LEARN ABOUT OUR CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
Memory of Important Life Events by Parents of Children with Down syndrome (MILE Study)
In the MILE Study, we are interested in examining the memories of important life events told by parents of children diagnosed with Down syndrome (DS). More specifically, we are investigating whether the timing in which parents receive their child's DS diagnosis (prenatally or postnatally) is associated with parents' reports of their child's birth story and most recent birthday, their pursuit of intervention opportunities and community-based supports, and their current mental and physical health.
We are also currently making preparations for a longitudinal design of the MILE Study, in which we examine maternal memory, mental health, and mother-child interactions in relation to the timing and characteristics of their DS diagnosis over the course of around two and a half years. We are hopeful that these two studies combined will ultimately lead to improvements of how DS diagnoses are provided and a better understanding of how parents cope over the course of time.
Memory and Generalization Abilities in Children Diagnosed with Down syndrome and Typically Developing Children
We are alsoexamining memory and generalization abilities in children diagnosed with Down syndrome and children who are typically developing. One line of inquiry concerns differences in recall memory between children diagnosed with Down syndrome and typically developing children, along with other cognitive assessments such as generalization within contextual changes and executive functioning. We are also interested in the differences in language used among parent-child dyads. We are hopeful that this study will expand our understanding of cognitive abilities in children diagnosed with Down syndrome, which can then lead to improvements in educating these children.