News
Bob Dole makes gift to KU disabilities center
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole has made a gift of $10,000 to the University of Kansas Research and Training Center on Independent Living (RTC/IL). Founded in 1980, the RTC/IL conducts disability research and provides training designed to enhance independent living for people with disabilities. ...
W. Matthew Gillespie named a 2017 KU Man of Merit
Sixteen students, faculty and staff have been selected as University of Kansas Men of Merit, recognized for positively defining masculinity through challenging cultural norms, taking action and leading by example while making contributions to the university and/or the community. ...
Reading picture books with children holds promise for treating common language disorder
LAWRENCE — A clinical trial of book reading to help kindergarten children with Specific Language Impairment learn words has determined the number of times a child with SLI needs to hear a word to learn it: 36 times or exposures compared with 12 times for typically developing children. ...
Learning about resiliency in foster children
Professor Yo Jackson and her team are analyzing data from one of the largest longitudinal studies of foster children ever undertaken. “We know so much more about these children than most research efforts in the past and we are in a great position to tell their stories,” she said. ...
New KU research sheds light on behavioral differences between boys and girls with autism
In their study, which is based on nearly a decade of research and clinical experience, Jamison and her team recommend creating a structured plan of action designed for each individual specific group of participants. The GNO instructional framework considers the social competence and target behaviors for each participant, the context...
Grant set to improve community participation by people with disabilities
The University of Kansas Research and Training Center on Independent Living (RTC/IL) has been awarded a five-year, $4.375 million grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research to promote community participation for adults with physical disabilities. The project is a collaboration with the University of Montana...
KU intellectual disabilities research center wins $5.40 million grant
The Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center has been awarded a five-year, $5.40 million cooperative agreement from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. ...
CDC grant to improve access to health program for individuals with disabilities
Researchers at the University of Kansas have landed a grant to help improve the health of individuals with disabilities by increasing accessibility to programs and removing barriers to services designed to promote healthy living. ...
Three LSI-affiliated researchers named 2016 KU Women of Distinction as "Innovators Advancing Learning through Technology"
LAWRENCE — Twenty-three women with ties to the University of Kansas are featured in the 2016-2017 Women of Distinction calendar. The Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, which produces the poster-sized calendar, will host a reception to honor the women and their achievements Aug. 30. ...
2016-17 Women of Distinction Calendar honors KU leaders
LAWRENCE — Twenty-three women with ties to the University of Kansas are featured in the 2016-2017 Women of Distinction calendar. The Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity, which produces the poster-sized calendar, will host a reception to honor the women and their achievements Aug. 30. ...
Research-based online tool empowers Peace Corps work in Africa
The University of Kansas is partnering with the Peace Corps to provide custom, web-based resources to staff and volunteers in Africa who are working to boost health and development. ...
Friends of LSI recognize outstanding researchers
The Friends of Life Span recognized outstanding LSI investigators and graduate students at its annual awards dinner held April 8. ...
Researchers awarded $2.4M NIH grant to study leading genetic cause of autism
University of Kansas researchers have been awarded a five-year, $2.4 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to study the effects of parenting on the development and behavior of adolescents with Fragile X syndrome, a single-gene disorder that is the most common...
Five faculty members earn distinguished professor status
Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Sara Rosen has appointed five University of Kansas faculty members to be university distinguished professors. The appointments for professors Alice Bean in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Monica Biernat in the Department of Psychology, Chuck Epp in the School of Public Affairs and...
Grant affirms KU's developmental and disability research structure
The Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (KIDDRC) has been awarded a five-year $5.40 million cooperative agreement from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. ...
Learning how to improve health empowers people with disabilities
Maria* was critically injured in an act of domestic violence. Bradley,* a veteran, returned from Iraq with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. ...
Watson-Thompson lauded for service learning work
The KU Center for Civic and Social Responsibility honored Jomella Watson-Thompson with one of its 2016 Faculty and Student Excellence in Service Learning Awards presented April 7 on the KU-Lawrence campus. ...
Schroeders establish research award for young LSI investigators
As a newly minted Ph.D. in the late 1960s, Stephen Schroeder received dozens of small grants from his own institution before grabbing the academic equivalent of the brass ring – a major grant from a federal agency. The time and effort it took left an impression. ...
Tour focuses on accessibility for aspiring farmers with disabilities
The Kansas AgrAbility Project recently gave a large group of soldiers transitioning to civilian life and veterans from Fort Riley an up-close look at how people with disabilities can be active, successful farmers in the Sunflower State. ...
Conclusion of Healthy Communities Study: KU Work Group for Community Health and Development
KU collaborates with World Health Organization on global issues
The Life Span Institute’s Work Group for Community Health and Development has been re-designated as an of official World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Community Health and Development for another four years (2016-2020). ...
National education initiative becomes affiliated research center
LAWRENCE — The Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation Center has become the Life Span Institute’s 14th affiliated center. ...
Major study will untangle complexities of kids’ response to trauma
LAWRENCE — Before reaching age 5, up to 45 percent of children in the United States experience “significant and non-normative” trauma such as maltreatment, chronic stress caused by poverty, exposure to violence at home or in the community, or a parent suffering from an alcohol, drug or psychological problem. ...
Study: Most K-12 online learning content does not meet needs of students with disabilities
LAWRENCE — Online education is growing rapidly, reaching millions of students every day. However, a Center on Online Learning and Students with Disabilities at the University of Kansas study has found the majority of online educational products are not designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities and struggling...
A new NIH-funded study will determine if DHA supplements can prevent premature births
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study led by University of Kansas Medical Center researchers could lead to a reduction in early preterm births -births before 34 weeks of gestation - which are a major burden on the health care system and a concern for mothers worldwide. ...
Could daily dose of DHA help prevent premature births?
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study led by University of Kansas Medical Center researchers could lead to a reduction in early preterm births -births before 34 weeks of gestation - which are a major burden on the health care system and a concern for mothers worldwide. ...
Award to fund research on brain-computer interface control of communication device
LAWRENCE — University of Kansas neuroscientist Jonathan Brumberg has been awarded a $25,000 New Century Scholars Research Grant by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation to develop and test a brain-computer interface (BCI) that will directly control commercially available augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices for individuals with profound speech and motor...
Diabetes self-management, support improve health outcomes in underserved communities
LAWRENCE — Even in communities with barriers to health care, exercise opportunities and healthy food, residents with diabetes saw improved health outcomes when they participated in programs that took a coordinated care approach to diabetes self-management. ...
New director named for Fragile X project
Shelley Bredin-Oja has been named the full-time project coordinator for Fragile X longitudinal research directed by Steve Warren, effective April 1. Bredin-Oja earned her Ph.D. at KU in 2012 in speech-language-hearing and worked in Marc Fey’s Language Intervention Lab at KUMC until February 2015 when she became a part-time associate...
What works and what doesn’t: Francisco leads analysis of health systems improvement
The KU Work Group for Community Health and Development has received a one-year $276,00 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to identify and understand benchmarks of success among improvement initiatives aimed at community health systems. Researchers will pull together a team of practitioners and researchers to study community health...