Lab leadership rendezvous in Stockholm!
This week our post-doctoral fellow Dr. Olivia Surgent, PhD candidate Emily Skaletski, and PI Dr. Brittany Travers met up in Stockholm, Sweden. They visited the Nobel prize museum, saw the Royal Palace, and generally took …
May 9, 2023
Dr. Olivia Surgent presents poster at INSAR
Dr. Olivia Surgent presented her poster this week at the annual meeting for the International Society for Autism Research in Stockholm, Sweden! Her presentation highlighted the unique sensorimotor pathways for grip strength in the brain …
May 8, 2023
URS Student Presentations
Our Undergraduate Research Scholar (URS) students had their presentations last week at Union South! Susan Lei, Lauren Salmi, Madelyn Scheid, and Roselyn Pacheco presented our Brainy Movement Study for Kids to the program …
May 2, 2023
Dr. Travers shares our work and visits strengths-based school for autistic individuals in Barcelona
As a part of Dr. Travers’ Fulbright scholarship work in Malaga, Spain, she has the opportunity to travel and share our research with others. Last week she had the privilege of visiting Carrilet, …
February 6, 2023
Way to go, 2nd Year OTDs, on your poster session!
Our awesome 2nd Year Occupational Therapy Doctoral students presented their work at the OT program’s poster session. Their project investigated sensorimotor differences and motor skills in children with autism (ASD) and ADHD and children with …
January 19, 2023
We’re much better at research than we are at bowling…
We might not be great at bowling, but our lab knows how to use those motor skills and make a good effort! In celebration of the end of the semester and all that we have …
December 6, 2022
Congratulations, Dr. Olivia Surgent!
This week Olivia successfully defended her dissertation to her committee, earning her PhD! Her dissertation project focused on grip strength and its neural correlates in children with and without autism. Her work has been central …
December 2, 2022
Emily Satterlund stopped by for a visit!
Our former Research Intern Emily Satterlund (third from the left) came back to visit lab! Emily is almost halfway through her first year at the University of Michigan Medical School. She played a huge part …
November 21, 2022
Emily Skaletski successfully defended her proposal!
On Thursday 11/10, our PhD candidate Emily Skaletski successfully defended her dissertation proposal to her committee! Her proposal centers around how participation in activities might impact the relation between features of autism and ADHD and …
November 18, 2022
Brainy Movement and UW LINK Studies entering new phase of data collection
The Brainy Movement Study for Kids and UW LINK Study have been seeing participants and their families now since 2019 and 2021 respectively. These two projects are now entering new phases in their data collection, …
November 7, 2022
Emily Skaletski passed her preliminary exam!
Emily Skaletski recently completed her preliminary examination process, transitioning to PhD candidacy. In her department, preliminary examinations include 16 hours of writing, followed by a two-hour defense where committee members can ask questions on the …
October 18, 2022
We went to Paris!
Dr. Brittany Travers and our PhD student Emily Skaletski took a trip across the pond to Paris for the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) conference! Emily presented on her dissertation project on the quality …
September 12, 2022
UW-Madison researchers using Tai Chi, video games to improve balance among adolescents with autism
New research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows balance training using video games changed the brain structure of adolescents with autism and helped improve balance, posture and the severity of autism symptoms.
January 17, 2022
UW-Madison researchers study balance in autistic teens using Wii Fit
As part of a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Waisman Center, teens spent three hours a week teetering on Nintendo Wii balance boards, mimicking tai chi and yoga poses prompted on a screen.
January 13, 2022
Brain’s center of automatic body functions has autism links
The brainstem’s white matter — the nerve fibers that connect brain regions — may be altered in autistic people. Among boys and men with autism, those with more poorly organized white matter in the brainstem …
August 20, 2020
Traits of autism, attention deficit linked to small brainstem
The severity of autism tracks closely with that of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and the brainstem may underlie this connection: Children with either condition who have a small brainstem tend to have severe traits.
October 20, 2019