Aspiring to lessen distraction, anxiety and improve attention/focus for individuals diagnosed or identifying with autism spectrum condition (ASC).
It certainly seems a bit hollow using the title above given all that many of us face in our world today. Whether you’re affected by the pandemic, political, racial re-awakening, climate issue, etc., I can only hope that we are all nearing the end of troubling tunnels and heading into lighter and more positive times.
As with our lives, one chapter closes and another begins. So it is with the SensorAble project.
As 2020 came to a close, my research is nearing completion of phase one (the Public Participant Information study–PPI) and the second phase (Sensory-Attention-Anxiety experiments–SAS-II) commences.
I am hoping to begin publishing some emerging outputs and statistical results from the PPI in the coming year. I will be identifying the lived-experience data obtained from my study participants (N=196) along with the statistical analyses and implications this has in relation to a development of a solution to address multimodal distractibility, anxiety and attentional focus.
Further, one of the labs I participate in (UCL’s Development Diversity Lab–DDL) will be extending my PPI beyond neurodiverse individuals to include neurotypical (NT) participants. Stay tuned to this space if you’d like to be considered for this upcoming study.
SAS-II is already well underway having moved into coding and pre-test mode. I intend on further testing throughout the next 90 days and launching a recruitment strategy for both autistic and NT individuals. Likewise…keep your eyes on this space if you’re inclined to help design and test the future of sensory technologies.
I’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who has helped out thusfar with my research including my esteemed supervisors Professor Kaśka Porayska-Pomsta, Drs Sarah White and Joni Holmes. There’s not a better trio of rock-stars on the planet, and I am honored to retain your guidance and friendshop. My two research assistants (Anushay Mazhar and Oonagh Coleman) have been incredibly kind and are beyond brilliant! Of course, my lab colleagues at UCL’s Knowledge Lab (KL), the aforementioned DDL and University of Cambridge’s Cognition, Education and Emotion Lab (CEE) which is part of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. I wish all 0f you, along with my dearest family and friends, a bright new year filled with health, happiness and prosperity.
Peace and love,
-David
Over the last several months, four (4) new research articles pertaining to SensorAble have made their way to cyberspace, including:
Happy reading…more news in a month!
Since enrolling as an MPhil/PhD full-time, distance learning, research student at University College London (UCL) way back (?) in June 2019, every day has been in service for this moment…the Mini Viva or Upgrade to full PhD status.
I have been brilliantly guided by my tutors, lecturers, administrators, colleagues, lab-mates, family and of course supervisors along this path and I feel well prepared for the moment at hand. Too, I feel relatively calm and eager to share my progress to date; however, I am more interested in learning and receiving guidance from my illustrious panel with regard to modifications, corrective measures and recommendations going forward.
In many respects, my primary supervisor, Prof Kaśka Porayksa-Pomsta, has all but telegraphed the primary concerns related to my proposed research from the very beginning; that is:
As such, both Kaśka and I fully expect the Upgrade Panel to quickly discover these point, hone in on them, and help me “tease out” those important concepts of my last year in hopes to convey my understanding, appreciation and preparation to complete my thesis within these boundaries and within the ascribed timeframe.
From the onset of my presentation, which Kaśka later reported was the most concise, comfortable and compelling she has heard me convey, I felt a level of authenticity from my panel. They too indicated that the slides well-attended to my rationale, methods and data collection and that my training, preparation and desire to contribute to academic knowledge was noteworthy.
The panels questions and comments were incredibly thought-provoking, so much so, that I had to ask for clarification on two separate occasions due, not to an error in listening-skills, but to a confusion about how to best address the answers to meet the query.
In one particular example, and largely because I had spent so much time preparing my defense relating to ontological, epistemological and theoretical positioning and frameworks, I almost over-engineered my response when a considerably more simple answer would have sufficed. I fear I may have tripped over my delivery in this section only (!), as I could feel my brain shifting from a considerably higher gear at tremendous RPM, into a considerably more comfortable transmission mode that allowed me to relax into the matter at hand.
And as we neared the apex of the defense, both panel members gently guided me to my state my resolve around the scope of the project. From the onset, I stated my appreciation for shifting from entrepreneurial to academic positioning, toward eschewing a randomized control trial of a prototype to a more theoretical/computational approach and to continually narrow the breadth of modalities to half a handful of study.
And this was the primary lesson…my understanding of the narrowing and how I would go about this was still, perhaps, not direct and concise enough (yet)! In addition to several poignant examples of how my design methods could be further simplified (e.g. considerations of Wizard of Oz methodology were brought to light), the permission for me to select one modality (borne perhaps of my currently concluded data gathering/research/PPI) might enable me to effectuate study of one type of stimuli (e.g. sonic, optic or interoceptive GSR)…but only one!
And with that, I nodded again to my supervisor who was (up until this point) silently taking notes, camera and microphone off, and–no doubt–wagging her finger at the camera knowing all the time that she had “told me so”.
Once I had finished acknowledging that I had been advised of this, Kaśka gently (magically!) appeared on camera with the widest of smile and stated the same. It was actually a very lovely and touching moment…one that I shall not forget…as it placed a cherry atop of the whipped cream of my now fully assembled and soon to be complete upgrade.
And while I had been longing two carry this process out face-to-face in Bloomsbury, this would not be the case owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the end, and despite some of the technical glitches I had heard transpired from other friends and colleagues with their upgrades and presentations, I was grateful to have had this unique, online mini-viva. My panel was generous with their time, effort and genuine interest and I was pleased with the outcome.
That is: I passed!
Funny how in the entrepreneurial world, the words “passed” connote a pejorative meaning. I much rather prefer the academic version and am pleased to be jumping into the deep end now of scholarly work.
