in the news:

Our research on the therapeutic use of interactive robots was featured on NBC at the halftime of the 2010 Notre Dame - Purdue football game.  Click here to see the video!

Also, check out Notre Dame's feature on the intervention study and the accompanying article.

Here is a short interview Dr. Diehl gave to WICU in Erie, PA, about the use of robots in therapy for children with autism.

Dr. Diehl's upcoming talks: 

Please note that Dr. Diehl will have a limited speaking schedule in 2011-2012.  To inquire about scheduling a visit, email fun.lab@nd.edu.

 

1/9/12 - AS-HFA  Parent Group of Goshen, Goshen, IN.  Time - 7-8:30 p.m., 8th St. Mennonite Church, 602 S. 8th St., Goshen.

March 2, 2012 - Invited Speaker, Conference on Individual Linguistic Variation, with Special Attention to Autism. Ottawa, Canada, Time - 11:45 a.m.

 

Dr. Diehl's recent talks:

7/29/11 - 12th International Congress for the Study of Child Language, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada.

5/19/11 - Sonya Ansari Center for Autism, Parent Meeting, South Bend, IN.

4/15/11 - Northern Illinois University, Dept. of Psychology.

3/29/11 - Barber National Institute, Erie, PA.  Click here for flyer.

2/24/11 - University of Illinois at Chicago, Midwest Autism Consortium. 

2/15/11 - Hillsdale College, Autism workshop. Click Here

for pdf of talk.

10/22/10 -  University of Missouri Dept. of Psychology, Columbia, MO.

5/20/10 - International Meeting For Autism Research, Philadelphia, PA

For more information on upcoming events, PDF copies of previous talks, or general questions about autism, email us at fun.lab@nd.edu

 

 

Welcome to the

Welcome to the homepage of the Laboratory For Understanding Neurodevelopment.  We are a group of researchers, clinicians, and students who share a common interest in understanding neurodevelopmental disorders, including Autism, Asperger syndrome, PDD, and Dyslexia.

Currently, we are working to understand Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). We are interested in how individuals with ASDs  (including Autism, Asperger Syndrome, and PDD) understand language in order to improve treatment of the disorder.

We are also beginning research on visual processing strengths in children and adults with Dyslexia. The hope is that this work will be useful for developing effective teaching strategies for children who have difficulty learning to read.

 

Alison Singer Talk Highlights 3rd Annual Notre Dame Autism Mini-Conference

The Special Friends organization and the F.U.N. Lab would like to officially announce that Allison Singer (Autism Science Foundation) will be the keynote speaker for our annual autism conference on Thursday, March 22nd, 2011. Ms. Singer is arguably the most influential advocate for autism legislation, research, and services in the United States.

From the Autism Science Foundation website:
Alison Tepper Singer is Founder and President of the Autism Science Foundation. Singer was formerly Executive Vice President of Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism advocacy organization. In 2007, she was appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) where she has played a key role in developing the new federal strategic plan for autism research. She has appeared on Oprah, The Dr. Oz Show, The Apprentice, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show and many other news programs discussing autism research and other autism-related issues. Prior to joining Autism Speaks, Ms. Singer spent 14 years as a producer at NBC and CNBC. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. She has a daughter and an older brother with autism. She serves on many boards of autism-related organizations.

This is the third year of the Notre Dame autism conference. Previous speakers have included Kevin Pelphrey (Yale University) and Christopher McDougle (formerly of Indiana University, currently at Harvard Medical School). Previous topics have included neuroscience and psychopharmacology. The conference is open to university students, faculty, and the community. For more information, please contact the Special Friends organization at sfriends@nd.edu.

Online Study for Parents!

Are you the primary caregiver of a child between the ages of 0 to 21 years who has been diagnosed with autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ASD, or PDD?  If yes, you could participate in a research study trying to better understand the involvement of parents in interventions for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  If you decide to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete four anonymous questionnaires online.  The study will take approximately 45 minutes to one hour to complete.  After you are done completing all the questionnaires, you will have the option to provide your email to be entered into a drawing for one of five $20 gift certificates.  If you are interested, please click the following link.  This will take you to the online study:

:https://notredamecsr.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9ELE8BotvwyykKw 

For more information about this study, please contact Karen Tang at (574) 631-8126 or ktang@nd.edu, or Joshua Diehl, Ph.D. at (574) 631-5729.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keywords:  Autism, Autism in Indiana, Asperger, Autism Research at Notre Dame, autism graduate school