Advancing knowledge of human development, developmental disabilities, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Josh loves coming to the Waisman Center. He has told his mom Julia several times that he particularly enjoys the two-day visits because he gets to spend more time at the center. His brain is special so it is cool that the scientists want to study it, he tells Julia.
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common heritable form of intellectual and developmental disability. It is also the most common single genetic contributor to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Xinyu Zhao, PhD, Waisman investigator and professor of neuroscience, was recently awarded a Kellett Mid-Career Award, among 11 others, by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education.
A recent study shows that boys with fragile X syndrome and co-occurring ASD (fragile X + ASD), and autistic boys have similar patterns of linguistic errors and omit more words in conversations compared to non-autistic boys.
Even through cute but unintelligible babbles, infants are hard at work learning how to become successful communicators.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has a consistent 4:1 male prevalence, suggesting a role for sex-differential biology in risk.
The goal of this research was to determine how sensory features, such as increased or decreased sensitivity to the environment, are associated with the brainstem in autistic and non-autistic children
Expressive language impairments are common among school-age boys with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and autistic boys.
The same external sensory stimulus – a flashing light, a hug, or hearing one’s name – can provoke a different reaction in every person.
For many individuals with autism and their families, their first experience with the Waisman Center may be through the center’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities (A&DD) Clinic. The A&DD Clinic’s primary focus is providing diagnostic evaluations and follow-up care for to individuals suspected of having autism or other developmental disabilities.
