Executive Function in Children with Autism
Project Abstract
This study has been in progress from 2004. This project, which is Benjamin Yerys’s dissertation, examines the role of language and the effect of social stress on problem-solving abilities in children with autism. This project also examines these issues in typically developing children.
We have currently seen 12 children between the ages of 5 and 10 and we are now interested in seeing more 4-5-year old typically developing children as well as children with Autism between the ages of 4 and 7. Children and their families participate in a brief battery of neuropsychological measures (e.g., executive function), and children with autism may also participate in a brief battery of cognitive and social-communicative tasks. Participants are paid $15 per lab session.
Major Goals
- Examine Executive Function development in early childhood in children with autism
- Identify whether core deficits truly exist in problem-solving abilities
Funding Source
This project is funded by the National Institute of Child and Human Development, Grant No. IP01HD35468-01, and is part of a nationwide network of state-of-the-art autism research, “Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism”.
Contact Person
Benjamin E. Yerys, M.A.
byerys@nova.psy.du.edu
(303) 315-1780 (phone)
(303) 315-2956 (fax)
4200 E. Ninth Ave. C268-30
Denver , CO 80262
Project Staff
Susan Hepburn, Ph.D., Project Director, Principal Investigator
Benjamin E. Yerys, M.A., Advancet Graduate Student, Co-Investigator, University of Denver
Bruce Pennington, Ph.D., Co-Investigator, University of Denver
Galit Mankin, M.S.W., Senior Professional Research Assistant
Amy Philofsky, M.A., CCC-SLP, Instructor
Shana Nichols, Ph.D., Psychology Fellow
Alison Herndon, B.A., Professional Research Assistant
Erin Flanigan, B.A., Professional Research Assistant
Collaborators
Ralph J. Roberts, Ph.D.
Valerie Stone, Ph.D., University of Queensland, Australia
