December 22, 2008

Heather Wadsworth. Download image.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB graduate student Heather M. Wadsworth of Chalkville is the first recipient of a new grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Network Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Center at UAB. Wadsworth, along with her mentor, Assistant Professor Rajesh Kana, Ph.D., of the UAB Department of Psychology, will use the $10,000 award to conduct a pilot study on autism.

Wadsworth, who is pursuing her doctorate in the UAB Medical/Clinical Psychology Program, says she became interested in autism as an undergraduate student while working as a residential trainer for children with developmental disabilities. She now plans to study how autism affects a person's ability to imitate others.         

"Imitation is a core deficit of autism," said Wadsworth. "If you can't imitate others, you may have difficulty learning social skills. Imitation skills may lead to developing language skills and empathy. This deficit could magnify other deficits that cause a wide degree of social difficulties for people with autism."

Under Assistant Professor Kana's direction, Wadsworth will use fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) as children with autism perform several tasks involving imitation. She will use the fMRI, to observe how their brains react as they perform the tasks. She hopes her research will lead to new training programs for children with autism.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Network Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Center at UAB awards grants to graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty members for pilot studies aimed at advancing understanding of intellectual and developmental disabilities, ultimately leading to new diagnostics and treatments.