Research

At the Asante Centre, our practice is informed by up-to-date research. In addition, we contribute to ongoing research efforts through the development of a clinical database, participating in coordinated research program planning with community agencies and academic institutions, and conducting research studies.

An ongoing research study at the Centre is our Youth Justice Research Study. We have presented some of the results from this study at FASD conferences. Click here to download a copy of our poster presentation entitled Identifying Youth At Risk for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Probation Officer Snapshot Survey.

Research Study on Attention at the Asante Centre!

Distractibility in Children with FASD

We are seeking children with FASD between the ages of 7 and 14 years to participate in an ongoing study about attention in children with FASD. We want to know how well children with FASD can ignore, or filter out, distracting information compared to typically developing children. Therefore, we are also seeking typically developing children between the ages of 7 and 11 years to participate.

For this research study, children will complete a simple computer task and some psychological testing (a nonverbal test of cognitive ability, four attention tasks, and two working memory tasks). The entire study takes between 70 and 90 minutes to complete. We are testing participants at the Asante Centre in Maple Ridge. We may be able to travel to your community if transportation is an issue.

In compensation, we are offering parents/caregivers the choice between (1) a $15 gift certificate to Chapters Bookstore, or (2) an FASD workshop (approximate value: $20). The workshop will be presented by the primary researcher, who is also a Registered Clinical Counsellor working in the field of FASD. The workshop will be tailored to the needs of the participants.

This study is being conducted by Kimberly Lane as a requirement towards her doctoral degree in School/Applied Child Psychology at McGill University. She is being supervised by Dr. Jake Burack (jake.burack@mcgill.ca). This study has obtained ethical approval from the McGill University Human Research Ethics Board.

For more information or to participate, please contact Kimberly by phone at 604-467-7101 or 778-327-8744, or by email at kimberly.lane@mail.mcgill.ca.

Research Studies at UVic

Reinforcement Learning in Children and Adolescents (ages 11 - 17) with FASD

Is a new research study which is currently recruiting participants who have a diagnosis on the fetal alcohol spectrum. A link to the FASD research lab at UVic can be found at www.fasdatuvic.ca

Specific information about the current study can be found at: http://web.uvic.ca/~fasd/reinforcementlearning.php

FASD and Emotion Recognition

Your help is needed!

We are looking for boys and girls between 10 and 14 years old, with and without Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and their parents / caregiver. We want to know how children with FASD and typically developing children recognize emotions from faces, voices, postures, and movement. Your child will spend approximately 1.5 hours answering questions on a computer while you complete some questionnaires about your child.

The research will be conducted at 2 locations, the Down Syndrome Research Foundation in Burnaby and at the University of Victoria. Telephone Susan at 604-862-7331

If you have any questions regarding this project or would like to participate, please contact Susan at (604) 862-7331, or by email at ssiklos@uvic.ca.

Research at UBC

The University of British Columbia School of Social Work & Family Studies

Are you a foster parent of a child with prenatal alcohol exposure? This is a study to understand the experiences of foster parents of children with prenatal substance exposure in their interaction with the public education system. I am writing to invite you to participate in a study to understand the experiences of foster parents of children with prenatal substance exposure in their interaction with the public education system. I am a Master's student in the School of Social Work and Family Studies at UBC. For my Master's graduating essay I am studying the experiences of foster parents who care for children with prenatal substance exposure and the successful transition of their children into the public education system. The title of my study is “Foster Parents of Children with Prenatal Substance Exposure: Experiences with Public School System.”

Specifically, I am interested in:

Foster Parents' perceptions regarding interaction with the public education system.

Foster Parents' role in obtaining necessary services for their foster children.

Foster Parents' views of what constitutes effective support when their children enter the public school system.

You are eligible to participate in the study if:

You are currently fostering a child with prenatal substance exposure who is attending public school, or you

have previously fostered a child with prenatal substance exposure who has attended public school.

You speak fluent English

You are willing to participate in one or two interviews over the space of 2-4 weeks (maximum of four hours in total)

This study is being supervised by Dr. Richard Sullivan (phone: 604-822-4278)
Participants will receive an honorarium of a $15 Safeway Voucher
If you are interested in participating, please contact:

Nazeem Ratanshi

Phone: 604 306-6383 or 604 775-2174

E-Mail: zaida1@telus.net