Thursday, December 12, 2013

We are the Co-Authors of our Destiny


Sidney and I are crafting this post together by phone, because we ARE the co-authors of our COAST destiny. We've just been discussing my experiences with  law school and my assessment that, if I don't make it in Law School, I have a very strong back-up plan.

However, I intend to implement the Back Up Plan WHILE finishing law school, because I have always wanted my cake and ate it, too. In other words, I don't tend to let things happen TO me. I tend to plan for things to happen BECAUSE of me. Sidney is, of course, an equally CAN DO and WILL DO kind of person. In other words, we believe we can affect our futures (an internal locus of control, as opposed to people who believe the world does things to them, or external locus of control).

The success of the COAST is now more than a Possibility; success is now verging on Probability.

We are making steady progress in our research plan for the COAST.

COMPLETED:
(A) Wrote and edited the COAST, both the full COAST and the CORE FOUR and Supplemental Eight versions and the administration manual. Developed the Student Profile form and visual graph system.

(B) Met Kate Panacionne. Kate provided some incredibly relevant and useful feedback on the earliest version of the COAST, and has since become a close friend. Kate plans to develop a teacher's edition of the COAST for her doctoral dissertation.

(C) Met with Dr. David Amaral and Dr. Peter Mundy of the MIND Institute. This was a cold call that turned into a very warm reception (see my previous blog entry on February 17, 2013: Magic Happens). Dr. Amaral suggested we contact Dr. Eric Fombonne. So...

(D) We contacted Dr. Eric Fombonne at OHSU (see my April blog entry: The Generosity of Strangers). Dr. Fombonne agreed to help us conduct our preliminary research, and his wife, Dr. Arlene Hagen, will also join the research party. Dr. Hagen directs the Child Development and Rehabilitation Clinic at OHSU.

(E) Wrote and submitted the research plan and Institutional Review Board (IRB) application. The IRB has asked for additional information, which we have supplied. Approval is anticipated in the next few months.

(F) Developed all related documents for the research project: Letters of Support, recruitment letters, permission forms, FERPA and HIPAA release forms, instructions, and thank you letters.


NEXT STEPS:
As soon as the OHSU Internal Review Board gives final approval for out Human Subjects Research, the flood gates of work will open, to include:

(1) Contact and confirm participation in the study of 120 parents of children without identified disabilities, aged 6 through 18. We'll be advertising in several media venues in the Eugene area, we have a commitment from an Oregon Pediatrician to approach the parents in her practice, and with OHSU's letterhead lending an air of credibility to the research project, I will again approach the local school districts for participation.

OHSU has assumed the job of gathering parents of children identified as being on the Autism spectrum AND parents of children with severe emotional disturbances (but not Autistic).

If you, dear reader, have ideas about contacting parents in Oregon to participate (OR if you yourself live in Oregon and have children aged 6 to 18), I'd love to hear from you! I'll make the comments section private, and you can leave a comment for me to contact you.

(2) Provide the survey forms and instructions to the participating parents. We will purchase copies of the ASRS and ABAS from the publishers, and of course provide copies of the COAST to each participant. 

(3) COLLECT THE DATA!!

(4) Analyze the data.

(5) Write the research report describing the project, the data, and the analysis of the effectiveness of the COAST in identifying children on the Autism Spectrum, AND what level of Autism

(6) Wait for the world to beat a path to our door...  But, because we are both "internal locus of control" people, we'll take some steps to clear that pathway. And line it with landing lights. And neon arrows. And a huge "WELCOME" mat. We'll submit a proposal to speak at a number of professional conferences, including conferences for pediatricians, psychiatrists and psychologists, and special educators. We will also be writing several grant applications to continue our research on the COAST, and will be contacting educational publishing companies to discuss distributing the various forms of the COAST.

Stay tuned!