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Schizotypal Disorder in Childhood (SDC) Study

The Clinical Phenotype of Schizotypal Disorder in Childhood: An Investigation Examining Cognitive, Motor and Neurological Functioning

Overview

The aim of this study is to characterise the behavioural, cognitive, biological, and neural phenotypes (an observable trait) in various cohorts of children, and to investigate whether these can be differentiated between groups. 

Primarily, we want to identify the functional brain correlates that map onto observed differences in clinical presentation and cognitive profiles of these cohorts of children.

This study is made up of two visits that will take approximately 3.5-5 hours of your time. The first visit is the main visit we require all participants to attend, and the second visit is optional.

Click the button below to download our full information sheet.

Scroll down for session details

First Visit

We will have some questionnaires for both your child and you to complete. Additionally, your child will be asked to:

  • do a clinical interview

  • do some cognitive tasks

  • wear a watch-like device on their wrist which measures heart rate and akin activity

  • give a small hair sample (cut from the back of the head so it is not obvious that there is hair missing)

Am I Eligible?

Have a look at our criteria :

Parents/legal guardians of children MUST be capable of providing written informed consent for their child to participate

MUST be ​aged 6 to 15 years (inclusive) at the time of enrolment​

The child MUST have adequate, age appropriate comprehension of written and spoken English​

Children identified as mature minors MUST be capable of providing written informed consent​​

MUST NOT have an Elevated score on a parent-report scale of indicating presence of autism-like behaviours

MUST NOT have diagnosis of a current or past psychiatric disorder, either self-reported or as identified by our screening instrument

MUST NOT have any known learning difficulty as reported by parents

If you answered "Yes" to all relevant criteria, you/your child is likely eligible for participation in the study.

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contact us

Thanks for submitting!

For the kids

For the kids

Hi there! We're looking at how children think about things and solve puzzles to see what children do the same way and what they do differently. 

You and your parents should decide if being in this study is the right thing for you. Remember, your participation is completely voluntary! That means you don’t have to be part of the study if you don’t want to be. 

If you'd like to know more, please click the "download" link beside me to have a look at the information sheet!

Our Team.

Principal Investigators

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Prof Christos Pantelis

NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow

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Dr. Renee Testa

Royal Children’s Hospital

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Prof Bruce Tonge

Monash University

Associate Investigators

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A/Prof Sarah Whittle

University of Melbourne

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Dr. Ian Harding

Monash University

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Dr. Nola Ross

The Child and Adolescent Neuropsychology Group

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Dr. Cassandra Wannan

University of Melbourne

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Prof Stan Skafidas

University of Melbourne

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Prof Zoltan Sarnyai

James Cook University

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Dr. Riana Marie

University of Melbourne

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Antonia Merritt

University of Melbourne

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Olivia Chan

University of Melbourne

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