What are the goals of the study?
The “Learning about Autism and ADHD Markers in Babies,” or LAAMB, Study seeks to understand early markers of self-regulation and social communication symptoms across early development, with a focus on attention regulation, emotion regulation, and psychophysiological indicators. The goal is that this research will improve early identification of disorders like ASD and ADHD, and encourage the development of interventions that can be applied across a range of infants and toddlers at risk. This study is funded by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH R01 MH121416). Our collaborator on this project is Dr. Erica Musser from Florida International University..
What will happen during the visit or online?
This study is focused on infant siblings of children with autism, infant siblings of children with ADHD, and infants of parents with ADHD – all of whom are at elevated risk for these conditions – as well as infant siblings of typically developing children. We follow the development of these infants multiple times between 6 and 36 months of age, monitoring early attention skills, emotion regulation, self-control, social and communication skills, and play behaviors. We use a variety of methods including eye tracking, measurement of physiological regulation (e.g., heart rate), interactive tasks between the infant/toddler and an examiner, parent-child play, and parent interviews. At age 3, diagnostic determinations (autism, ADHD concerns, etc.) are made.
How will this help families?
The goal is that this research will improve early identification of disorders like ASD and ADHD, and encourage the development of interventions that can be applied across a range of infants and toddlers at risk. Enrolled families receive tracking of their baby’s development and behavior with feedback from experts.
