Susan Ellis Weismer, PhD

Position title: Professor Emeritus, Communication Sciences and Disorders

PhD, Indiana University

Contact Information

473 Waisman Center
1500 Highland Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
608.263.8861
ellisweismer@wisc.edu
Communication Sciences and Disorders

Research Statement

My primary program of research investigates the developmental course and nature of language learning and processing in atypical language learners compared to those with typical language development. Populations of interest have included children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as late talkers, children with specific language impairment/developmental language disorder, and social (pragmatic) communication disorder. I also conduct collaborative research in the areas of bilingualism and language intervention. Over the last 10-15 years my work has mostly focused on toddlers and children with ASD. A current project is exploring a Prediction Deficit Account of autism. That is, we are investigating whether language deficits in children with ASD can be attributed to atypical domain-general prediction processes such that children have difficulties generating expectations during learning. My research employs longitudinal and cross-sectional designs using a variety of behavioral measures, including eye-gaze techniques. Most of my research has involved clinical or convenience research samples, but I recently engaged in training in the area of epidemiology (through NIH K18 funding) which has provided me the expertise to conduct research employing population-based samples. My research program, conducted at the Waisman Center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, has been funded continuously by the National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders) for more than 30 years. Although I retired from my teaching faculty position in August 2021, I maintain my research laboratory at the Waisman Center and continue as Principal Investigator for my NIH-funded research. I am also serving as primary sponsor for two newly funded F31 dissertation awards for my doctoral advisees.

