The VIP Project (Videos of Important People)

Gael Orsmond, Ph.D.

Location: Participants' Homes and in the Community

Researchers at Boston University are looking for teens ages 12-17 with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to participate in a research study. We are testing a new social intervention in which teens make videos of their friendships. We will lend the teen with an ASD a digital video camera for 3 weeks for him or her to take videos of friends while... Read more

The Ability of Autistic Children to Detect Social Emotions

Elizabeth Petersen and Laurel Wainwright, PhD

Location: University of Massachusetts, Boston

We are studying how children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders perceive social emotions in others.  We are specifically interested in knowing how this ability might be different in children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder as compared to typical children.  Social emotion is a socially constructed term that hinges on the... Read more

Targeted Pharmacological Interventions for Autism

Christopher J. McDougle, MD

Location: MGH Lurie Center

The Massachusetts General Hospital for Children at the Lurie Center is conducting a research study for children and adolescents ages 5-15 who have autistic disorder, Asperger’s disorder, or pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified and who also have symptoms such as: overactivity, impulsivity, and/or inattention. The study... Read more

Smooth Sailing

Jan Blacher, Ph.D., University of California Riverside; Abbey Eisenhower, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Boston

Location: University of Massachusetts, Boston

The Smooth Sailing Study, funded by the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, is aimed at understanding the transition to school for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The transition to formal schooling is a crucial milestone for all children. Through this study, we ask the question: What factors help children... Read more

Research on the Cognitive and Neural Phenotype of Autism

Nancy Kanwisher, PhD

Location: MIT

Researchers in the  Brain and Cognitive Sciences Department at MIT are inviting 18-30 year olds with ASD to come for one or more visits at our lab in Cambridge, MA. They will be asked to participate in behavioral testing (interviews, questionnaires, computer tasks, puzzles), and be asked to watch movies and complete tasks in the MRI scanner. 

Project BILD: Brain Imaging Language Development

John Gabrieli, PhD; Kenneth Wexler, PhD, Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD

Location: MIT and BU

The Gabrieli Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Research on Autism and Developmental Disorders Group at Boston University are currently conducting a study on learning and language use. Our goal is to investigate the brain basis of language and reading abilities and deficits.

We are looking for children (aged 5 to 12) with... Read more

Phenotypic and Genetic Factors in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Louis Kunkel, PhD; Christopher Walsh, MD, PhD; Ellen Hanson, PhD

Location: Children's Hospital Boston

We are studying ASD and related disorders in order to better understand why they occur, increase our ability for early identification, and find improved treatments and an eventual cure. We depend on families like yours to make this happen!

Goals and rational of the study

The goal of our research study is to help us to understand ASD better and... Read more

Mirtazapine Treatment of Anxiety in Children and Adolescents with Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Christopher J. McDougle, MD

Location: MGH Lurie Center

Does your child with an autism spectrum disorder have symptoms of anxiety?

The Massachusetts General Hospital for Children at the Lurie Center is currently recruiting for a new research study that will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the drug mirtazapine for the treatment of anxiety in children and adolescents with autistic disorder,... Read more

Measuring Autism Potential

Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD (BU) and Charles Nelson, PhD (CHB)

Location: Boston University and Children's Hospital Boston

In these studies we are exploring how children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who have very limited verbal skills process language, and how their potential for understanding speech can be reliably measured.  Our broader goals are to develop novel methods of assessing children’s receptive language skills that don’t rely on traditional... Read more

Look who’s Talking

Ruth Grossman, PhD

Location: E.K. Shriver Center, UMass Medical School

We are looking for typical children and children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) to participate in research about how we communicate using our faces and voices. We are researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center who are interested in finding out more about how children with ASD interpret emotion from facial expressions and tone of voice... Read more

Guanfacine and Methylphenidate in the Treatment of Hyperactivity in Children with PDD

Christopher J. McDougle, MD

Location: MGH Lurie Center

The Massachusetts General Hospital for Children at the Lurie Center is conducting a Research Study for children 5–14 years old who have Pervasive Developmental Disorders (autism, Asperger’ disorder, or PDD-NOS).

