Jessica Klusek, a doctoral student in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, received the 2011 James J. Gallagher Dissertation Award.
The award was established to support a student whose work involves young children or family support and is policy-related. Klusek is investigating how children with autism and fragile X syndrome use language in social situations, such as during a conversation. Through this work, Klusek hopes to further understanding of factors that might influence pragmatic language performance, which can help develop targeted interventions.
The Gallagher Dissertation Award is named in honor of Dr. James Gallagher, who served as director of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute from 1970 to 1987 and has actively continued his research at the Institute.