Dysregulation is a life-altering challenge for many people on the autism spectrum. In particular, nonspeakers who have learned to type describe being in fight-or-flight, a physiological condition that can be verified by measuring Heart Rate Variability (HRV). The question is: given how each person is different, what can families do to get their loved one out of fight-or-flight and back to a calmer, safe mode? They try intervention after intervention and are left wondering: Did that make a difference?
Funded by a generous grant from the Hilibrand Foundation, Communication 4 ALL is partnering with Professor Elizabeth Torres PhD, the Director of the Sensory Motor Integration Lab at Rutgers University for a study of nonspeaker regulation. Communication 4 ALL Executive Director Elizabeth Bonker presented the results of her two-year Heart Rate Variability (HRV) experiment at the 2024 Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS) conference. Elizabeth described how she went from fight-or-flight to safe mode using natural interventions guided by her HRV data. We will be using the study results to complete an app that gives the user a Regulation Index to help families understand how their interventions are impacting regulation.
Our Partner
Dr. Elizabeth Torres received her PhD in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego and did her post-doctoral training at CALTECH. She has been on the faculty of Rutgers University since 2008, and her research has been focused on the measurement and diagnosis of sensory-motor deficits. Considered a world expert in her field, Dr. Torres leads the Sensory Integration Motion Lab at Rutgers, and previously led the New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence. She has published Autism: The Movement Sensing Perspective (2021) and more than 50 peer-reviewed research papers.
Elizabeth’s HRV Experiment
If you would like to know more about Elizabeth’s 2-year HRV experiment, here is that section of her 2024 MAPS conference presentation.