News
Participants Sought for App Study
The Health Behavior and Technology Lab at the University of Kansas is conducting a research study on eating experiences of individuals using a mobile app called SmartIntakeQnA. ...
KU researchers receive $2.4 million grant to increase access to and evaluate online interventions for autism spectrum disorder
As the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools and forced many children with autism spectrum disorder to be schooled at home, professionals and families became concerned that children with disabilities might not be receiving adequate and specialized instruction because teachers had limited time or resources needed to support all children and parents. ...
Objectivity with Heart: A Conversation with Investigator Nancy Brady
Nancy Brady, Professor and Chair in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and Disorders at the University of Kansas and a researcher at the Life Span Institute, applies her interest in communication to her research focused on clinical practices that benefit individuals who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. ...
University of Kansas Autism Researcher Invited to Advise Sesame Workshop
Brian Boyd, director of the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at the KU Life Span Institute, was invited by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, to join an advisory meeting on May 18th to discuss recommendations for new resources for Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children. ...
KU's Project WRITE Helps Struggling Learners Improve Writing Skills
A new body of research from the University of Kansas has found that a new program is highly effective at helping teachers use technology to improve the writing skills of students, especially those with disabilities, as well as save educators time and give them new tools to assess learners’ progress. ...
Practitioners, Families, Students and Researchers Invited to 2021 KU Autism Conference
LAWRENCE - The Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, part of the University of Kansas Life Span Institute, will host the conference Autism Across the Life Span on April 23. ...
KU Life Span Institute to Host Conference on Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas Life Span Institute is partnering with the Baylor College of Medicine to host the 54th annual Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities from April 5 to April 8, 2021. ...
Applying Adaptive Exercise to Meet the Needs of People with Disabilities
Lyndsie Koon applies her interdisciplinary interests in exercise and disability to conduct research that aims to improve the health and well-being of individuals with disabilities across the life span. ...
Researchers write chapters for book on disability in public health, gaps coverage
LAWRENCE — Two University of Kansas researchers have contributed chapters for a book on the history of disability as part of public health and how insurance influences health outcomes for individuals with disabilities. ...
KU Researchers to Offer Career Development Assistance to Rural Residents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Researchers at the University of Kansas have launched a study to test the outcomes of a career design model, delivered virtually, that supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to set and work toward self-determined career goals. Testing the delivery of self-determination interventions via telehealth is timely not only because...
Web Application Developed at KU Shows Promise in Helping Improve the Communication Skills of Infants and Young Children
Grant-Funded Collaboration Between Kansas City, Kan. Community and KU Aims to Reduce Youth Violence
Spring Seminar Series to Feature Nationally Renowned Expert in Addiction and Health Disparities in Racial and Ethnic Minorities
LAWRENCE – The Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the University of Kansas will kick off its spring seminar series featuring a talk on community-responsive interventions for addictive behaviors. ...
Virtual Reality Application Offers Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder a Way to Practice Social Skills
Researchers Pivot to Offer Addiction Recovery Meetings Remotely During Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has created new perils and challenges for people experiencing substance use disorders and addictive behaviors. Social distancing and isolation can trigger loneliness, anxiety and depression. These circumstances have put some “recreational users” at risk for developing addictions and caused some in recovery from addictions to relapse. ...
McDaniel Awarded Grant to Study Vocalization ins Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
The American Speech-Language Hearing Foundation has awarded Jena McDaniel, post-doctoral fellow at the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, a 2020 New Investigator Research Grant. The $10,000 award will fund research on improving the vocal production and language development for children with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD. ...
Researcher Receives Grant to Study the Relationship between Addiction and Decision-Making
A federal grant awarded through the KU Medical Center Frontiers program to a Life Span Institute investigator will support addiction research focused on the relationship between tobacco addiction and decision-making. ...
Web Application Developed at KU Shows Promise in Helping Improve the Communication Skills of Infants and Young Children
LAWRENCE - Using data to inform decisions or next steps isn’t just the bedrock of boardrooms and business. A team of University of Kansas researchers has shown that it’s also the foundation for improving the language development and communication skills of infants and toddlers. ...
University of Kansas Childcare Training Partnership awarded $2.3 million
LAWRENCE – Two previously independent early care and education training programs are collaborating to provide professional development opportunities and technical assistance to childcare providers across Kansas, with a total grant of $2.3 million awarded through the Kansas Department for Children and Families (KDCF). ...
Seeking to Improve the Education of Young Bilingual Children
When 11-year-old Xigrid Soto moved to the continental United States from Puerto Rico with her family, her new community and the school lacked the support she needed. ...
Interventions for Families, Adolescents and Young Children Are Focus of Autism Research Programs Awarded $13 Million
The University of Kansas, through the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, is a partner in two autism spectrum disorder research projects that have recently been awarded $13 million in federal grants. ...
People with Disabilities View Health Care Access as Human Right, Study Shows
Politicians discuss the ins and outs of health care while trying to win votes, but for some Americans, policymakers do not seem to be listening. University of Kansas researchers have published a study about perspectives of individuals with disabilities on health care policy, and respondents overwhelmingly stated access to health...
New Addiction Research Handbook Co-Authored by KU Addiction Center Scientists
KU Scientist Richard L. (Dick) Schiefelbusch, 1918-2020, Leaves a Legacy on Disability Research
Richard L. (Dick) Schiefelbusch, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, longtime director of the Bureau of Child Research, and namesake of the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, has died at age 102. ...
KU develops Self-monitoring App to Help Students Stay On Tasks during COVID-19
Many students face challenges staying focused and on task in the classroom. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed many homes into classrooms, those struggles have become even more challenging for parents, students and teachers. University of Kansas researchers have developed a web-based, self-monitoring system that has proven to help...
KU leads project to boost social and academic supports for at-home and school learning
LAWRENCE — The COVID-19 pandemic has touched every corner of society but perhaps affected none more profoundly than education. Schools were forced to close their doors, parents became teachers, and students transitioned to all-online instruction. ...
KU addiction research and treatment center announces fall 2020 seminar series
The Cofrin Logan Center for Addiction Research and Treatment at the University of Kansas is launching its fall seminar series with a talk by a nationally recognized researcher in the use of psilocybin as a treatment for addiction, anxiety, and depression. ...
Researchers land $3.3M grant to test combined interventions for students with autism spectrum disorder
University of Kansas researchers, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina, have secured a new grant to test the combination of two interventions designed to help students with autism spectrum disorder boost educational achievement and improve their transition to life after school. ...
Study Reveals Less Connectivity Between Key Brain Regions in People with FXTAS Premutation
A new paper in the journal NeuroImage: Clinical from researchers at the University of Kansas reveals a possible early indicator of Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome, or FXTAS. The disease afflicts some older people who carry a “premutation” of the gene known as FMR1, which can lead to impairments in movement...