Dear parent/ legal guardian,
My name is Tehani Wijesundera and I am a 4th year Speech Pathology student at Curtin
University, Western Australia. I am undertaking an honours project this year and seeking
participants for my project. This project is supervised by Dr Cori Williams and Dr Andrew
Whitehouse.
The study:
‘Mobile phone communications of adolescents with and without Asperger’s
Syndrome (AS)’.
Asperger’s syndrome (AS) is a developmental disorder that is regarded as lying at the higher
functioning end of the autism spectrum. Individuals with AS are within the normal range of
intelligence and language ability, however present with difficulties in social interaction and
communication. The difficulties individuals with AS experience with social interaction and
communication are likely to be reflected in their mobile phone use. To date, only one
research investigation has explored the mobile phone use of adolescents with AS. The study
found that, compared to typical adolescents, adolescents with AS tended to value the noncommunicative functions of a mobile phone (i.e. playing games, taking photos, searching the
internet) over the communicative functions. My investigation will explore the mobile phone
communications that are carried out by adolescents with AS and typical adolescents in more
detail.
I plan to compare adolescents with and without AS on:
-
How often phone calls are made and text messages are sent
-
Who is contacted
-
Why they are contacted
Who is eligible to participate?
1. Children between the ages of 13 – 19, have a DSM-IV diagnosis of Asperger’s
syndrome and use a mobile phone
and
2. Children between the ages of 13 – 19, who do not have any neurological or
developmental disorders and use a mobile phone
What will participation involve?
Participants will be asked to complete a short questionnaire about how they use their mobile
phone to communicate. The questions are a combination of multi choice and open response.
Completing the study questionnaire should take only 15 minutes.
Participants with Asperger Syndrome will be required to complete an additional
questionnaire called the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ). Participants will be asked to
complete either the adolescent AQ (if they are under 16 years of age) or the adult AQ (if they
are 16 years or older). If your child is under the age of 16 years, you will be required to
complete the adolescent AQ for your child.
The AQ asks questions about behaviours related to Autism spectrum disorders. The questions
cover: social skills, communication skills, imagination, attention to detail and attention
switching. There are 50 questions and all questions are multiple choice. The AQ will take
approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Participation is completely voluntary and there are no consequences for not participating.
What will happen to the information collected?
Information collected will not identify participants in any way.
The only personal information obtained will be your child’s DOB, for the purpose of
calculating their age.
The findings of this study may be published in a journal or presented at a conference at a
future date. Data obtained from this study will be stored in a locked cupboard in the School of
Psychology and Speech Pathology for a five year period following the completion of the
study, after which it will be destroyed according to Curtin University Functional Records
Disposal Authority protocol.
Are there any risks from being involved in the study?
No, there are no risks associated with participation in this study.
This study has been approved by Curtin University’s Human Research Ethics Committee. For
verification of ethical clearance please contact the committee:
Address:
Curtin University HREC c/- Office of Research & Development
Curtin University of Technology
GPO Box U1987
Perth, 6845
Phone:
(08) 9266 2784
Email:
hrec@curtin.edu.au
For more information
If you would like more information about the project or have any questions about the project
and/ or the privacy of your child’s information, please contact me or my supervisor:
Tehani Wijesundera: 13952356@student.curtin.edu.au
Dr Cori Williams:
C.J.Williams@curtin.edu.au
How to be involved in this study
If you are willing for your child to participate in this study, please access the questionnaire on
the web address provided below:
http://curtinbusiness.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eA8y5ZxS2DNW43G
The questionnaire will open with an information page about this study (similar to this hand
out). Please read this page through with your child, so they are familiar with the study and
aware of what they will be required to do. Once you have read this information, please check
the box for: “I provide consent for my child to participate in this investigation”.
You will then proceed to a page requesting demographic information of your child (gender
and DOB). You will then be asked if your child has Asperger Syndrome- please select yes/
no as appropriate.
If you select ‘no’, then you will proceed to the mobile phone questionnaire. At this point, for
the purposes of this research, please allow your child to independently complete the mobile
phone questionnaire.
If you select ‘yes’, then you will proceed to either the adolescent AQ (if your child is under
16 years of age) or the adult AQ (16 years or older). If your child is under 16 years, please
complete the AQ for your child. Once the AQ is completed, you will proceed to the mobile
phone questionnaire- please allow your child to independently complete the mobile phone
questionnaire.
If your child is unable to complete the questionnaire in a single sitting, they will be able to
save their responses and complete the questionnaire at a later time.
The questionnaire will be available for a five week period.
If your child is 18 years or older, please provide them with the website to the questionnaire to
complete independently. Children 18 years or older do not require parent consent to
participate.
Thank you for your participation.
Tehani Wijesundera
Dr Cori Williams
Speech pathology student (4th year)
Supervising speech pathologist
Curtin University
Curtin University