Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre
Enriching the lives of Autistic people, their families and their carers through high-quality scientific research, innovation and translation.
A fresh year has begun and the second year of our re-imagined OTARC! I hope you were all able to have at least a little down time over the holiday period.
At OTARC, the hallways are buzzing again. This time, the office re-shuffle is in full swing! Creating neurodiversity-affirming workspaces is an idea gaining traction in the broader community and at OTARC, we aim to practice what we preach. This includes attention to smaller details such as dimmable lighting, provision of headphones for staff in shared office spaces and fidget toys at meetings. But it is also some of the bigger things like understanding our own and other’s preferred working and communication styles and advocating for space planning that accounts for neurodiversity. Credit is due to our Centre Manager, Doug Scobie, for steering this process. As you’ll see in this month’s newsletter, OTARC has been on the forefront of research to understand what leads to employment success for Autistic people. We hope to enact findings from this research in our day-to-day practice.
A Heartfelt Thank You as We Bid Farewell to 2023.
As we approach the end of another remarkable year, I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey OTARC has travelled this year. As the director of the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, I am filled with gratitude and awe for what has been accomplished.
It appears that Spring has sprung! And with it some warmer weather, some sunshine, and a new family of very cute ducklings on La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus. At OTARC, Spring has brought us international visitors and an opportunity to meet members of the community at our Research Showcase in what we hope will become a regular event. This event, held on September 7th at La Trobe University’s Melbourne city campus, was an opportunity to showcase a sampling of our current and proposed research projects across our four program areas; Identification and Diagnosis, Supports and Practices for Daily Living, Vocational Engagement and Health and Wellbeing. We heard from our senior and junior researchers in rapid-fire 10-minute talks. Members of the audience were able to ask questions of the researchers which led to lively discussion. Even as Director, I learnt new things about the work that our researchers are doing and further appreciated the breadth and reach of OTARC’s research. It was wonderful to see so many members of the community in attendance and we will look to further refine the format for future events.
