Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
April 01, 2016 Adityarup “Rup” Chakravorty “Excelente!” exclaims 12-year-old Xander Trinkner, grey eyes shining behind glasses, sandy-brown hair tousled. His latest iPad mission, protecting the world from droves of alien invaders, is a success. Dressed in a grey-and-green Packers t-shirt and a pair of jeans, Xander could be any 12-year old. But his journey so …
At the age of 9, Xavier Hansen already has it figured out. Someday, he is going to be the boss. “He has great aspirations to make things,” says his mom, Gail. “His goals are to own a movie theater. He wants to be in charge. If he wants something, he’ll find a way to get it.”
A positive emotional climate at home and inclusive educational experiences while at school can have long-lasting beneficial effects for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a recent study by researchers at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Massachusetts. As children with ASD transition to adulthood many of …
Giizhik Klawiter has autism and began drawing at six years old as a therapeutic outlet. For the last six years, Giizhik and his brother Mino have designed holiday greeting cards and sold them in their hometown of Hayward, Wisconsin with the help of their mother, Pam Miller.
Couples raising a child with developmental disabilities do not face a higher risk of divorce if they have larger families, according to a new study by researchers from the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Fathers who read to their infants with autism and take active roles in caregiving activities not only promote healthy development in their children, they boost moms’ mental health too, new research suggests.
A new study by Waisman Center investigators Andy Alexander, PhD, professor of medical physics and psychiatry, Janet Lainhart, MD, professor of psychiatry and Brittany Travers, PhD, assistant professor of kinesiology, indicates a nerve bundle at the base of the brain is structurally compromised in people with autism. The study was recently featured by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative.
Waisman Center investigator, Maureen Durkin, PhD, DrPH, professor of population health sciences and pediatrics, was featured by the Simons Foundation Autism Reseach Initiative (SFARI) in a Q&A article about the rising prevalence of autism.
Waisman Center investigator, Leann Smith, PhD, was interviewed by WSAW-TV in Wausau to discuss the importance of employment for teens and young adults with autism as they transition out of high school. The Age of Autism – click to watch Smith created an eight-week program, Transitioning Together, to help teenagers with autism and their families …
The corpus callosum, a thick bundle of nerve fibers that links the brain’s left and right hemispheres, develops differently in children with autism, a nine-year study has found.
