FAQs

All visits take place at MIT, in Building 46, the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. We will give you detailed directions when we set up a research visit with you. We will direct you to  our main entrance (524 Main Street, Cambridge) if you are arriving by public transportation. If you are driving we will direct you to the parking lot closest to 43 Vassar Street, Cambridge- and we would meet you in the parking lot. 




You can contact Cindy Li at cindyeli@mit.edu or 617-800-9833 for any questions that you have.




We can almost always accommodate service animals in our studies. Depending on the type of study you do, however, your service animal may not be able to be in the same room as you. For example, the MRI is too sensitive for most animals’ ears, so they cannot be in the scanning room with you. If you would like to bring your service animal to your appointment, please speak with the researchers you will be working with ahead of time.

You can still participate if you use assistive technology. Please let us know if you plan to use assistive technology during your visit.

Depending on what type of metal you have and where it is in your body you may or may not be able to participate in our MRI studies. We often have other studies taking place that do not involve MRI, in which metal would not be a problem.

You are free to stop participating at any point you wish. You would still be paid for the amount of time that you participated.

We keep your information secured both physically and electronically.  Your information will be confidentially maintained and any test scores would be de-identified. This means that they would be coded and would not be associated with any information which could identify you.

When you come in for the intake visit we will ask to keep your information on file so that we can contact you when new study opportunities arise. 


When you come in for the intake visit we will ask to keep your information on file so that we can contact you when new study opportunities arise. 


You will usually be paid $20 per hour for behavioral testing and $30 per hour for imaging portions of any studies in which you participate. We can let you know the specific rates before you participate in a study. Reimbursement will be in the form of cash, check, or Amazon gift cards.


If you are a caregiver bringing in a child to participate, you may bring in other children who would be waiting with you. It would be helpful for us to know in advance so we can make accommodations as needed, such as reserving the children’s play room (depending on the age of your accompanying child(ren).


We ask that parents stay within the building when their child is participating, just in case we need to reach you. We have waiting rooms adjacent to our testing rooms where you can wait.


You can still participate as long as your legal guardian accompanies you for at least the beginning of the visit and is willing to sign the consent forms. 


Since the results are for research purposes only we do not provide a report or any results to research participants. Some brain imaging studies may provide a printed brain photo from your imaging session that you can take home with you. 

Before you (or your child) can begin any research study, you will read and sign a consent form. The consent form is an official way of saying, “Yes, I want to try this.” If you have questions at any time, you can ask. If you decide at any point that you do not want to participate anymore, you can stop. 

The studies you may be participating in at MIT are not clinical trials; therefore you will not be receiving any medications. Also, you will not receive test scores. The data we collect from your participation in current or future research studies at M.I.T. can provide potential benefits to society. These benefits include a better understanding of the underlying neural differences in individuals on the autism spectrum. This may, in turn, be helpful in the development of early diagnostic information and therapeutic tools for children and adults with an autism profile.