Opportunity to take part in a research study – 2 x free cognitive assessments for your child
Emerald Secondary College is participating in a new research study. Qualified researchers will provide two free neuropsychological assessments to participating students. Families will also receive a free report for each session. These reports will assist in better understanding how students think & learn and how their thinking skills develop. More details below.
Tanja Korsten
Dear Parent/Guardian,
I am writing to let you know about a new research study being run by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The Royal Children’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne. You and your child may be interested in taking part in this project.
You might also like to view The COGNITION Study Animated Video which provides a visual summary of what it means for you and your child to be involved in this research project. The video can be accessed via the following website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyCFrEDy64U, or by scanning the following QR code:
What is this project about?
We are inviting you and your child take part in a research project called The COGNITION Study.
Cognition or cognitive development are words that we use to explain how you think, explore and figure things out. This can include tasks such as learning, memory and attention.
We will be using a cognitive assessment called the CANTAB to collect information about children’s cognition. The CANTAB stands for Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery, it is owned by a company overseas called Cambridge Cognition.
Children and adolescents will be invited to participate in a number of assessments on 2 occasions, 9-12 months apart. This will include assessments of cognition, problem solving, and academic achievement. Additionally, we are interested in collecting information on children and adolescents’ quality of life and behavioural and emotional symptoms from both students and parents.
The main aims of this research project are:
- To have 1300 school aged children (5-18 years old) complete the CANTAB across Victorian schools. This will form what we call a ‘normative data set’ and this will allow us to compare cognitive performance of children and adolescents.
- To create a chart which maps typically developing cognition based on age and gender. This is similar to charts which map weight and height as you get older. For example, it might tell us if children have normal or expected cognitive performance in comparison to other children their age and gender.
- To understand the links between cognition and children’s level of problem solving and academic achievement. We also want to know the links between cognition and children’s feelings/emotions and behaviours and children’s overall level of health and happiness.
Why am I being asked?
You and your child are being invited to participate in this project because your school has agreed to participate in this research study.
What do I need to know?
The cognitive assessments, testing of problem solving, academic achievement, quality of life and behavioural and emotional symptoms will be administered by researchers at your child’s school over 1.5 hours (2 school periods). These assessments will be done on iPads provided by the research team.
What happens next?
If you and your child are interested in taking part in this research, please complete the bottom of this letter and either return it to the Emerald Secondary College front office (Att: Tanja Korsten), email to Tanja (Assistant Principal) via [email protected] OR send it directly to the research team via [email protected]
If you indicate that you and your child are interested AND you provide permission to provide your contact details to the research team, a member of the research team will be in contact with you by phone to talk to you about the project. Your contact details will remain confidential, and the research team will only use them to contact you regarding this research.
We will discuss whether the research study is suitable for you and your child and provide further information about the research study in detail for you to read through via email.
Following this we will ask you and/or your child to formally provide consent to participate in the research study. We will also give you the opportunity to ask any questions you may have about the research.
When consent has been provided, you and your child will be considered enrolled in The COGNITION Study and we will be in contact with your school to organise when the first assessments will occur.
Questions?
Please email us at [email protected] with any of your questions. A member of our research team will get back to you.
You can also call the study coordinator Yasemin Mehmed on (03) 9936 6475.
Yours sincerely,
Prof David Coghill
Principal Investigator, The COGNITION Study
Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Please click on the link below for a printable copy of the Permission to Contact form
Cognitive study Permission to Contact form
Please return this permission slip to the Emerald Secondary College front office (Att: Tanja Korsten), email to Tanja (Assistant Principal) via [email protected] OR send it directly to the research team via [email protected]
