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Program Book IMFAR WELCOME Welcome to Toronto! We are very excited to have IMFAR back for the second time in Canada (eh!) and for the first time in the dynamic city of Toronto! We hope you will enjoy some of the attractions including the famous CN Tower, the historic St. Lawrence Market and the exciting entertainment district. There is a wonderful program planned for you. The Scientific Program Committee reviewed a record number of abstracts, and under the leadership of Drs. Stephen Scherer and Peter Szatmari, has planned what is sure to be an outstanding meeting. The keynote speakers will excite and inspire with new information and perspectives from research into autism and other fields of study. The Invited Educational Symposia cover diverse topics and integrate basic and clinical sciences, and the Oral and Poster sessions promise to be superb. Other highlights will include the Special Interest Group meetings, the ‘Meet the Experts’ luncheon for trainees, and the always popular Technology Poster Session. The Lifetime Achievement Award and Advocate Award presentations are sure to be memorable. We have also lined up some talented entertainers for the reception on Thursday night that you won’t want to miss! This year’s meeting would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of many special people. We would like to acknowledge and thank the INSAR Board for their support and guidance, as well as the Scientific Program Committee and the many abstract reviewers who have striven to ensure the excellence of the science presented at IMFAR. A special thank you goes to Joe Dymek of ConferenceDirect, whose invaluable assistance throughout the planning process was instrumental in making this meeting a success. We also thank the members of the Meeting Planning Committee for their many contributions, including their inspired efforts in planning an outstanding stakeholder preconference prior to the main meeting. Margaret Clarke David Nicholas Mayada Elsabbagh Adrienne Perry Suzanne Lanthier Margaret Spoelstra Once again, welcome to Toronto and enjoy every minute of your time here. Lonnie Zwaigenbaum Wendy Roberts Meeting Co-Chair Meeting Co-Chair TABLE OF CONTENTS Hotel Floor Maps ..................................................4 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE Schedule-At-A-Glance............................................6 Speaker-Ready Room .............................................8 In-Conjunction Events............................................9 Meeting Keynote Speakers ...............................................10 Information Awardees ...........................................................11 Special Interest Groups Listing............................11 Acknowledgments ...............................................13 Abstract Author Index.......................................111 Save the Date General Information...........................................171 Exhibitors Listing ..............................................173 2013 IMFAR Sponsorship ..................................Inside Back Cover Annual Meeting! Keynote Address.................................................15 Invited Educational Symposium.............................15 Oral Sessions .....................................................16 THURSDAY Poster Sessions .................................................18 MAY 17 Invited Educational Symposium.............................35 Oral Sessions .....................................................35 IMFAR 12th Poster Sessions .................................................37 Annual Meeting May 2 – 4, 2013 Special Interest Groups.......................................53 Kursaal Centre Keynote Address.................................................53 San Sebastian, Spain FRIDAY Invited Educational Symposium.............................54 Oral Sessions .....................................................54 MAY 18 Abstract submission will be Poster Sessions .................................................56 much earlier for this meeting. Invited Educational Symposium.............................70 Oral Sessions .....................................................71 Watch our website for details. Poster Sessions .................................................73 Scientific Panels..................................................86 www.autism-insar.org Special Interest Groups.......................................90 SATURDAY Keynote Address.................................................91 Invited Educational Symposium.............................91 MAY 19 Oral Sessions .....................................................92 Poster Sessions .................................................94 Invited Educational Symposium...........................108 Oral Sessions ...................................................108 Data presented at the Annual International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR) is the sole responsibility of the authors. The sponsor of the Annual Meeting, the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), takes no responsibility for its accuracy. Submitted IMFAR abstracts are reviewed only to ensure that the authors will be presenting empirical data and that aims and conduct of the study, as far as can be ascertained, are consistent with international ethical guidelines for scientific research (Declaration of Helsinki). Acceptance of an abstract for presentation at the Meeting does not represent an endorsement by the Society of the quality or accuracy of the data and their interpretation, which judgment must await publication in a peer review journal. Consumers should recognize that study data presented at meetings is often preliminary and in some cases speculative, and that findings and conclusions have not undergone the rigors of a true peer review process. 1 SCIENTIFIC PROGRAM The Meeting in San Diego 2011 marked the end of IMFAR’s first decade. This meeting in Toronto 2012 marks the start of our second. From this new beginning derives the theme of what we hope will be an exciting, informative and stimulating meeting for autism researchers from around the world. This conference “looks ahead to the next decade of autism research”. We hope that speakers and participants will ask questions such as: “where do we want to be at the end of this next decade”, “how are we going to get there”, “what are the barriers that need to be overcome”, and “what are the opportunities that we need to take advantage of?” We hope that you will be able to obtain the answers to some, if not all, of these questions as you attend the Conference in this wonderful city. It is remarkable to take a moment and think back over the last decade of IMFAR meetings. We started out largely as a North American group of researchers with a heavy interest in developmental psychopathology. The face of autism research has changed dramatically in this last decade to include scientists who come from disciplines that at first glance have only a marginal relationship with autism. We suspect that when these scientists started their careers they probably never thought they would work in the autism field (and that is certainly the case for one of us!). It is the influx of these scientists with their methods, ideas and technologies and their commitment to multidisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration that has led to the explosion of knowledge in our field and to the asking of more subtle, relevant, and important questions. Transferring these ideas and experiences to our students and trainees is another critical goal of our meeting and we hope you take a special interest in their presentations and posters. In this spirit of looking outward, we have chosen keynote speakers who have some familiarity with autism but are largely known for their significant contributions to other areas. We firmly believe they can bring a new perspective to the next decade of autism research. We have asked each of them to provide a historical summary of where their field has come from, to briefly summarize the current situation, and to highlight important avenues for collaboration and “cross-talk” over the next decade. We have attempted to provide educational symposia that are innovative and also highlight emerging fields. We have also attempted to broaden the scope of our panels to reflect this growing multi-disciplinary work. This year the number of submissions for scientific panels and posters far exceeded our available slots and so acceptance was more competitive. We see this as a positive step and a recognition of the accelerated pace of international, world class science taking place in our field. We hope that you enjoy the conference, that you enjoy meeting old friends and making new ones, and more importantly, that you come away energized, informed and ready to embark on the next decade’s work of scientific enterprise. Much has been accomplished, but much remains to be done. We want to take a moment and recognize the incredible work of the Program Committee (see listing on page 14 for committee members and abstract reviewers) who helped us decide which submissions to accept, where to place them, and how to get the most out of a day where sessions complement each other. Their dedication to the scientific enterprise of our organization is truly remarkable. We also need to thank the staff at INSAR, especially Jennifer Gentry, who kept us on a tight leash as we tried to meet deadlines and the staff at Confex, especially Richelle Topping, who made the job of designing this program manageable. Being a scientist means always trying to stay on
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