If your 5-14 year old has autism, Asperger’ disorder, or PDD-NOS, he or she may qualify for a research study involving study... Read more

Foundations of Learning in Children with and without Developmental Disabilities

Dr. Wiliam J. Mcllvane

Location: E.K. Shriver Center, UMass Medical School

This is a research study whose purpose is to develop and/or improve on educational procedures for individuals with developmental disabilities. We are enrolling typically developing children and adolescents (ages 5 to 10), and those with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, and Down syndrome between the ages of 5 and 22. This... Read more

Focus of Attention

Dr. William V. Dube

Location: Shriver Center, Waltham, MA

Focus of Attention – typically developing children (ages 3-8), and children and adolescents (ages 7-21) with autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities, or Down syndrome

Focus of Attention is studying a type of attention problem where an individual “over-focuses” on only one small part of a picture, printed word, face, etc.... Read more

Examining the agreement between the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the DSM based Autism Spe

Gagan Joshi, MD

Location: Massachusetts General Hospital

The objective of this research study is to gather information on the agreement of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and the Autism Spectrum Disorders Diagnostic Symptom Checklist (ASD-SCL) in a sample of subjects 4 years and older with autism.

Families who were evaluated on ADI-R within the last two years at the Psychiatric &... Read more

Broccoli Sprout Extract for Autism

Andrew W. Zimmerman, M.D.

Location: The Lurie Center at MGH

It has been documented that symptoms of autism decrease in some individuals during fever. This change may be due to the cell stress that is caused by the rising body temperature. It is believed that this type of cell stress may be the basis of symptom improvement seen during fever.

Sulforaphane, obtained from extract of broccoli sprouts, has been... Read more

Brain Imaging Study

Dara Manoach, PhD and Susan Santangelo, ScD

Location: Massachusetts General Hospital

This research study is looking to see if there is a connection between restrictive, repetitive behaviors (RRBs) and specific reductions in brain function.  It will also look for genes that are though to contribute to repetitive behaviors. Although restrictive and repetitive behaviors are often the most disabling core features of ASD, they... Read more

Behavioral & Brain Responses to Facial Expressions

Charles Nelson, PhD and Rhiannon Luyster, PhD

Location: Children's Hospital Boston

The ability to perceive and identify emotions in faces is crucial to maintaining successful social interactions, and it is often an area of difficulty for individuals with ASDs. How much information do children need to recognize emotion in a face?  We are interested in comparing children’s emotional face processing skills with adults and are... Read more

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Gluten Free / Dairy Free Diet Research Study

Harland Winter, MD; Timothy Buie, MD; and Aeri Moon, MD

Location: MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC)

Does your child have ASD?  Does your child also have stomach or intestinal problems?

Doctors at MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) are doing a research study to learn if a gluten free-dairy free diet is helpful in improving gastrointestinal symptoms associated with autism.

This is a 14-week study that requires between 5 & 9 office visits.... Read more

Autism Research at MIT

Multiple Invesitgators from Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Location: MIT

What if you could see your own brain? At the MIT Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, you can!

We are neuroscientists trying to learn more about the cognitive processes that may be affected in individuals with autism.  We are curious about which processes are impaired, which are preserved, and which might be enhanced. Come participate in... Read more

A Research Study for Adolescent Boys with an Autism Spectrum Disorder or Typical Development

Jean Frazier, MD; David Cochran, MD and Daniel Fallon, MD

Location: University of Massachusetts Medical School

Are you a parent of an adolescent boy with a diagnosis of high functioning autism, Asperger’s Disorder or Pervasive Developmental Disorder NOS? Would you like to be involved in a research study to better understand how the brains of adolescent boys with these diagnoses differ from those without the diagnosis?

Goals and rationale of the study:

Social Skills

Roula Choueiri

Location: Tufts University Medford Campus

Attention Parents and Caregivers!

Is your child between the ages of 9-12? On the autism spectrum? Have at least average language and cognitive abilities?

He or she may be eligible to participate in a free 16-week study on the effectiveness of Lego robotics activities on encouraging social communication in children with autism.

Groups meet once... Read more

Sibling and Disabilities Study

Dr. Anne F. Farrell

Location: University of Connecticut

• Do you have a brother or sister with an intellectual or developmental disability?
• Are you 18 years and older and live in the US?
• Do you provide care and/or support to your brother or sister with a disability? This can include everything from living with your sibling to driving them to the doctor, to talking on the phone and visiting.

... Read more

Infant Siblings Project

Charles Nelson, PhD (CHB) and Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD (BU)

Location: Children's Hospital Boston

Are you interested in getting involved in autism research?  The Infant Sibling Project is a collaborative research project between Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, and Boston University under the direction of Dr. Charles Nelson and Dr. Helen Tager-Flusberg.  The goal of our study is to learn more about the early risk markers... Read more