McPartland Lab
July 24, 2023- 00:02I would have never dreamed of
- 00:05having a child on the spectrum.
- 00:08I didn't know much about autism.
- 00:12It really changed our worlds.
- 00:17Being a part of the Mcpartland lab has really
- 00:20made myself and our family feel
- 00:23connected with others other families.
- 00:26It creates a well in which we can
- 00:30all share our personal stories and
- 00:32and teach the world from them.
- 00:40There's a lot of information
- 00:42out there about autism.
- 00:43It may be very confusing
- 00:45and difficult to determine.
- 00:47The best course of action
- 00:49to take for these families,
- 00:50it's very beneficial to participate
- 00:53in research because in the
- 00:55Mcpartland lab you get connected
- 00:58to clinicians who have very
- 01:00specific expertise in autism and
- 01:03the best type of interventions
- 01:05and treatments to recommend.
- 01:07That can be very helpful to
- 01:08parents who are trying to
- 01:10navigate a very difficult system.
- 01:12Many people think about a
- 01:14research study and they think
- 01:16doctors and lab codes and.
- 01:17Sterile procedures, really.
- 01:19Coming to participate in research
- 01:21in our lab is a lot more like
- 01:23going to a school or a camp.
- 01:27There's a lot of people who are
- 01:29very enthusiastic about playing
- 01:31with your children or meeting
- 01:32you, talking with you.
- 01:35I think at the beginning I was a
- 01:37little bit skeptical about having
- 01:40our son involved in research.
- 01:42You know, what is this going to be like?
- 01:43Is this going to cause him anxiety?
- 01:46But that was not the case.
- 01:49After when we got to know the staff here,
- 01:52they just prepared our son
- 01:55and ourselves for each visit.
- 01:57Everything was very private.
- 02:00Every child that comes in has a
- 02:02team dedicated to them for the day
- 02:05and the visit is all about them.
- 02:07We make sure that we make it as
- 02:09fun as possible for the child.
- 02:11They were able to just give him
- 02:13that warmth and that security
- 02:15and and just help him plan for the
- 02:18visits so we knew what to expect.
- 02:20And everyone here has been just so kind
- 02:23and so friendly and so great with our son.
- 02:29One of the
- 02:30things that many families find very
- 02:32special about participating in research
- 02:34is that you become part of a community.
- 02:37A community of people who
- 02:38have similar challenges,
- 02:40who have similar concerns,
- 02:41similar values, similar goals.
- 02:43You get to share your family story.
- 02:46You get to share with people who who get it,
- 02:49who really understand the needs of families.
- 02:53So research can really give us the tools to.
- 02:57Empower our families to change
- 02:59in the ways where they want to
- 03:02change to help them in their lives.
- 03:04The kind of information that we get can
- 03:07be very useful for planning therapy,
- 03:09for planning school.
- 03:11When a person comes in to do
- 03:13a research study in our lab,
- 03:15they're going to be working with
- 03:17the very same doctors that are the
- 03:20doctors that they would see if
- 03:22they came into one of the clinics.
- 03:24At Yale, the difference here is
- 03:26that we're paying you to come and
- 03:28work with us instead of you or your
- 03:29insurance paying to see a doctor.
- 03:38We are now in a place where some
- 03:40of the tools that we're trying to
- 03:42develop to help autistic people
- 03:44are further along than they are
- 03:46anywhere else in psychiatry,
- 03:48which is a is a milestone that
- 03:49we're extremely excited about.
- 03:55This is a great example
- 03:56of the way that
- 03:57a scientific partnership
- 03:59between the lamp, between families,
- 04:01between autistic people can
- 04:03really produce learning that can
- 04:05make a difference in a big way.
- 04:10I want to participate in research
- 04:14that is going to
- 04:15change the way society
- 04:16sees our children, and I really
- 04:19want society to. Be more understanding
- 04:23and accepting because I want a great life
- 04:25for our child and and for all of families.