International Meeting for Autism Research May 12 -14, 2011 Manchester Grand Hyatt n San Diego, California www.autism-insar.org PROGRAM BOOK IMFAR WELCOME IMFAR is celebrating its 10th anniversary and returning to the site of the first conference, San Diego! We are delighted to welcome everyone to what we feel is our best meeting yet. We believe we have planned a very exciting and informative three days covering the very latest in research focusing on autism. This year the Scientific Program Committee reviewed over 1,000 abstracts from around the world and has put together a solid meeting. As Scientific Program Chair, Dan Geschwind, notes in his remarks, there are a few new events planned in addition to several of IMFAR’s popular features including the Invited Educational Symposia, exceptional keynote speakers, oral sessions, poster presentations, Lifetime Achievement Award and Special Interest Group meetings. We also have a few special surprises planned for the main reception following the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award so do not miss it. Planning a meeting like this requires the efforts of some very special people and I would like to acknowledge those who contributed so much of their time and effort to INSAR and the IMFAR event. Along these lines I would like to thank the INSAR Board, the Scientific Program Committee, and the many abstract reviewers who helped ensure the inclusion of the best in autism research. A special thank you goes to Joe Dymek of ConferenceDirect whose invaluable assistance made the job of planning the meeting a pleasure. I would like also to personally acknowledge the members of the Meeting Planning Committee who have worked very hard to make the 2011 IMFAR experience special. Aubyn Stahmer – Meeting Co-Chair Natacha Akshoomoff Laura Hall Stephan Anagnostaras Eric Courchesne Mary Baker-Ericzen Karen Dobkins Lauren Brookman-Frazee Ann Mound Leslie Carver Karen Pierce Christina Corsello Jessica Suhrheinrich Rebecca Gutierrez – Administrative Coordinator Sarah Reed – Staff Volunteer Coordinator Again, welcome to IMFAR 2011 and beautiful San Diego! We hope you enjoy the meeting. Laura Schreibman Meeting Chair TABLE OF CONTENTS Hotel Floor Maps ..................................................4 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE Schedule-At-A-Glance............................................6 Speaker Ready Room .............................................6 In-Conjunction Events............................................9 Meeting Keynote Speakers ...............................................10 Information Awardees ...........................................................11 Acknowledgments ...............................................13 Abstract Author Index.........................................96 General Information...........................................144 Save the Date Exhibitors Listing ..............................................146 Sponsorship ..................................Inside Back Cover 2012 IMFAR Keynote Address.................................................15 Annual Meeting! Invited Educational Symposium.............................15 THURSDAY Oral Sessions .....................................................16 Poster Sessions .................................................18 MAY 12 Invited Educational Symposium.............................29 Oral Sessions .....................................................29 Poster Sessions .................................................32 IMFAR 11th Annual Meeting Keynote Address.................................................45 May 17 – 19, 2012 Invited Educational Symposium.............................45 Sheraton Centre Hotel FRIDAY Oral Sessions .....................................................45 Toronto, Canada Poster Sessions .................................................48 MAY 13 Invited Educational Symposium.............................60 Oral Sessions .....................................................60 Scientific Panels..................................................64 Poster Sessions .................................................67 Special Interest Groups.......................................80 Keynote Address.................................................82 SATURDAY Invited Educational Symposium.............................82 MAY 14 Oral Sessions .....................................................83 Poster Sessions .................................................85 Invited Educational Symposium.............................93 Oral Sessions .....................................................93 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 Welcome to IMFAR, 2011. This year marks a true milestone: the 10th anniversary of IMFAR! It seems like only a few years ago that I remember Portia Iversen of Cure Autism Now Foundation proposing that it would be useful to have an international scientific meeting for autism researchers. Given how small the field was, we wondered if there would be sufficient interest and scientific advancement to warrant a meeting, even every other year. This was an unnecessary worry — the field continues to grow rapidly and this year we have broken the 1,000 abstract threshold for the first time. This year the Program Committee has played a large role in designing the program, ranging from choosing the Scientific Panels and Invited Educational Sessions, to organizing the Oral and Poster Sessions. A big thanks to all of those who served on the Scientific Program Committee, especially those who chaired the various sections of the program, each of whom had a major hand in creating this year’s meeting schedule (please see listing of the Program Committee on page 12). The program is continually evolving, but we have essentially kept the successful format developed last year. There are three major types of oral presentations: Invited Educational Sessions (IES), Scientific Panels, and Oral Sessions. The Invited Educational Symposia (IES) were all chosen from a large number of member submissions and represent timely overviews of important advances in the major domains of autism research, ranging from basic science to treatment research. Scientific Panels also represent member submissions, consisting of four closely- linked 15-minute presentations on the same topic or study, chosen by the Program Committee. Similarly, the 2-hour Oral Sessions are comprised of eight abstracts that were organized by the Program Committee to present a series of separate short scientific talks, linked by methods or theme. There are essentially five half-day sessions. To provide an overview of each half-day’s schedule, the entire program is briefly described over the first few pages. Each morning starts with a Keynote Speaker, followed by a Coffee Break. During the next two hours, we have the Invited Educational Symposium (IES), which occurs in parallel with three Oral Sessions. The same format of Oral Sessions and concurrent IES occurs in the afternoons. The only exception is Friday afternoon, when we will have an additional session with the six Scientific Panels and a concurrent Oral Session. Poster Sessions, which comprise the majority of the abstracts, run concurrently each half-day (8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) with about 200 posters per session. Presenters will be present for at least the hour indicated by the time stated in the program. The Author Name Index at the back links abstracts to their authors alphabetically by author. Abstract numbers in bold indicate the presenting author. We have also continued the same six Special Interest Groups (SIG) organized last year, but rather than holding them at lunchtime, we are holding them all in the evening on Friday, so as to provide a more casual opportunity to network with those who share similar research interests. Also, we have continued the expanded Technology Demonstration Session that will take place on Friday morning, where innovative developments in technology related to autism research and practice are presented in poster format. New this year is a special luncheon “Meet the Experts” to provide students and fellows the opportunity to network with professors. The idea is to provide an informal venue for students to meet professors whose work, career path, or techniques they would like to discuss in more depth. We are starting this as an experiment this year, so spaces are limited. Since we are talking about lunch, each registrant will receive a $50 gift card good at the hotel and local restaurants, including Seaport Village nearby for daily lunch breaks. Several special presentations