Current Issues

What is Co-Production?

The process of conducting research in partnership with the population you are focussing on

Why Co-Produce?

We might get more effective research if we actively involve community members who can direct attention to aspects of experience that are routinely missed without such input

How did COVID-19 affect people with Down Syndrome?

Reductions in disability programs & Reduced essential activities

What were the negative impacts COVID-19 had on children with Down Syndrome?

Communication, learning & development had deteriorated

What were the positive impacts COVID-19 had on children with Down Sydrome?

Improved life skills & family time

How did lockdown affect children with ADHD negatively?

Lack of socialisation and mood swings

How did lockdown affect children with ADHD positively?

Improvement on the child's behaviour & improved self esteem

Does MMR cause autism?

No- Paper that made this claim was retracted as there was evidence that parts of the work were fraudulent.

Why is there an associated between tylenol & autism?

Parents who take tylenol suffered from infections, fevers, migranes & autoimmune conditions which are all risk factors for autism

What do we mean by Environmental Epidemiology?

Observation of human populations to infer the environmental causes of a condition or disease.

Why is it difficult to link the environment to ASC?

Correlation =/= Causation

How can we establish causality?

Hill's Criteria

What is Hill's Criteria?

Strength, analogy, specificity, experiment, temporality, plausibility, coherence, biological gradient & consistency

What is the Biological gradient in Hill's Criteria?

Greater exposure = greater incidence

What are Odds Ratios?

Provides a statistical method for understanding the association between exposure and an outcome.

How can we interpret an Odds Ratio?

OR = 1: no effect

OR< 1: less effect

OR > 1: More effect

What did a meta analysis of ASC diagnosis and particulate matter find?

Combined data shows a small but significant association between particulate matter & ASC

What is evidence for the genetic involvement in ASC?

First degree relatives & co occurence in monozygotic twins

What is the Broad Autism Phenotype?

Subclinical traits of autism in relatives of individuals with autism.

What is Sotos syndrome?

Disorder characterized by a distinctive facial appearance, overgrowth in childhood, and learning disabilities or delayed development of mental and movement abilities.

How are complex genetics linked to autism?

There is no single genetic cause for autism

How does the gene-environment interaction link to autism?

Genetic and environement rsk combined leads to a likelihood of autism