Research on fragile X syndrome and autism

Abstract

Developmental Language Disorders: From Phenotypes to Etiologies is based on the recent conference of the same name sponsored by the Merrill Advanced Studies Center of the University of Kansas. In the past 10 years, considerable advances have taken place in our understanding of genetic and environmental influences on language disorders in children. Significant research in behavioral phenotypes, associated neurocortical processes, and the genetics of language disorders has laid the foundation for further breakthroughs in understanding the reasons for overlapping etiologies, as well as the unique aspects of some phenotypes. Too often the findings are disseminated in a fragmented way because of the discrete diagnostic categories of affectedness. This volume attempts to assimilate and integrate the findings of the transdisciplinary research toward a more coherent picture of behavioral descriptions, brain imaging studies, genetics, and intervention technologies in language impairment. The contributing authors are all scholars with active programs of research funded by the National Institutes of Health involving diverse clinical groups of children with language impairments.