Frequently Asked Questions

Collaborator? Participant? Subject? Do they all mean the same thing? 

No. “Collaborators” are autistic people who will be involved in the whole research process, from deciding what to study to sharing the results with the community. “Participants” (also called “research participants” or “subjects”) go through the studies designed by the RADAR team and we collect their data. Depending on our research questions, participants may be autistic or non-autistic.

Why do you use “autistic” instead of saying “person with autism?”

Every person has their own preference for how they talk about themselves and autism. For a lot of people with an Autism Spectrum diagnosis, this is an important part of their identity. They express that through identity-first language, for example by saying “I’m autistic.” Other people prefer to say “I have autism,” “I’m on the spectrum,” or talk about it using a variety of phrases.

The word “autistic” is frequently used on RADAR’s materials because most of the Collaborators prefer identity-first language to talk about themselves. However, people on the spectrum get to choose how they like to talk about it, and we respect those differences– just like how people use different pronouns (he/she/they).

Do I need a college degree to participate?

No, there are no educational or research experience requirements for collaborators.

I don’t have a professional diagnosis, but I identify as being on the autism spectrum. Am I eligible to participate?

Yes. We recognize that there are many reasons why people may not have a formal diagnosis, including issues of access (e.g., cost, lack of trained providers), clinicians’ misconceptions of autism, and stigma. We want collaborators to have a diverse array of experiences, which includes those who were diagnosed late, received misdiagnoses, or never received an autism diagnosis from a professional. 

Why do you have to live in the United States and be 18 or older?

Working with minors (people under the age of 18) and people who live in other countries makes things a little bit more complicated. In the beginning, we need to streamline things as much as possible, but it is our hope that we will be able to invite a broader range of people to collaborate with us in the future.

The requirements say I have to be able to use Google Drive/Slack/Zoom, but I’ve never used them before. Can I still apply?

Yes. We can help everyone get started using those platforms. It is also perfectly fine for Collaborators to have support people help them navigate those platforms. 

I want to participate in this project but can’t make the full time commitment or I applied and wasn’t selected. Are there other ways I can be involved?

Yes. People who applied to be Collaborators but weren’t selected can choose to be added to a waitlist. That way, they will be notified if we have a spot open up. Another way people can be involved is to volunteer to be a research participant (also called a research subject). We collect the data from research participants who go through the studies designed by the RADAR team.

Are Collaborators paid or compensated for their contribution?

Yes! RADAR was chosen to receive a Ruth Winifred Howard Diversity Scholars award from the Institute of Child Development. This initial funding enables us to pay Collaborators for time spent attending meetings and working on the project.

What do Collaborators do?

Collaborators attend research meetings and complete tasks independently between meetings. Each Collaborator has the opportunity to be involved in the entire research process and can choose their areas of interest to work on. See the “What is Research?” page for more information.

What kinds of research will RADAR do?

Although the exact questions will be decided on by the team of Collaborators, the general research area is limited by the founder’s own research experience and resources. RADAR’s research will focus on the development of autistic people’s ability to think about other autistic and non-autistic people’s mental states (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, wants). This ability to think about other people’s mental states is called “Theory of Mind.” Other areas of interest include stimming and executive function (abilities relating to attention, impulse control, and working memory).

I’m interested in another type of research (e.g., clinical, neuroimaging). Can I get involved in that kind of research as a RADAR Collaborator?

For now, those aren’t questions that we can study. This is because the lab the founder is in doesn’t study those types of questions, and she doesn’t have the necessary knowledge and skill to run a clinical or neuroimaging study, for example. However, we are actively talking with other labs that do study some of those questions, so we hope to be able to broaden our research approaches soon.