Cross-Canada autism study looking for Manitoba children to participate
A new cross-Canada project is looking for children living with autism in the province to participate in a new study that will determine why some children do better than others and create a national best practice guide for treatment.
The Pediatric Autism Research Cohort (PARC) study will gather data from newly diagnosed children across the country, including here in Winnipeg, and researchers hope to recruit 150 children.
"What we want to do is follow the children from the time they're diagnosed over the next few years until they're eight," said Dr. Ana Hanlon-Dearman, medical director of the Child Development Clinic.
Families will regularly fill out questionnaires about the symptoms children are facing, and treatment they're receiving and through regular dialogue, researchers hope they'll be able to determine the factors that allow one child to do better than another child. They will then use that information to develop a Canada-wide best practice for autism treatment.
"Then we can really advocate for those services and personalize them," said Hanlon-Dearman.
The symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder can be varied in children and the causes are not known.
"Some kids will talk, some won't, and some are in between," said Hanlon-Dearman, adding that the number of children being diagnosed is on the rise.
"Twenty, 25 years ago, I would have seen maybe 40 kids in the course of an entire year be diagnosed with autism," said Hanlon-Dearman. "And in the last year we saw well over 600 children."
People working with children living with autism say they've seen the increase firsthand.
The Autism Learning Centre has been in operation for 15 years, and offers a wide variety of supports to parents, including one for pre-school aged children.
"It's a parent participation class run by an early childhood educator," said Executive Director Demetra Hajidiacos. "We get our students ready for their first experience in the school setting."
If you're interested in taking part, you're asked to contact Hanlon-Dearman's research assistant Amina Butt by email at abutt@rccinc.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada to see warm summer, wildfire risks loom for some regions: forecast
Get ready to feel the heat, Canada. Weather experts are predicting more sunshine and warmer temperatures for the summer.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.
3 Israeli soldiers killed in Rafah booby trap explosion, media say, as offensive widens
The Gaza health ministry called on Wednesday for ensuring safe pathways for the immediate entry of fuel and medical aid to Rafah and northern Gaza, according to a statement carried by Hamas media quoting spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
Introducing peanut butter during infancy can help protect against a peanut allergy later on, new study finds
New evidence suggests that feeding children smooth peanut butter during infancy and early childhood can help reduce their risk of developing a peanut allergy even years later.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there's a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.