Information for families

The British Autism Study of Infant Siblings (BASIS) is a collaborative research network for studying the development of brothers and sisters of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Our co-ordinating centre is based at The Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development in the Department of Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. BASIS aims to encourage collaboration between scientists working in the area by setting up a national centre for recruiting babies for research studies. To find out more about the network.

It is our hope that our research will help us gain a better understanding of why some children develop ASD and others do not. Although the tasks we use in our research studies cannot predict or diagnose ASD, we hope our findings will allow for earlier detection and earlier and more effective intervention aimed at improving the quality of life of children with autism and their families.

Who approves the research and who funds BASIS?
The NHS London Research Ethics Committee granted ethical approval for BASIS. The network is funded by the UK Medical Research Council, Autistica, The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, The Henry Smith Charity, Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust, Kirby Laing Foundation, Mr & Mrs J A Pye’s Charitable Settlement and Mercer’s Charity.

Who can join?
We are particularly interested in hearing from families with babies that are between 0 to 9 months who have a full brother or sister with autism. If your children are half – brothers or sisters or if your children are not babies within this age range we would still be very interested to hear from you so that we can send you updates and let you know if your family is eligible for future studies.

How to get involved
If you would like to join the network please email us or telephone us at the number below. You will be asked to provide your contact information, the names and ages of your children, and a brief family history. You will then be asked to complete a consent form giving your permission to store this information on our secure database.

If you agree for us to hold your information on the BASIS database, we will be able to send you detailed information sheets about future network projects that are available for your baby’s age range, along with the contact details of the researchers conducting the projects. We may also from time to time send you updates, newsletters, or other materials that we feel may be of interest to you. If your child is within the age range for a network project you may be asked to visit one of our research centres on one or more occasions.

You are under no obligation to participate in any of the projects we inform you about, and any personal details you have provided to us will remain confidential. If you wish to participate in a project affiliated with the network, you can then contact the person responsible for that project directly to volunteer and/or request further information.

How do we protect your personal data?
BASIS takes the protection of your personal information very seriously. To find out more about how we do that please see our Privacy Policy.

How to register with BASIS

If you would like to join the network or have any questions please contact us.

By telephone:
Please call us on 0203 926 1109

By email:
Please email Rebecca Holman staars@bbk.ac.uk

By post: