Reading

A poster on the relationship between statistical learning, sign language acquisition, and reading ability in Deaf adults.

A poster on autistic children’s engagement of the language system during letter statistical learning.

A poster on autistic children’s engagement of the language system during letter statistical learning.

A poster on the relationship between linguistic and non-linguistic statistical learning in Deaf adults.

How do reading difficulties in autism compare to dyslexia on a behavioral and neural level and can reading interventions designed for disorders like dyslexia similarly support struggling autistic readers? In this project, we use characterizations of reading and potentially intertwined cognitive abilities and measures of reading decoding and comprehension in MRI to capture the profiles and underpinning of reading disorders in autism, compare this to dyslexia, and determine potential intervention success. Major (ongoing) contributions: conceptualize, design, program, run, and analyze behavioral and neuroimaging data in autistic, dyslexic, and neurotically children using MRI (BOLD activation, structural connectivity, functional connectivity); analyze and publish results; write fellowship proposal and assist in drafting additional grant proposals