Mission Statement
Our goal is to help individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and their families through research. Our emphasis is on the individual who happens to be affected by ASD using a multi-tiered, comprehensive approach, looking at many different pieces of the puzzle. We integrate several methodologies to understand the whole individual, working from the level of genes to cells to behaviour and the family.
The York University Alliance in Autism brings together researchers from the Faculty of Health with expertise across the continuum from basic science to clinical outcomes. This interdisciplinary and collaborative approach allows fresh thinking about this important research area, and will help us make a difference for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
For more information about the emerging York University Alliance in Autism, please contact William Gage , Associate Dean of Research and Innovation.
Our Faculty
click on the name for further information about our researchers
James M. Bebko, PhD, C. Psych (York U, Toronto)
Professor, Department of Psychology
Email: jbebko@yorku.ca
Website: www.psych.yorku.ca/clp/about.html
Research Interests: Research in my lab primarily deals with how children with autism process incoming information about the environment, and potential impact on their communication skills. We examine how effectively children coordinate information from visual and auditory sources, and particularly during speech; another focus is whether children with autism are able to understand pictures as symbols and use them as an informative guide to action. A long-term goal is that this research might enable the development of very early screening measures to identify children at risk for developing autism.
Dorota A. Crawford, PhD (UBC, Vancouver)
Assistant Professor, Kinesiology & Health Science, Biology and Neuroscience Diploma Program
E-mail: dakc@yorku.ca
Personal Website: www.yorku.ca/dakc
Research Interests: The major focus of my research is to identify and characterize susceptibility genes for autism in individuals clinically diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. In addition, we inves-tigate the effect of specific environmental factors underlying causes of brain dysfunction in autism. The emphasis is on investigating the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways contributing to potential defects that may cause abnormal brain development and lead to the development of symptoms seen in autism.
Maz Fallah, PhD (Princeton U, New Jersey)
Assistant Professor, Kinesiology & Health Science
E-mail: mfallah@yorku.ca
Personal Website: www.yorku.ca/vpalab/autism
Research Interests: My research focuses on cognitive abilities. There is evidence that individuals with autism have difficulty in seeing the forest for the trees, for example, seeing faces. It may be that the inability to construct faces impairs reading emotional expression and thus leads to deficits in social development.
Kari Hoffman, PhD (Arizona U, Arizona)
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Biology and Neuroscience Diploma Program
Email: khoffman@yorku.ca
Personal Website: www.yorku.ca/khoffman/
Research Interests: Kari Hoffman is interested in revealing the neural basis for the social and perceptual differences between children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and typically-developing children. One line of study explores where and how the brain integrates sights and sounds, such as faces during communication. Another research focus is to determine how the brain learns to extract the social significance of gestures, including facial
expressions and the direction of gaze.
Adrienne Perry, PhD, C. Psych, BCBA (York U, Toronto)
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training, Clinical-Developmental Graduate Program in Psychology
Email: perry@yorku.ca
Research Interests: The research in my lab is in the autism and developmental disabilities (DD) field in Ontario and we subscribe to a Scientist-Practitioner approach. Therefore, our research is integrated with clinical practice, disseminating research knowledge to the field, policy work, student and professional training, and service contributions to professional organizations and autism service agencies. Our research studies can be seen within a framework of: Child + Family + Intervention > Outcome. Some studies focus on the Child (e.g., particular assessment methods or measures); some on the Family (e.g., parents” and siblings’ stress and coping); some on Interventions, especially Intensive Behavioural Intervention; and some on Outcomes as a function of child characteristics, family characteristics, and intervention characteristics.
Jennifer Steeves, PhD (York U, Toronto)
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Biology and Neuroscience Diploma Program
Email: steeves@yorku.ca
Personal Website: www.yorku.ca/steeves
Research Interests: My research focuses on how visual and auditory information are processed in the brain. I study several patient groups in order to understand how the brain can change in response to differences in visual experience early in life. Some of the techniques I use include basic behavioural measures, eye movement measurement and functional
neuroimaging.
Jonathan A. Weiss, PhD, C. Psych (York U, Toronto)
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, and in the Health Psychology Diploma Program
Email: jonweiss@yorku.ca
Personal Website: www.yorku.ca/jonweiss
Research Interests: My research focuses on the prevention and treatment of mental health problems in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), across their lifespan. I conduct research on mental health care needs of people with ASD, on ways of supporting family caregivers, and on psychotherapy and educational programs for youth and adults with ASD.
Please contact us for further information.
Jonathan Weiss, PhD, CPsych
Chair, York Autism Alliance Research Group
Email: jonweiss@yorku.ca
