News
KU Lands Grants to Work with Families, Communities to Improve Transition for Individuals with Disabilities
The University of Kansas has secured a pair of grants that will enable researchers to partner with community leaders, self-advocates with disabilities, and families to help improve the transition of young people with disabilities from school to vocational training, higher education, and careers. ...
International Report on Autism Offers Comprehensive Model of Autism Care
KU-Led National Health Project Awarded $600,000 Grant to Study Experiences of People with Disabilities Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic
Autism Research That Relies On Preschool Peers Receives Grant To Study Predictive Factors For Communication Development
KU collaborative project that will evaluate method to help children’s literacy skills awarded $3.5 million
LAWRENCE – A national team that includes researchers from the University of Kansas has launched a five-year, $3.5 million project to study the efficacy of a language and comprehension program for elementary-age children. ...
Honoring a Life: Family Hopes Sharing Story and Establishing Research Fund Will Reduce Stigma of Addiction
Juniper Gardens Children's Project Enrolling Preschoolers with Autism for a Research Study
Partnership aims to improve student achievement in Washington, DC, area schools
By focusing on improving the experiences of students with disabilities in Washington, D.C., schools, a University of Kansas center dedicated to improving equity and justice in education will partner with the District of Columbia Office of State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) for a $3 million, five-year program to help educators...
KU researcher to test community-based method to help adolescents with autism take lead in education, careers
Research has shown that when students with disabilities shape their own learning, career and life goals, they attain higher levels of achievement than when following routine curriculum and plans. A University of Kansas researcher has earned a grant to test an evidenced-based intervention designed to enhance self-determination in community-based settings...
Study shows differences in rapidly processing sensory feedback among people with autism spectrum disorder
Sensorimotor issues aren’t well understood in people with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, yet they are important because they can be observed before social and communication indicators for the disorder, and they can predict worse functional outcomes. Such skills can impact everything from handwriting to zipping up a coat to...
Study shows food choices at an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet tied to likelihood for weight gain
Researcher Begins Trial on How LGBTQ Individuals Experience SMART Recovery Substance Use Program
Sexual and gender minority individuals experience alcohol and substance use disorders at rates much higher than their peers, yet little is known about how treatment and recovery programs work for them. A University of Kansas researcher is leading a study to better understand how members of the LGBTQ community experience...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...
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. ...