In the News

April 2^nd is World Autism Awareness Day – an internationally recognized day to continue raising awareness of autism spectrum disorder, and to promote acceptance and inclusion for the over 75 million autistic people across the globe. In Canada, the latest statistics (PHAC, 2022) tell us that 1 in 50 children and youth aged 1 to 17 are diagnosed with autism, highlighting the necessity and importance of creating an inclusive world.

As always, the McMaster Autism Research Team (MacART; www.macautism.ca) is excited to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day, kicking off World Autism Month. MacART is a partnership between McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, and McMaster University that aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap in autism. MacART is designed to foster collaboration among the families, researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers whose lives and work are touched by autism.

The theme of this year’s World Autism Awareness Day is inclusive education, tied in closely to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #4 - ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, as the foundation for improving people’s lives and reducing inequalities. Ensuring quality inclusive education for people on the autism spectrum is essential; a report recently released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (February 2022) noted that more than 75% of Canadian autistic children attending school had special education needs (compared to just 13% of those without autism). The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in school closures over the past two years, impacting an estimated 90% of students worldwide and disrupting learning that has only exacerbated inequalities in education.

MacART member Dr. Magdalena Janus focuses her research on early child development – including investigating children’s developmental health at school entry. Her work has shown that, even before receiving a diagnosis, children diagnosed with autism by age 9 show observable and meaningful differences in kindergarten classroom behaviours. Population-level research has indicated that most children diagnosed with autism by school entry show challenges as measured by the Early Development Instrument (EDI), which is highly predictive of their later academic and adjustment pathways – but research also showed that factors such as higher neighborhood advantage was associated with lower levels of these developmental challenges. The EDI is a tool that can be used to explore such social determinants of health and assess programs that prepare children for school.

In collaboration with McMaster Children’s Hospital and its regional partners, the EDI will be used in their new Entry to School Program to measure the extent to which this school readiness program helps young children, their families, and their educators, smoothly transition into school. “We know that development in kindergarten is a powerful predictor of children’s later social behaviour, academic achievement, and even health,” says Dr. Janus, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University. “This is a unique opportunity to assess how such school readiness programs can help provide a successful transition to school.”

MacART is proud to be supported by our partners:

• McMaster Children’s Hospital & McMaster Children's Hospital Research Collaborative
• Hamilton Health Sciences & Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation
• McMaster University

​Click here to download a copy of this statement.

April 2^nd is World Autism Awareness Day – a day to continue raising awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder and to promote acceptance and inclusion for the 70 million individuals living with Autism Spectrum Disorder around the globe. In Canada, 1 in 66 children are diagnosed with Autism, highlighting the importance of creating a more inclusive world for our next generation.

The McMaster Autism Research Team (MacART; www.macautism.ca) is excited to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day. MacART is a partnership between McMaster Children’s Hospital, Hamilton Health Sciences, and McMaster University that aims to bridge the research-to-practice gap in Autism. MacART is designed to foster collaboration among the families, researchers, clinicians, educators, and policymakers whose lives and work are touched by Autism.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted everyone’s lives in different ways, including having serious consequences for employment. It can be difficult for people with Autism to find regular, supportive employment, and these challenges are likely exacerbated by the pandemic. With the theme of this year’s World Autism Awareness Day focusing on the importance of workplace inclusivity and inclusive employment programmes, particularly in light of the pandemic, we want to recognize the MacART members who are contributing to such research efforts. Research led by MacART trainee Irene O’Connor and supported by MacART members Drs. Briano Di Rezze and Geoff Hall, and their teams, are building evidence on the importance of specialized support roles, such as job coaches; their work has outlined key characteristics that job coaches provide in supporting youth and adults with Autism in the workplace.

“This pandemic has challenged us to keep progressing our Autism research in ways that adapt to our new environment,” says Dr. Di Rezze, Associate Professor in McMaster University’s School of Rehabilitation Science, whose research focuses on examining the impact of interventions on participation in everyday life –  including employment. “Keeping our research focus on employment and Autism has been important because finding and maintaining jobs in this pandemic has been especially challenging for people with Autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.”

MacART is continually forming and strengthening collaborations with our partners to help build frameworks that can better support families and promote an inclusive world for those on the spectrum. These efforts build toward our goal of advancing Autism care through meaningful research.

MacART is proud to be supported by our partners:

• McMaster Children’s Hospital & McMaster Children's Hospital Research Collaborative
• Hamilton Health Sciences & Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation
• McMaster University

​Click here to download a copy of this statement.

We would like to send congratulations to MacART co-director, Dr. Stelios Georgiades, on being appointed as the inaugural chairholder of the new McMaster Children’s Hospital Chair in Autism and Neurodevelopment. 

This prestigious new position has been established through the support of Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation and the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University, as well as with the support of our community collaborators – the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance, Autism Ontario, Autism Speaks Canada, and the Sinneave Family Foundation.

As Chair, Dr. Georgiades will continue and expand much of the work already underway including research into different facets of the course and presentation of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), building partnerships and networks with community organizations who are working in this area, supporting individuals and their families living with ASD, and advocating at a provincial and national level for much needed changes that will benefit these populations.

“There are so many inequalities across Canada for children with autism and neurodevelopmental conditions, and what is available often depends on where you live and how much money you have to supplement public funds for intervention,” says Dr. Georgiades. “We are working collaboratively with families and stakeholders to change this, building regional, provincial, and national networks that integrate research, training, practice and policy.”

This is a well-deserved achievement for our colleague and an exciting opportunity for exponentially advancing autism research and collaboration!

An official statement can be found HERE. 

The announcement event was also recorded, and can be found here:

The McMaster Autism Research Team (MacART) is pleased to announce the release of results from the Pandemic Canadian Autism Needs Assessment. We were proud to partner with Autism Speaks Canada and the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA) to develop, implement, and analyze the Pandemic Canadian Autism Needs Assessment – a survey where respondents shared their experiences to help inform on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was the first survey of the COVID-19 pandemic capturing the unique impact on the autism community in Canada. With over 1000 respondents taking part (21% on the spectrum), some key results show that: 

• Over 75% of respondents reported feeling stressed, worried, and anxious

• Over 50% of respondents said maintaining personal routines/children’s routines as well as keeping a healthy lifestyle (including sleep and exercise) were difficult

• Respondents identified services and supports that they needed but were not receiving such as, recreational programing, financial supports, and access to health professionals.

We are grateful to participants for their input during these unprecedented times, and to our partners for this collaboration. The information shared by respondents will be used to inform organizations of what services and supports are most needed and helpful for autistic people and families during this time and to inform government of the need for increased supports for the autism community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergency situations.

To access the report results, please visit https://www.autismspeaks.ca/pandemicsurvey/