Category: News
Variation in Sweat Testing Analysis: PTC VISTA
Sweat chloride determinations are used to confirm the diagnosis of CF and also serve as a biomarker for CFTR gene function in clinical trials using protein modulation therapy. Currently, there is uncertainty surrounding the appropriate degree of change in sweat chloride concentrations which reflects a positive response to an investigational drug. Being able to assess a meaningful … Read more
A Multilinguistic Analysis of Spelling Errors among Children with Hearing Loss
Children with hearing loss face a variety of developmental challenges in the domains of language and literacy, including spelling. The purpose of the proposed study is to investigate the impact of linguistic sources of knowledge on spelling among children with hearing loss, utilizing a multilinguistic analytic approach that reflects recent theoretical and empirical understandings … Read more
Autism Spectrum Disorder State Implementation Project
The goal of this project is to increase the collaboration among public and private agencies in the state of North Carolina in order to improve screening, assessment, diagnosis, and early intervention for children suspected of ASD ages birth to 5.
Executive Function in Pediatric Hypertension
The goal of this multisite study is to investigate the relationship between primary hypertension and executive function as a novel, emerging target of hypertensive damage in children.
Improving sweat testing performance: a multi-center collaborative initiative towards earlier diagnosis of infants with CF and positive CF newborn screening tests
We aim to reduce sweat testing quantity not sufficient (QNS) rates in infants who are referred to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Accredited Care Centers for follow-up testing after a positive newborn screening (NBS) test. It is important to do this now because there is evidence of both high QNS rates at some centers. Additionally a significant percentage of infants diagnosed with CF … Read more
North Carolina Child Development Survey Cohort 2 (FYI 3.1)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is not formally diagnosed before a child is 2-3 years old, but research has identified a wide array of atypical behaviors that can be seen in infants who will eventually receive a diagnosis. We developed a parent-report survey called the First Year Inventory to identify these pre-diagnostic behaviors in 1-year-olds, collected a large sample of norma … Read more
Patterns and Variations in Emergency Department Visits for U.S. Children with Autism: A Rural-Urban Comparison
This proposed research addresses HRSA-MCH’s priority interest in health services utilization among children with autism and rural-urban differences. A recent study indicated that children with autism were more likely to visit an emergency department (ED) for psychiatric problems compared to children who don’t have autism. However, no research has explored how rural-urban differen … Read more
Perceptions of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder about Early Intervention Services
This project examines the perspectives of parents of young children (birth to eight years) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) related to the facilitators and challenges across three key time points: between first concerns and consulting with a professional, up through the diagnosis, and through entry into early intervention. Eight focus groups (4 English speaking, 2 Spanish spea … Read more
Precursors to the Development of Anxiety Disorders in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Anxiety disorders are extremely common among individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), occurring at four times the rate of the general population. The presence of an anxiety disorder negatively affects family functioning, friendship development, and school functioning. Recent research is beginning to provide some clues regarding early risk factors for anxiety in individual … Read more
Early Development Project-2
Title: Efficacy of a Parent-Mediated Intervention for One-Year-Olds at-Risk for Autism (Early Development Project-2) Purpose: To assess the efficacy of an early intervention program called Adaptive Responsive Teaching in improving developmental outcomes and ameliorating symptom severity among one-year-olds at-risk for autism spectrum disorders (i.e., “autism”). Setting: The resea … Read more