Ed Psych research on debunking misinformation around autism featured in Connect

Panayiota Kendeou, associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s psychological foundations of education program, Veronica Fleury, assistant professor in the special education program, and postdoctoral fellow Gregory Trevors were recently featured in a CE+HD Connect article, “Debunking Misinformation.”

The article summarizes findings from the Global Signature program and how Department of Educational Psychology researchers are working to cut through misconceptions about the causes and treatments of autism spectrum disorder.  

In the article, Fleury explains that autism was a prime topic to research because there is so much misinformation about what causes it and about the best treatments for families, schools, and communities.

“Autism tends to be a fad magnet. People use a variety of strategies that don’t have a strong research base—in fact, we have research to refute their effectiveness—yet they still have a strong hold,” says Fleury.

According to Connect in an age of misinformation and fake news, Fleury, Kendeou, and Trevors’ work has gained urgency.

“You cannot really erase and replace misconceptions that people have acquired. That’s the sad story about misinformation,” Kendeou told Connect. “We want to reduce its impact, not change people’s beliefs.”
Read the full article.