ‘INSAR hangover’, a post-conference intellectual exhaustion that can only be cured by the processing of information over time.

We’d like to extend a huge thankyou to INSAR for coming to the Asia Pacific, and hope all of the brilliant international Autism researchers had plenty of insightful conversations, respectful debates, and forged enduring connections over the conference. Also, a special thankyou to Professor Cheryl Dissanayake, for her part in bringing INSAR to Melbourne.

Until next time, for INSAR 2025 in Seattle!

Social media summary

Wednesday 15th

Thursday 16 May

Posters:

• Characterizing Suicidal Behavior in Autism across the Lifespan Using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS): A Multinational Study (C. McMorris, J. M. Schwartzman, Z. J. Williams, H. D. Sanguino, S. M. Bury, M. Uljarevic, J. N. Trollor, M. A. Stokes and D. Hedley)
• Disclosure and Supports in Higher Education for Neurodivergent Students and Non-Neurodivergent Students with Mental Health Conditions (L. J. Kennedy, A. L. Richdale and L. P. Lawson)
• The Experience of School for Autistic Secondary Students, How Students, Parents and Teachers Tell a Different Story (C. Kermond, A. E. Lane and A. Southall)
• Associations between Social-Emotional Skills and Adaptive Behaviour in School-Aged Autistic Children: Exploring the Mediating Role of Participation (M. Muniandy, G. Davy, K. Unwin, M. Clark, P. Date, J. Barbaro and C. Dissanayake)
• “We’re Quite Good at Thinking Outside the Box”: Early Sensory Experiences in Autistic Children Expressed By Autistic Adults and Caregivers of Autistic Children (K. L. Unwin, K. Philpott-Robinson, P. Dwyer, J. Barbaro, N. Sadka, P. Date and A. E. Lane)

Friday 17 May

Posters:

• Anxiety and Depression in Autistic Youth: Characterising the Interplay between Coping Strategies, Reactivity and Negative Affect (M. Muniandy, M. Uljarević and L. Chetcuti)
• Investigating Relationships between ADHD Traits in Autistic Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers Using Network Analysis (N. R. Sadka, X. Li, A. L. Richdale, A. Haschek, P. Date and J. Barbaro)
• Child and Caregiver Correlates of Primary Caregiver Participation in Families of School-Aged Autistic Children (G. Davy, J. Barbaro, K. L. Unwin, M. Clark, M. Muniandy, P. Date and C. Dissanayake)
• Early Therapy Outcomes of Autistic Children with Intellectual Disability from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds (I. Abdullahi and C. Dissanayake)
• Participation in Physical Activity Among Australian Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults (N. Shields, K. Alford and R. Kennedy)
• Development & Initial Validation of the Neurodiversity Attitudes Questionnaire (R. K. Schuck, S. Choi, K. M. Baiden, P. Dwyer and M. Uljarević)
• https://twitter.com/ProfRichdale/status/1791278048454848606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1791278048454848606%7Ctwgr%5Ef75d58eb7443b903a6d5ae3135730d4152e3c5cf%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fotarc.blogs.latrobe.edu.au%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D20266action%3Dedit

https://twitter.com/ProfRichdale/status/1791278048454848606?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1791278048454848606%7Ctwgr%5Ef75d58eb7443b903a6d5ae3135730d4152e3c5cf%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fotarc.blogs.latrobe.edu.au%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D20266action%3Dedit

Saturday 18 May

Posters:

