Noted psychologist Dr. David Lewkowicz to head research team creating testing protocol to identify babies at risk for developmental disabilities and enable early intervention

BOCA RATON, Fla. - September 22, 2005 -- Nothing gives parents as much pleasure as seeing their baby's wondrous smile and physical reaction as she discovers something new in her world or as her eyes track her mother's movements. And, what's more delightful than a toddler's giggle as she is tickled by a silly knock-knock joke or chasing a butterfly? Now, imagine a child with a non-reactive blank expression or one who shuns human contact or, in another extreme, a child who screams non-stop in frustration about something she can't do. This is the world of children with developmental disorders ranging from autism to dyslexia.

Research aimed at uncovering the difference between normally developing babies and those at risk for developmental disabilities is beginning in the newly established Infant Development Laboratory in the Department of Psychology at FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science (FAU CESCoS). Headed by Dr. David Lewkowicz, a professor of psychology at FAU, the mission of the laboratory is to study how infants learn in the first months of life. The ultimate aim of the studies in the Infant Development Laboratory is to discover signs of developmental disabilities, such as autism, much earlier than is currently possible and, in the process, provide the means to prevent the devastating effects of communication or learning disorders.

For more than 25 years, Dr. Lewkowicz has been investigating the development of attention, learning, memory and cognition in babies during their first year of life. He has uncovered how and when these processes first emerge in normal development and how they change as infants grow and mature.

"Our goal is to develop what I believe is the critical missing piece, namely, effective and early diagnostic tools," says Dr. Lewkowicz. "Recent advances in the field of infant development have provided a rich database of knowledge about the development of fundamental psychological processes. As a result, we are currently at the threshold of discovering new diagnostic tools that will enable us to detect communication and learning disorders many months before the standard diagnosis of disorders like autism is made. Earlier diagnosis will make it possible to institute early intervention to ameliorate or even halt the progress of such disorders many months before the damage becomes irreparable," he notes.

In a typical visit to the FAU CESCoS Infant Development Lab, a baby is placed in a baby seat and tested while mom and dad watch. In one of the studies currently being conducted, the baby watches a sequence of moving and sounding shapes on a computer screen. While the baby watches, Dr. Lewkowicz's research team observes and records the amount of attention the baby devotes to this event to see whether she can learn the particular sequence of shapes and sounds and whether she can tell when the sequence changes. The ability to learn a sequence and to tell when it changes reflects a fundamental human ability that is a critical component underlying the learning of speech, language and social communication skills.

In another type of test, Dr. Lewkowicz and his team study whether and how babies integrate listening with seeing. For example, babies are shown two side-by-side videos of two faces and hear a voice coming from between them that corresponds to one of the faces. The question addressed in this study is at what point in development do babies first begin to notice that the voice corresponds to one face but not to the other? The ability to determine which voice and which face belong together is critical to our ability to interact with other people.

Dr. Lewkowicz is poised to lead the new effort to discover early diagnostic signs of developmental disabilities. Before joining FAU, Dr. Lewkowicz spent nearly 20 years at two research institutes devoted to the study of the causes of developmental disabilities: the Illinois Institute for Developmental Disabilities and the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities. During this time, he became sensitized to the devastating effects of developmental disabilities on children and their families and, as a result, is committed to finding ways to ameliorate the suffering through his research.

"I believe that one day in the near future we will have standardized tests that will tell us if a baby might be at risk for autism or other learning disorders. These tests will become a pro forma part of a baby's early pediatric evaluation," says Dr. Lewkowicz.

Dr. Lewkowicz believes that the most effective way to discover early diagnostic tools is through a multidisciplinary approach. Indeed, FAU provides a made-to-order environment for conducting multidisciplinary studies. For example, the newly created FAU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities in the College of Education provides an important new resource for identifying families with affected children.

Dr. Lewkowicz and his team will be taking advantage of this new and valuable resource for recruiting families into their research program. In addition, Dr. Lewkowicz has ongoing collaborations with colleagues in FAU's Department of Psychology, the prestigious Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences at FAU, Florida International University, Princeton University and the California Institute of Technology.

The recent increase in the incidence of autism and other developmental communication and learning disorders demands better and earlier diagnostic tools. Through its multidisciplinary approach, the research program in the Infant Development Laboratory at FAU holds out the promise of a much brighter future for our most precious resource: our children.

For further information about the studies, you may contact Margie J. Walden, Director of Development for the FAU CESCoS, (561) 297-0007, mwalden@fau.edu.

-FAU-

FAU'S Charles E. Schmidt College of Science is comprised of seven departments and six specialized research centers - Biological Sciences, Biomedical Science, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Geosciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physics, Psychology, Center for Geo-Information Sciences, Florida Center for Environmental Studies, Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Center for Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Center of Excellence in Biomedical and Marine Biotechnology, and the Center for Cryptology and Information Security.

Florida Atlantic University opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the university serves more than 26,000 undergraduate and graduate students on seven campuses strategically located along 150 miles of Florida's southeastern coastline. Building on its rich tradition as a teaching university, with a world-class faculty FAU hosts eight colleges -- Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors, College, the Colleges of Business, Education, Engineering & Computer Science, and Architecture, Urban & Public Affairs.