Clinical Affiliate Spotlight

Georgia State University

Georgia State University has many faculty affiliated with the interdisciplinary Center for Research on Atypical Development and Learning (CRADL). Their research focuses on atypical development, including autism and other related developmental disabilities. A few highlights of faculty research and clinical activities include:

Toddler Language Intervention Project—examines the effects of early language interventions on toddlers (24 to 36 months) who have developmental delays and fewer than 10 spoken words. Led by Speech-Language Pathologist MaryAnn Romski, Ph.D., and funded by grants from National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and Institute of Education Sciences (IES), parent and child language skills are taught with portable, speaking computers. Randomized control studies show toddlers can develop communication skills even when speech is limited, and children can expand their speech skills more than with traditional speech therapy. Amy Pakula, M.D., Marcus Autism Center, is a frequent referral source.

The Development of Joint Attention After Infancy—elucidates the development of shared attention between young children and their social partners. Headed by Developmental Psychologist Lauren Adamson, Ph.D., and funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the Communication Play Protocol is a play-based measure of parent-child interaction. It helps examine the relationship between joint engagement and word learning for the developmental trajectories of toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), nonspectrum developmental delays and typical development. The current study also is validating rating scales used to measure both parent and child variables during the Communication Play Protocol.

Early Detection of Autism—is validating a revision to the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), one of the most widely used screening tools for autism worldwide. Headed by Neuropsychologist Diana L. Robins, Ph.D., and funded by NICHD, participating physicians offer screening to patients at ages 18 and 24 months during well-child visits. Children who screen positive are offered a diagnostic evaluation. Through Georgia State University and University of Connecticut, more than 16,000 toddlers were screened using the M-CHAT, and current funding will support screening another 20,000 children during the next four years.

Neurophysiological Mechanisms of Emotion Perception—examines emotion perception using:

Behavioral tasks
Measurements of the muscle movements of the face
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify the brain’s active emotion areas
Diffusion tensor imaging to map the brain’s white matter

Led by Neuropsychologists Diana L. Robins, Ph.D. and Tricia Z. King, Ph.D., and funded by Autism Speaks and the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, these methods help clinicians better understand how emotion perception is disrupted by ASDs.

Training of Special Education Teachers and Researchers—addresses the shortage of teachers qualified to provide appropriate education to individuals with ASDs by offering teaching certification, master's degrees and doctoral degrees emphasizing autism education. Through the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education in the College of Education, ongoing studies include:

Using Self Operated Auditory Prompts to Increase Self-care Task Independence in Elementary School Students with Autism
The Effect of Priming on Spontaneous Communication in Children with ASD
The Effect of Sensory Activities on Correct Responding for Children with ASD

In addition, a free instructional module, Enhancing Instructional Contexts for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (EIC-ASD), contains a tool to analyze and improve support provided to students with ASDs. The tool is used by the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Supports (GNETS) and was translated into French for extensive use in Canada.