News
New federally-funded project builds on research to reduce youth violence
New smartphone app helps students with eating disorders at KU
A look back at the 2023 Gatlinburg Conference
The KU Life Span Institute hosted the Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities April 10-13, 2023. One of the premier conferences for behavioral scientists conducting research on intellectual and developmental disabilities, the conference brings together scientists from around the world to discuss research and collaborate. ...
Record attendance at Autism Across the Life Span conference
ATK council discusses plans to increase communication technology across Kansas
The Assistive Technology for Kansans Advisory Council, learned about initiatives to increase communication and technology access across the state on March 23 during the council’s spring meeting. ...
Alternatives to Guardianship Focus of KU Research, Senate Committee Hearing
People frequently assume guardianship is the best or only option for adults with disabilities who need supports with decision making. However, the highly restrictive nature of legal guardianship arrangements is often not well understood, and people are often unaware of how difficult and expensive guardianship arrangements can be to...
Researchers land grant to help K-2 teachers test strategies to reduce challenging classroom behavior
KU autism conference to feature wide range of sessions for professionals, scientists, families
Life Span Institute director honored for service in roles in KU College, Office of Research
Colleagues and administrators gathered on Feb. 16 to honor Life Span Institute Director John Colombo for his service in interim roles during the past five years at KU. ...
KU Research Supports Competitive, Integrated Employment for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Research by KU scientists and others has long reinforced that career development opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities provide not only financial benefits, but improved physical and mental health, and better quality of life. Researchers also have established that with appropriate supports, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities...
Podcast by and for Native Americans shines light on disability, mental health
Life Span Institute researcher among KU Research Achievement Award winners
KU Leading Project to Aid Students Who Internalized Anxious Feelings from Pandemic
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas has secured grant funding to conduct a project to look for students with internalizing behaviors who have anxious feelings that may negatively affect their education, and to help teachers implement new strategies to attend to those feelings while re-engaging in school. ...
Research Shows Impact of 'Hyper-Palatable' Foods Across Four Diets
If losing weight was among your 2023 resolutions, findings by researchers from KU and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) may provide clearer guidance about the food you put on your plate. ...
KU Cofrin Logan Center to Host Public Lecture on Vaping, Teen Health
Do you have questions about vaping? Want to know more about the health effects of e-cigarettes? Confused by terms like cart, Vuse, mod or Puff Bar? ...
Karrie Shogren Named Distinguished Professor
2023 Life Span Institute Collaboratory focuses on adapting to changes in research
More than 100 researchers, staff and graduate students from the KU Life Span Institute gathered in person for the 2023 Collaboratory on Jan. 12 to learn about the health of institute, discuss ways the COVID-19 pandemic has changed their work, and to focus on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in...
Study Shows SMART Recovery Holds Potential to Help LGBTQ Population with Alcohol, Substance Use
People looking for help in reducing their alcohol and other substance use often turn to 12-step programs. But while research shows that LGBTQ individuals are more likely to struggle with substance use issues than their peers, they also often face barriers to engaging in traditional treatment programs. A trial by...
Federal surveys fail to count 20 to 43% of individuals who are disabled
Grant to Expand Research That Supports Kansans with Disabilities and Their Families
Professional Development Opportunity for Infant and Toddler Early Intervention Providers or Home Visitors
Grant to expand KU education tool to meet the needs of students and teachers in rural schools
A federal agency has granted the University of Kansas a $15 million award to expand coaching and training to rural schools for an education tool that has been proven effective at boosting engagement and reducing disruptive behaviors in the classroom. ...
Keep in control of alcohol intake over the holidays with these tips
$3M award to boost IDD research at KU
The University of Kansas has awarded the KU Life Span Institute a $3 million grant to expand the organization’s capacity, staff, recruitment, and training in intellectual and developmental disability research. ...
New $10 Million Grant to Promote Equity Leadership and Educator Well-Being
Federal surveys missing as many as 43 percent of individuals with disabilities
To better understand the prevalence of disability in America and to address health disparities, the Affordable Care Act mandated that federal health surveys collect data to identify people with disabilities. But new research from the University of Kansas has found that the two most common sets of disability questions used...
CDC-Funded Research Project at KU to Evaluate Initiatives to Reduce Youth Violence in Kansas City Metro Area
With an aim to inform and develop local solutions to reduce community rates of youth violence nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded the University of Kansas a grant to establish one of only five federally funded national centers of excellence on youth violence prevention. ...
New federal awards to SWIFT Education Center will fund projects that move schools from inclusion to rightful presence
SWIFT Education Center, within the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas, has received two federal awards for a total of $13 million to support educational systems in transforming their policies and practices to create schools where students have the resources and sense of belonging that they need to...
Fall Seminar Series Features Experts in Substance Use and Treatment, Eating Behaviors and LGBTQ+ Health Disparities
The Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the University of Kansas will launch its fall seminar series this week with a talk presented by a University of Kentucky scientist who studies cocaine use disorder. ...
Measure to Teach Students Self-Determination Translated to American Sign Language, Shown to be Effective with Deaf Youth
LAWRENCE — A research-based assessment of self-determination is effective with deaf youth and speakers of American Sign Language, a new study from the University of Kansas and the University of Texas at Austin has shown. Promoting self-determination is a way to give young people agency in their education and goals...