Selected Publications

PubMed

Prescott, K. E., Mathée-Scott, J., Bolt, D., Saffran, J., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2024). The effect of volatility in linguistic input on prediction behavior in autistic toddlers. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 17(11), 2305–2318. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3212
Mathée-Scott, J., Prescott, K. E., Pomper, R., Saffran, J., & Weismer, S. E. (2024). Prediction by Young Autistic Children from Visual and Spoken Input. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 10.1007/s10803-024-06568-z. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-024-06568-z
Prescott, K. E., Crespo, K., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2024). Spatial Language and Cognition in Autistic Preschoolers. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 54(4), 1376–1388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05883-7
Furnier, S. M., Gangnon, R., Daniels, J. L., Ellis Weismer, S., Nadler, C., Pazol, K., Reyes, N. M., Rosenberg, S., Rubenstein, E., Wiggins, L. D., Yeargin-Allsopp, M., & Durkin, M. S. (2024). Racial and ethnic disparities in the co-occurrence of intellectual disability and autism: Impact of incorporating measures of adaptive functioning. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 17(3), 650–667. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.3107
Larson, C., Mathée-Scott, J., Kaplan, D., & Weismer, S. E. (2023). Cognitive processes associated with working memory in children with developmental language disorder. Journal of experimental child psychology, 234, 105709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105709
Surgent, O., Riaz, A., Ausderau, K. K., Adluru, N., Kirk, G. R., Guerrero-Gonzalez, J., Skaletski, E. C., Kecskemeti, S. R., Dean Iii, D. C., Weismer, S. E., Alexander, A. L., & Travers, B. G. (2022). Brainstem white matter microstructure is associated with hyporesponsiveness and overall sensory features in autistic children. Molecular autism, 13(1), 48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-022-00524-3
Mathée-Scott, J., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2022). Naturalistic parent-child reading frequency and language development in toddlers with and without autism. Autism & developmental language impairments, 7, 23969415221136740. https://doi.org/10.1177/23969415221136740
Mathée-Scott, J., Larson, C., Venker, C., Pomper, R., Edwards, J., Saffran, J., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2022). Use of Mutual Exclusivity and its Relationship to Language Ability in Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 52(10), 4528–4539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05321-0
Larson, C., Crespo, K., Kaushanskaya, M., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2022). Are items actively removed from working memory during free time in children with developmental language disorder? International journal of language & communication disorders, 57(5), 1006–1022. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12735
Ellis Weismer, S., & Saffran, J. R. (2022). Differences in Prediction May Underlie Language Disorder in Autism. Frontiers in psychology, 13, 897187. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.897187
Prescott, K. E., Mathée-Scott, J., Reuter, T., Edwards, J., Saffran, J., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2022). Predictive language processing in young autistic children. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 15(5), 892–903. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2684
Larson, C., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2022). Working Memory Performance in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: The Role of Domain. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 65(5), 1906–1920. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00420
Prescott, K. E., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2022). Children with ASD and Communication Regression: Examining Pre-Loss Skills and Later Language Outcomes Through the Preschool Years. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 52(5), 1956–1970. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05098-2
Ellis Weismer, S., Tomblin, J. B., Durkin, M. S., Bolt, D., & Palta, M. (2021). A preliminary epidemiologic study of social (pragmatic) communication disorder in the context of developmental language disorder. International journal of language & communication disorders, 56(6), 1235–1248. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12664
Pomper, R., Ellis Weismer, S., Saffran, J., & Edwards, J. (2021). Coarticulation facilitates lexical processing for toddlers with autism. Cognition, 214, 104799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104799
Ellis Weismer, S., Rubenstein, E., Wiggins, L., & Durkin, M. S. (2021). A Preliminary Epidemiologic Study of Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder Relative to Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Disability Without Social Communication Deficits. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 51(8), 2686–2696. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04737-4
Neveu, A., Crespo, K., Ellis Weismer, S., & Kaushanskaya, M. (2021). Does long-term dual-language immersion affect children’s executive functioning?. Journal of experimental child psychology, 208, 105127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105127
Larson, C., Gangopadhyay, I., Prescott, K., Kaushanskaya, M., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2021). Planning in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Role of Verbal Mediation. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 51(7), 2200–2217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04639-5
Venker, C. E., Mathée, J., Neumann, D., Edwards, J., Saffran, J., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2021). Competing Perceptual Salience in a Visual Word Recognition Task Differentially Affects Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 14(6), 1147–1162. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2457
Venker, C. E., Mathée, J., Neumann, D., Edwards, J., Saffran, J., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2021). Competing Perceptual Salience in a Visual Word Recognition Task Differentially Affects Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 14(6), 1147–1162. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2457
Larson C, Kaplan D, Kaushanskaya M, Weismer SE. (2020). Language and Inhibition: Predictive Relationships in Children With Language Impairment Relative to Typically Developing Peers. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 63(4):1115-1127. doi: 10.1044/2019_JSLHR-19-00210. Epub 2020 Mar 24. PMID: 32209012; PMCID: PMC7242992.
Larson, C., Kaplan, D., Kaushanskaya, M., & Weismer, S. E. (2020). Language and Inhibition: Predictive Relationships in Children With Language Impairment Relative to Typically Developing Peers. Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 63(4), 1115–1127. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-19-00210
