UConn’s Connect Project Explores Language Abilities in Autism

Congrats to Hannah Thomas and undergraduate lab alum Aditi Sirsikar on their new publication, Convergence and discrepancy between self- and informant-reported depressive symptoms in young autistic adults in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Crutcher, J., Butler, E., Burke, J. D., Naigles, L., Fein, D. A., & Eigsti, I. M. (in press). Pragmatic language and associations with externalizing behaviors in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those who have lost the ASD diagnosis. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Congrats to post-doctoral fellow Teresa Girolamo on her new position at San Diego State University, and her multiple recent publications:

Girolamo, T., Castro, N., Hendricks, A. E., Ghali, S., & Eigsti, I. M. (2022). Implementation of Open Science Practices in Communication Sciences and Disorders Research With Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1044/2022_jslhr-22-00272

Girolamo, T., Parker, T., & Eigsti, I. M. (2022). Incorporating DisCrit theory to combat systematic exclusion of BIPOC in clinical neuroscience. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.988092

Girolamo, T., Ghali, S., & Eigsti, I. M. (2023). A community-based approach to longitudinal language research with racially and ethnically minoritized autistic young adults: Lessons learned and new directions. American Journal of Speech and Language Pathology, 32(3), 977-988. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_ajslp-22-00341

Girolamo, T., Shen, L., Gulick, A., Rice, M. L., & Eigsti, I. M. (in press). Studies pertaining to language impairment in school-age autistic individuals underreport participant sociodemographics: A systematic review. Autism.

Congratulations to lab alum Amanda Yagan on having her work as a clinical research assistant in the Advanced Baby Imaging Lab at Rhode Island Hospital featured in the most recent issue of UConn Magazine! Here is the link to her story which gives credit to postdoctoral fellow Caroline Larson and Dr. Inge-Marie Eigsti for their mentorship: https://magazine.uconn.edu/2022/10/18/out-of-the-minds-of-babes/

 

We are delighted to share a new publication, describing the Low Verbal Investigatory Screener (LVIS).  We hope that this measure will prove useful to the broader community!

Naples*, Tenenbaum*,  Jones, Righi, Sheinkopf  & Eigsti (in press). Exploring communicative competence in autistic children who are minimally verbal: The Low Verbal Investigatory Survey for Autism (LVIS). Autism. *First and second author made equal contributions.

And learn more about the LVIS here:

eLow-Verbal Investigatory Survey (eLVIS) Project Home

Congrats to Dr. Melina West, former lab post-doc, on her two recent publications examining Maladaptive Daydreaming and Divergent Thinking (a dimension of creativity). Check them out here!:

(1) West, M. J., Somer, E., & Eigsti, I.-M. (2022). Immersive and Maladaptive Daydreaming and Divergent Thinking in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 0(0), 02762366221129819. https://doi.org/10.1177/02762366221129819

(2) West, M. J., Somer, E., & Eigsti, I. M. (in press). Shared challenges and comorbidity of maladaptive daydreaming and autism spectrum disorders. Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Congratulations to Carrie Larson on her new ASHFoundation grant, “Language-Related Neural Function in Developmental Language Disorder” and to Teresa Girolamo on her ASHFoundation grant, “Determining the Role of Social Determinants of Health in Young Adulthood Outcomes of Autistic BIPOC With Language Impairment” !! 

Eigsti, I. M., Thomas, R. P., Stabile, M., Mohan, A., Dieckhaus, M. F. S., Crutcher, J., Taverna, E., & Fein, D. A. (in press). Online administration of the ADOS for research with adolescents and adults in response to the pandemic. Autism Research.

Please contact us with any questions about this exciting new procedure!

Congrats to our graduate student Mackenzie Stabile on her new publication! 🎊

Stabile, M., & Eigsti, I. M. (in press). Research Note: Lexical Alignment and Communicative Success. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.