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Parents of Children with Special Needs

Help us learn about the social interactions and communication of children with delayed development.

Who can participate? 

Children aged 2 ½ through 5 ½ years: This study focuses on the communication and social interaction abilities of young children with mild to moderate delays in development.

Children showing only mild delays in learning are welcome to participate. We also invite children with delays of unknown cause or with various diagnoses, including (but not limited to!) Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, Sotos syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, Smith-Magenis syndrome, Fragile-X syndrome, Fetal Alcohol syndrome, Autism, Pervasive Developmental Disorders.

What does participation involve? 

Participation usually takes about 2 hours, including time for breaks. Each child is seen individually or with a parent. During the session, the researcher presents several cognitive and language tasks to your child (e.g., naming pictures, putting together a pattern with blocks, and repeating numbers). Your child will also participate in a videotaped structured play situation with the researcher to measure communication and social interaction abilities. You will also be asked to complete questionnaires about the behavior and personality characteristics of your child.

Benefits

You can receive, upon request, a written summary of your child’s performance on the cognitive and language tasks administered. Parents often find this helpful for educational planning.

Where? 

We ask that you come with your child to the Child Neurodevelopment Research Lab at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Department of Psychology.  Parking is provided.

When?

Sessions can take place during the week (day or evening) or on weekends.

If you or someone you know would like to participate in this research, or would like to know more about this project, please contact the Child Neurodevelopment Research Lab at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee at (414) 229-2586. We look forward to hearing from you.