Research Interests:
Developmental psychopathology, diagnosis of developmental disabilities and intervention services, coping strategies in families with a developmentally disabled member.
Research Projects:
Longitudinal study of development in autism.
Parental reporting of children's development and behavior.
Intentionality.
Degree of satisfaction with intervention services.
Abstracts of Current Research :
Comparison between parental report and clinical assessment in children with autism: This project compares the behavioral and developmental descriptions of young children with autism as reported by their parents with the results of clinical testing by trained professionals. This will assist in localizing similarities and differences in the way parents and professionals see these children. The parents are interviewed using two semi-structured standardized interviews. The clinical testing involves the use of three instruments. The parental interviewing began in January 1998 and so far twenty-six children have been assessed clinically with the Mullen, the ADOS and the SICD tests.
Communicative intent as a basis for subtyping in autism:This project comprises the description of communicative intent of young children with autism, as a possible means for differentiating among sub-groups in autism. Communicative intent of children with autism, ages 3 - 5 years old, will be analyzed in semi-structured situations which encourage communicative intent expression. Investigating communicative intent in autism may achieve a greater understanding of the social impairment in autism as well as allowing an assessment of the extent to which communication interacts with social relatedness in normal development. Understanding various communication profiles in autism will also enable assessment of specific issues in communication which form the basis of appropriate intervention programs for young children with autism.
Cory Shulman's site at the Research and Development Authority