Venker CE, Pomper R, Mahr T, Edwards J, Saffran J, Ellis Weismer S. (2020). Comparing Automatic Eye Tracking and Manual Gaze Coding Methods in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Research. 13(2), 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2225
Pomper R, Ellis Weismer S, Saffran J, Edwards J. (2019). Specificity of Phonological Representations for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(8):3351-3363. doi: 10.1007/s10803-019-04054-5.
Larson C, Gangopadhyay I, Kaushanskaya M, Weismer SE. (2019). The Relationship Between Language and Planning in Children With Language Impairment. Journal of Speech and Language Hearing Research, 24:1-13. doi: 10.1044/2019_JSLHR-L-18-0367.
Venker CE, Edwards J, Saffran JR, Ellis Weismer S. (2019). Thinking Ahead: Incremental Language Processing is Associated with Receptive Language Abilities in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(3):1011-1023. doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3778-4.
Ellis Weismer S, Kaushanskaya M, Larson C, Mathée J, Bolt D. (2018). Executive Function Skills in School-Age Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Association With Language Abilities. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 61(11):2641-2658. doi: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-RSAUT-18-0026.
Park J, Ellis Weismer S, Kaushanskaya M. (2018). Changes in executive function over time in bilingual and monolingual school-aged children. Developmental Psychology, 54(10):1842-1853. doi: 10.1037/dev0000562.
Davidson MM, Kaushanskaya M, Ellis Weismer S. (2018). Reading Comprehension in Children With and Without ASD: The Role of Word Reading, Oral Language, and Working Memory. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(10):3524-3541. doi: 10.1007/s10803-018-3617-7.
Gangopadhyay I, McDonald M, Ellis Weismer S, Kaushanskaya M. (2018). Planning Abilities in Bilingual and Monolingual Children: Role of Verbal Mediation. Frontiers in Psychology, 14;9:323. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00323.
Davidson MM, Ellis Weismer S. (2018). A Preliminary Investigation of Parent-reported Fiction versus Non-fiction Book Preferences of School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism and Developmental Language Impairments, Jan-Dec;3. doi: 10.1177/2396941518806109.
Davidson MM, Ellis Weismer S. (2017). Reading comprehension of ambiguous sentences by school-age children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 10(12):2002-2022. doi: 10.1002/aur.1850.
Haebig E, Saffran JR, Ellis Weismer S. (2017). Statistical word learning in children with autism spectrum disorder and specific language impairment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(11):1251-1263. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12734.
Davidson MM, Ellis Weismer S. (2017). A Discrepancy in Comprehension and Production in Early Language Development in ASD: Is it Clinically Relevant? Journal of Autism and Development Disorders, 47(7):2163-2175. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3135-z.
Gangopadhyay I, Davidson MM, Ellis Weismer S, Kaushanskaya M. (2017). The role of nonverbal working memory in morphosyntactic processing by school-aged monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 142:171-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.09.025.
Gilbertson LR, Lutfi RA, Ellis Weismer S. (2017). Auditory preference of children with autism spectrum disorders. Cognitive Processing, 18(2):205-209. doi: 10.1007/s10339-016-0787-0.
Ellis Weismer S, Haebig E, Edwards J, Saffran J, Venker CE. (2016) Lexical Processing in Toddlers with ASD: Does Weak Central Coherence Play a Role?. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 46(12):3755-3769.
Venker CE, Haebig E, Edwards J, Saffran JR, Ellis Weismer S. (2016) Brief Report: Early Lexical Comprehension in Young Children with ASD: Comparing Eye-Gaze Methodology and Parent Report. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 46(6):2260-6. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2747-z.
Haebig E, Kaushanskaya M, Ellis Weismer S. (2015) Lexical Processing in School-Age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Children with Specific Language Impairment: The Role of Semantics. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 45(12):4109-23. doi: 10.1007/s10803-015-2534-2.
Ellis Weismer S, Kover ST. (2015) Preschool language variation, growth, and predictors in children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 56(12):1327-37. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12406.
Mahr T, McMillan BT, Saffran JR, Ellis Weismer S, Edwards J. (2015) Anticipatory coarticulation facilitates word recognition in toddlers. Cognition. 142:345-50. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2015.05.009.
Kover ST, Ellis Weismer S. (2014) Lexical characteristics of expressive vocabulary in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research. 57(4):1428-41.
Ellawadi AB, Ellis Weismer S. (2014) Assessing gestures in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research. 1;57(2):524-31.
Hess C, Zettler-Greeley C, Godar SP, Ellis-Weismer S, Litovsky RY. (2014) The effect of differential listening experience on the development of expressive and receptive language in children with bilateral cochlear implants. Ear and Hearing. 35(4):387-95.
Kover ST, Davidson MM, Sindberg HA, Weismer SE. (2014) Use of the ADOS for Assessing Spontaneous Expressive Language in Young Children with ASD: A Comparison of Sampling Contexts. Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research. 57(6):2221-33. doi: 10.1044/2014_JSLHR-L-13-0330.
Davidson MM, Ellis Weismer S. (2014) Characterization and prediction of early reading abilities in children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 44(4):828-45.
Venker CE, Ray-Subramanian CE, Bolt DM, Ellis Weismer S. (2014) Trajectories of autism severity in early childhood. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 44(3):546-63.
Venker CE, Eernisse ER, Saffran JR, Weismer SE. (2013) Individual Differences in the Real-Time Comprehension of Children with ASD. Autism Research. 6(5):417-32. doi: 10.1002/aur.1304.
Weismer SE, Venker CE, Evans JL, Moyle MJ. (2013) Fast Mapping in Late-Talking Toddlers. Applied Psycholinguists. 1;34(1):69-89.
Haebig E, McDuffie A, Ellis Weismer S. (2013) The contribution of two categories of parent verbal responsiveness to later language for toddlers and preschoolers on the autism spectrum. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 22(1):57-70.
Haebig E, McDuffie A, Ellis Weismer S. (2013) The contribution of two categories of parent verbal responsiveness to later language for toddlers and preschoolers on the autism spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 43(9):2218-27. doi: 10.1007/s10803-013-1763-5.
Ray-Subramanian CE & Ellis Weismer S. (2012) Receptive and expressive language as predictors of restricted and repetitive behaviors in young children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 42(10):2113-20.
Venker CE, McDuffie A, Ellis Weismer S, Abbeduto L. (2012) Increasing verbal responsiveness in parents of children with autism:a pilot study. Autism, 16(6):568-85.