Can the way a person moves be a key identifier of autism? It’s a question that Waisman Center investigator Brittany Travers, PhD, is trying to answer. A new paper from Travers’ lab suggests that movement patterns of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may differ from those with typical development.
Brittany Travers
Brittany Travers, PhD – Slide of the Week
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder often struggle with motor difficulties across the life span, and these motor difficulties may affect independent living skills and quality of life. Yet, we know little about how whole-body movement may distinguish individuals with autism spectrum disorder from individuals with typical development.
Brainy Movement Study for Kids
The Motor and Brain Development Lab at the Waisman Center is recruiting children 6-9 years old with autism OR with typical development for a research study that looks at the brainstem and corresponding behaviors in …
The Effects of Video Game Learning on the Brain in Adolescents with Autism
The Motor and Brain Development Lab at the Waisman Center is recruiting high-functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (14-17 years old) from the Madison, WI area for a research study that looks at brain and …
Brittany G. Travers, PhD – Slide of the Week
The current study investigated the relation between postural balance and performance of daily living skills (DLS) in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Fifty-two youth with ASD (6–17 years; IQ ≥ 67) completed standardized balance testing and parent-reported DLS measures.
Video game improves balance in youth with autism
“We think this video game-based training could be a unique way to help individuals with ASD who have challenges with their balance address these issues,” says Travers, an investigator at UW–Madison’s Waisman Center and an assistant professor of kinesiology.
Brittany Travers, PhD
Title: Longitudinal development of grip strength in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Legend: The group with ASD demonstrated atypical motor development, characterized by similar grip strength during childhood but increasingly weaker grip strength from adolescence …
Video game research shows promise for autism
January 20, 2016 Kelly April Tyrrell, UW Communications 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,” …
Frayed nerve bundle may spur autism’s motor, social deficits
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 Postdoctoral Training Program
With support from the National Institutes of Health, the Waisman Center Postdoctoral Training Program in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities prepares the next generation of scientists who will investigate the causes, consequences and treatments of some of human health’s most complex conditions. In 2014, thanks to the generosity of the A. Paul Jones Foundation, we expanded our program from four to five fellows.