As Kaśka mentioned whilst we were awaiting the panel’s decision: “We will make a researcher out of you yet. I am quite proud of you!”
And that was, of course, music to my ears.
I am pleased to report that both the SensorAble Online Focus Group and Surveys are now completed. Thanks to everyone who provided their incredible participation, guidance and kindness.
Your support may lead to the development of theory and research that just might make the world a little less distracting and anxiety-producing for the neurodiverse.
Stay tuned to this space as I continue to scrub the data, and provide updates on what the research yields. Baby steps initially, leading to the development of my PhD thesis and hopefully some tangible results that provide autonomy, greater participation and comfort at both school, work and other venues.
Thank you and please stay safe and well during these most unusual times.
Nothing marks the first year of doctoral training quite like one’s preparation for The Upgrade. It actually sounds like a made-for-television special or even an independent film. Needless to say, it is more assuredly neither.
From my perspective, it has been business as usual. I have been preparing for upgrade wholeheartedly for no less than six months. Now that I am approaching my twelfth month, an having completed three years of required training last month (in one year no less!), I am fully devoting my energies to all things upgrade.
In actuality, this is not completely true. For the past two weeks, I’ve also been knee-deep in starting my research from a data collection via multiple online focus groups, transcriptions and starting to tag text within my qualitative software application for analysis. Oh yes, literature searching continues unabated as well.
However, for the purposes of this blog post…I shall pretend that I have only those concerns relating to casting of the MPhil shackles and becoming a full-fledged PhD…all made possible by The Upgrade.
And what of these shackles, anyway? Depending upon whom you speak with, the MPhil process is shroud in much mystique and sine qua non. There are others, considerably more experienced than I who will tell you that “the Upgrade is nothing but a formality, a bunch of tick-boxes put in place to prevent the University and student from failing one another”.
Wait a minute…failure?!?!
“Not to worry!” my informant suggests. “It merely ensures essentials such as your ability to speak English, write appropriately, ascribe to a timetable, and produce research that is not underwhelming in scope or unimaginably impossible to complete. You’ll have no problem…I wouldn’t worry.”
Which, of course, sets worry in to motion.
Being the A+ type multiplied by infinity personality-type that I am (e.g. aggressive, ambitious, controlling, highly competitive, preoccupied with success, workaholic and lack of patience), I begin to sweat even more of the details of something that I have been preparing for…seemingly for…for…forever!.
It was with great desire, then, that I obtain guidance from my supervisors in order to best develop an upgrade roadmap avoiding, at all cost, a road to perdition. So with that, I await feedback regarding my Upgrade Report, so that I may carve out a compelling Google Sheets Presentation.
And yet, I am already aware that there is a good portion of my Upgrade Report (that will appear within said presentation) that will now likely never become actionable.
Why?
Owing to COVID-19, those myriad face-to-face focus groups, surveys, questionnaires and trials of pilot technologies requiring in-person activities must now all be (and some already have been) migrated online. In fact, the overall tenor of the proposed research has taken on less of a prototyping, engineering vantage point. These modifications have occurred in favour of those that are considerably more scientific and proof of concept/research.
In modulating the original plan, the idea now is that a post-doc may result in a more engineering-funded objective leading to prototype development. All of this hinges upon a PhD with substantial research that is compelling to attract funding and sponsorship. And the road to PhD, at least today, travels through…you guessed it:
The Upgrade!
At least this is what my esteemed supervisors are suggesting. And that which I am completely trusting in as the end-game result. So with keyboard in hand, I await my monthly supervisory meeting taking place in less than one week. I’m hopeful that my Upgrade Report meets with approval, that my presentation may reflect that which is within the report, and that my Upgrade Panel, Upgrade Appointment and all associated departmental paperwork is “in the works”.
Fingers crossed. We shall see within a week’s time.
If you’re ages 15-54 and have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder or identify as Autistic, the Focus Group portion of enrollment is now completed. However…
| A limited number of paid positions in the online Survey are still available by clicking here. |
This project is co-produced with other individuals like you in order to understand their/your lived experiences and then create a wearable prototype. The prototype aims to limit and filter unwanted sensory-stimuli and deliver early-warning alerts of distracting and anxiety-producing events.
To join, you will need to confirm that you are:
I look forward to hearing from you!
A portion of the SensorAble Focus Group is funded through Facilitation of Participant Public Information (PPI) under the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in conjunction with a partnership between UCL, University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre and the NHS Foundation Trust (reference: BRC743/DR/104990). The remainder of the study is not associated with any external organising and/or funding association and is self-funded by the researcher.
About a month ago, Professor Allison Littlejohn, who is the Director of the UCL Knowledge Lab, requested that I create a Blog with above captioned title. While there are a few overlaps with the information contained within the SensorAble blog that you’re now reading, many of my readers suggested that I also include a link to that separate publication here.
Within that blog you find out more about by position as a mid-career, distance-learning full-time PhD Researcher in UCL’s Knowledge Lab. Also included at that blog is information about my enrollment in the Institute of Education faculty and the Culture, Communication and Media department. You can also learn more about my membership with the Developmental Diversity Lab at UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.
You can learn more at www.davidruttenberg.com.
UCL’s Institute of Education recently conducted an interview with me and published the same within their websites along with a link to this blog. Within the article, I am hoping to bring attention, not only to my research, but to my richly deserving supervisors Prof Kaśka Porayska-Pomsta, Dr Sarah White and Dr Joni Holmes.
I do hope that this promotion helps emphasize the importance and stature of the faculty at the IoE. It is an equally great “get” for the Centre for Doctoral Education, the Culture, Communication and Media department, the Knowledge Lab and UCL’s Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, and in particular, the Development Diversity Lab. I enjoy promoting our Knowledge Lab Seminar Series too.
So do have a read and let me know your thoughts.