• Characterizing Suicidal Behavior in Autism across the Lifespan Using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS): A Multinational Study (C. McMorris, J. M. Schwartzman, Z. J. Williams, H. D. Sanguino, S. M. Bury, M. Uljarevic, J. N. Trollor, M. A. Stokes and D. Hedley)
• Disclosure and Supports in Higher Education for Neurodivergent Students and Non-Neurodivergent Students with Mental Health Conditions (L. J. Kennedy, A. L. Richdale and L. P. Lawson)
• The Experience of School for Autistic Secondary Students, How Students, Parents and Teachers Tell a Different Story (C. Kermond, A. E. Lane and A. Southall)
• Associations between Social-Emotional Skills and Adaptive Behaviour in School-Aged Autistic Children: Exploring the Mediating Role of Participation (M. Muniandy, G. Davy, K. Unwin, M. Clark, P. Date, J. Barbaro and C. Dissanayake)
• “We’re Quite Good at Thinking Outside the Box”: Early Sensory Experiences in Autistic Children Expressed By Autistic Adults and Caregivers of Autistic Children (K. L. Unwin, K. Philpott-Robinson, P. Dwyer, J. Barbaro, N. Sadka, P. Date and A. E. Lane)
• Anxiety and Depression in Autistic Youth: Characterising the Interplay between Coping Strategies, Reactivity and Negative Affect (M. Muniandy, M. Uljarević and L. Chetcuti)
• Investigating Relationships between ADHD Traits in Autistic Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers Using Network Analysis (N. R. Sadka, X. Li, A. L. Richdale, A. Haschek, P. Date and J. Barbaro)
• Child and Caregiver Correlates of Primary Caregiver Participation in Families of School-Aged Autistic Children (G. Davy, J. Barbaro, K. L. Unwin, M. Clark, M. Muniandy, P. Date and C. Dissanayake)
• Early Therapy Outcomes of Autistic Children with Intellectual Disability from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds (I. Abdullahi and C. Dissanayake)
• Participation in Physical Activity Among Australian Autistic Adolescents and Young Adults (N. Shields, K. Alford and R. Kennedy)
• Development & Initial Validation of the Neurodiversity Attitudes Questionnaire (R. K. Schuck, S. Choi, K. M. Baiden, P. Dwyer and M. Uljarević)
• Sex Differences in Interpersonal Life Stressor Contributions to Autistic Suicidality (D. Hedley, R. Moseley, J. M. Gamble-Turner, S. M. Bury, M. Uljarevic, J. N. Trollor, M. A. Stokes and G. M. Slavich)
• “the System Makes It More Difficult”: A Qualitative Analysis of Australian Autistic Women and Non-Binary People Assigned Female at Birth’s Difficulties with Accessing Diagnosis and Supports (M. Gilbert, K. E. Gore and J. Barbaro)
• Barriers to Diagnosis and Supports for Australian Autistic Women and Assigned Female at Birth Non-Binary People (M. Gilbert, K. E. Gore and J. Barbaro)
• Investigating Developmental and Functional Outcomes Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Autistic Children Compared to Their Non-Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Peers (I. Abdullahi, Z. Al Fahdawi, C. Dissanayake and T. Victorian ASELCC Team)
• Co-Designing an Intervention to Enhance Quality of Life for Autistic Children, Using Qualitative Data and Community Co-Production Methods (K. Ambrose, C. Allen, R. Bowen, A. Carroll, O. Colville, T. Dawkins, J. den Houting, H. Heussler, M. Heyworth, J. M. Paynter, E. Pellicano, K. Simpson, D. Trembath, M. F. Westerveld, E. Wheeley and D. Adams)
• User Motivations and Experiences When Using Asdetect: A Mobile Application for the Early Identification of Autism in Infants and Toddlers (J. Barbaro, M. Hawke, B. M. St John and N. Sadka)
• Daily Compression Singlet Wear Improves Functional Self-Regulation, Sleep Quality and Reduces Electrodermal Activity in Autistic Children (A. E. Lane, L. Chetcuti, J. L. He and C. Stark)
• Fitskills: Community-Based Exercise Programme to Increase Participation Among Young People with Disability (N. Shields, Y. Bhowon, C. Willis, N. Taylor, S. Bohingamu Mudiyanselage, J. Watts, C. Imms and L. Prendergast)
• Mind Sense at School: Supporting Autistic Wellbeing of Children Aged 8-12 Years (K. Philpott-Robinson, A. E. Lane, S. M. Bury, C. Leonard, A. Southall and J. Skrini)
• A Model of Neurodiversity Affirming Care for Psychologists Working with Autistic Adults (R. L. Flower, R. Jellett, S. M. Bury, R. Benn and M. Camin)
• Lessons from Lived Experience: A New Framework to Promote Effective Access and Use of Supports for Autistic Adults (J. Wilson, S. M. Hayward, C. Dissanayake, D. B. Nicholas, M. A. Stokes, C. Brown and D. Hedley)
• “You Took Feedback and Made It Better”: Autistic Youth’s Advocacy in Game-Design and Employment Workshops (S. O’Brien, E. Grossman, E. Kilgallon, D. Batkin, D. Grevalle, J. Delos Santos, P. Dwyer, A. Arista, B. Kofner, A. Yan, L. Hwang-Geddes, S. Shevchuk-Hill, S. Dave, K. Gravitch, N. Tricarico, A. Hayes, J. Rico, K. Kosminoff, B. Leon, A. Malik, J. Thomas, M. Siper, C. Messina, D. Williams, H. Shibble, S. Mujukian, S. Katyarmal, A. Boyarko, N. Brill, L. Bataille, A. Gabel, S. Biswas, E. Pak, J. Suárez, C. Edano, M. Lam, C. Ceseña, E. Alvarez, A. Cole, J. R. Marcotte, D. Squinkifer, A. Dorelien, W. Martin, B. Rosenberg, A. Hurst, K. Gillespie-Lynch, J. Valvik, J. Herrell and Z. Zhang)