- Child and Adolescent NeuroDevelopment Initiative (CANDI)
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CANDO)
- Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research (CDDER)
- Health Surveillance for Adults with Intellectual Disability
- Oral Health Disparities
- MA DDS Prevention Conference
- Preventive Health Screenings for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
- Mortality Review
- Quality Assurance Reports
- Webinars
- Pica
- Constipation and Bowel Obstructions
- Substance Abuse in the Workplace
- Dysphagia, Aspiration, and Choking
- Oral Health Practices
- DDS Safe Transportation of People in Wheelchairs
- Falls Prevention and Intervention Strategies
- Human Rights Training for Self-Advocates
- Human Rights: What Families Need to Know
- Identifying, Healing, and Preventing Pressure Ulcers
- MAP Training Resources
- Adjunct RIA Training Materials
- Clozapine Therapy Training
- DDS MAP Training Resources
- DMH/DCF MAP Training Resources
- Instructions for Virtual Certification Testing
- MAP Curriculum and Adjunct Training Materials
- MedSoft© Version 7.0
- Responsibilities in Action Curriculum and Training Materials
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Fall 2017
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Fall 2019
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Spring 2018
- Spring 2020 MAP Trainer Webinar
- TestMaster Universe
- Warfarin Sodium Therapy Training
- Mandated Reporting of Abuse and Mistreatment
- Recognizing and Reporting Financial Abuse
- Widening the Circle: Expanding Opportunities for Friendship
- Risk Management in Developmental Disabilities
- Understanding and recognizing dementia in IDD
- Aging with Intellectual and Developmental Disability Trainings
- Adapting to Age-Related Changes in the Home, Day Program, and Community
- Aging and Disability Resource Consortia
- General Aging
- Dementia and IDD
- Launching a Memory Café
- Life Sustaining Treatment Policy
- Guardianship and Aging in Intellectual Disabilities Part I
- Guardianship and Aging in Intellectual Disabilities Case Studies Part II
- Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)
- End of Life Definitions
- Five Wishes
- Fostering Social Inclusion and Community Engagement
- Presentations & Publications
- Our Team
- Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Program
- Division of Neuroinformatics
- Healthy People/Healthy Communities
- INDEX
- Insurance Resource Center for Autism & Behavioral Health
- Laboratory for Equity in Autism Dissemination (LEAD) Lab
- Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND)
- Neurobehavioral Science and Neurogenetics
- Pathways to Inclusive Health Care Program
- Sibling Support
Active Studies
• Neonatal Biomarkers StudyNeonatal Biomarkers in Extremely Preterm Babies Predict Childhood Brain Disorders: The Elgan-3 Study (Extremely low gestational age newborns)
With support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn Study completed its third wave of study visits (age 15 year) and begins the fourth wave, as participants reach 17 years of age.
The NIH selected ELGAN, along with similar studies in the United States, to join in a study of about 50,000 children to learn how the Environment influences Child Health Outcomes (ECHO). You can read more about ECHO at https://echochildren.org/
ELGAN researchers have followed over one thousand children born at least 3 months early between 2002 and 2004 at 14 different hospitals in five states. We assessed these premature babies at birth and again when they were two and ten years old. In the first few weeks after birth, when the babies had routine blood tests, we saved a drop or two for later testing. Through analyzing these saved blood samples, we learned that children who had signs of sustained inflammation in their blood were more likely to have development problems when they were 2 and 10 years old.
See our study: www.elganstudy.org
• Social Cognition: Research study for Adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder A magnetic resonance imaging study to measure the concentrations of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain and discover how they are related to the social deficits seen in autism spectrum disorder. We are also testing how a medication changes these neurotransmitter levels, with the goal of using this technology to aid drug development for autism spectrum disorder.
Please see our Social Cognition study brochure
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02901431
• Long-term Antipsychotic Pediatric Safety trial
Please see our Long-term Antipsychotic Pediatric Safety trial brochure
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03522168
• Autism Care Network (ACN): The ACN is a network of autism centers across the US and Canada who are all working to develop and improve reliable, standardized care practices for children and adults with autism and also their families. Our hope is that through our research and data collected from families like yours, we are able to promote optimal health, safety, and quality of life for all individuals with autism. At UMass Chan Medical School we have partnered with the CANDO clinic, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) and countless other providers to enhance care for children with autism and their families. For more information about the ACN please visit https://autismcarenetwork.org/. Please see attached flyer for more information about UMass Chan’s involvement.
Please see our ACN Family Recruitment Flyer
• Digital Helpers Study – This study enrolled teens and young adults ages 14 – 22 who have ASD to help us with a research study using Digital Helpers. The purpose of this study is to learn from teens and young adults on the autism spectrum, their parents/guardians and others, what an Augmented Reality-based Digital Helper should look like, sound like and what it should be able to do so it can be a helper that is useful and enjoyable for teens/young adults with ASD.
Please see our Digital Helper Study brochure
• Enhancing Social Skills for Transition-Age Teens/Young Adults with Autism Applied XR Roleplay Proof of Concept This project proposes to develop enhancements to the existing PEERS® (Program for the Education and Enrichment Relational Skills – a world renowned program for providing evidence-based social skills treatment to individuals with ASD and utilizes in-person, group lessons, and role-play to enhance social skill development) and reduce the number of personnel required to deliver the program. We aim to extend the use of the program in the larger community by harnessing a new type of roleplay capability created using extended reality, XR, (a broad technology that includes virtual reality). This new XR roleplay capability will enable local teens or young adults with ASD to interact with scripted avatars as coaches and role-play with partners online while using their own customizable avatars in a 3-dimensional (3D) location to enhance their social skills reflecting a set of engagements based on a lesson from PEERS®. Recruiting youth with ASD, ages 13-22.
• Gabapentin Trial with MRI: Research study for adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) – A Magnetic Resonance Imaging clinical trial with gabapentin to test how this drug affects neurotransmitter levels. We are also testing whether this drug leads to clinically measurable improvement in core social cognition problems in adolescents ages 13 to 17 with ASD.
Please see our Gabapentin Trial with MRI study brochure
• UMass Baby Brain Study – This study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine how a baby’s social brain develops in the first year of life. We are particularly interested in understanding how the natural hormones of the brain and early social environment influence long-term developmental outcomes, with the goal of discovering innovative strategies for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment in at-risk babies and families. (PI: Kim)
Please see our Baby Brain Study Recruitment Flyer
Other ongoing research studies at the Shriver Center.
As a prospective participant, you may also be interested in the following resources:
• Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s description of a brain scan (MRI) experience [Youtube video made as part of the 2019 American Psychiatric Association annual meeting]
• Publications from the National Institute of Mental Health [resource list from the National Institute of Mental Health]
• Neuroimaging and Mental Illness: A Window Into the Brain
• National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s Children and Clinical Studies