Current Studies

If you are interested in participating in any of our current studies, please reach out to us at lunalab@umassmed.edu.

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IEP Project

Looking for: Caregivers of children ages 3-22 who have an autism diagnosis

What you would do: Submit an IEP and complete surveys on satisfaction with your child’s IEP.

Purpose of this study: Our research seeks to understand the nature of educational inequity for students with ASD by exploring the impact of developmental category, symptom severity, race, culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on the special education services provided to students ages 3-21. The study is available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese (Cantonese/Traditional characters).

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Gender Study

Looking for: Children ages 9-12 with a formal Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis and their parent/caregiver. 

  • What would you do:Participate in a virtual interview about gender identity, complete a short gender conceptualization task, and complete a couple of demographic and identity surveys. In total participating in this study should take about ~75-90 minutes. 
  • Purpose of this study:Our study aims to understand how autistic children ages 9-12 conceptualize gender identity. Little is known about the development and conceptualization of gender in autistic children, and as understanding and developing gender are key developmental tasks, this will be the first known attempt to better understand these processes for autistic children.

Contact: Please email crehanlab@tufts.edu if interested.

Coming soon: A Dating Coach program for Autistic Adults

  • In Winter 2026, we will be recruiting both autistic adults and individuals to serve as dating coaches to participate in a matchmaking event and then dating activities for four months. Check back here or our social media pages for the official launch!
  • Funded by Bailey’s Team for Autism”