Last week, our SPARK study (www.SPARKforAutism.org/UW) coordinator, Emily, visited the Tri-Cities for three days to spread awareness about the SPARK project. Her first day was spent at the ARC of Tri-Cities, where she met with ARC staff members and the ARC’s Parent-to-Parent group, which is a support group for parents of children with special needs. Emily gave a presentation to the meeting attendees about the history of autism genetics research and about the SPARK study. She showed families how to register for the project online and she answered questions about how SPARK intends to help families impacted by autism.
Emily spent the last two days of her trip in the Tri-Cities at the 12th Annual Northwest Autism Conference. This conference is meant for families, providers, and educators and provides tools and information on autism. At the conference, Emily had a vendor table and displayed SPARK materials. Families and providers were able to approach Emily with questions about the SPARK study and about autism research in general. She even helped some families register for SPARK on the spot! The conference was a great success! See below for pictures of Emily’s SPARK vendor table and of the conference poster. If you are interested in joining UW/SCAC’s more than 600 SPARK families, go to www.SPARKforAutism.org/UW to register or call Emily at 206-987-7917.
