FAQs about the Visual Comfort Project

We are very happy to see more than one child if they fit our criteria. We only have one set of most of our equipment. However, we can sometimes arrange it so that one child is doing the computer activities while the other child is doing the non-computer activities. This will mean that there is less waiting around for each child. We need to make sure we have enough rooms and researchers available. We can discuss this with you when we schedule your visit. Alternatively, you could bring your different children in on separate days. We will also need to ask you to complete a set of questionnaire for each child. You will receive a £10 voucher for each child who takes part.

Yes, they can. We know that many autistic children have other conditions, and we want a wide range of autistic children included in our study. We will ask you some information about the conditions your child has on one of the questionnaires.

Unfortunately we are only seeing autistic children who have a confirmed diagnosis. This is because this is the first study to compare visual discomfort in autistic and non-autistic children. If we included children without a diagnosis in our autism group, and we did not find a group difference, this could be because we have included children who would not meet the criteria for a diagnosis. However, we know that there are many reasons why a child may not have a diagnosis. In future studies, we would really like to include all autistic children.

Yes, they can take part as long as they are aged 6-14 years for Part 1 of the study.

Unfortunately we can only see children when they are 6-14 years. This is because we are using tasks that have only been designed for children in this age range. However, we expect to be running this study for a while, so it is possible that we can arrange a session for after your child’s 6th birthday.

Yes, they can. Children will be able to take a snack or drink break when they like. We will also have some snacks and drinks available, but we cannot cater for all dietary needs. 

You can be in the room with your child while they take part. We just ask that you do not influence them when they are doing the activities. There is also a waiting room where you can wait. You can wait with other siblings if needed. It might sometimes be possible for a Research Assistant to watch or entertain your sibling, or for them to take part in a different study at the same time. However, this is not always possible. Please ask the researchers when you are scheduling your session.

Parents normally stay at the University with their child during the study, and complete the questionnaires. However, if you have an older child, and they are happy to be left, then that should be possible. In all cases, we will need you to drop children off and sign the consent form. We will also need your contact number, and an additional emergency contact number. If you have a child who you know is particularly reactive to visual input, we recommend you stay at the University, just in case they show any signs of distress.

In most cases, we will be able to get the voucher to you within 2 days of taking part. If that is not possible for some reason, we will let you know. It can be a bit harder to say when you will be reimbursed for travel costs. This is because we can only start the process once you have taken part, and it relies on our administrative teams, who can be busy. If you have not received your reimbursement within a month of taking part, please contact the researchers. They will be happy to help you.

We envisage it taking about a year to see all the children for this study. It can then take quite a long time to do the analysis and write up the results. This means that it could be up to 2 years after you take part before you hear the results of the study. We will aim to get the report of what your child finds comfortable or uncomfortable to you within a month of taking part. It might be a bit longer if we have lots of children booked in, or if our team are working on other projects.