Autism Center: Research Lab

The Autism Center: Research Lab at the Child Mind Institute is an integrated clinical center and research lab dedicated to supporting toddlers, children, adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorder and related challenges, including social (pragmatic) communication disorder and non-verbal learning disorder (NVLD).

The Autism Center: Research Lab is focused on understanding the neurobiology of ASD using brain imaging and a range of other clinical and cognitive approaches. A specific goal of the center is detecting autism-related differences in brain connectivity that emerge in early childhood, with the goal of identifying objective biological markers that can one day be used to improve early intervention efforts and the selection of treatments.

The Autism Center: Research Lab is led by the founding research director Adriana Di Martino, MD. Dr. Di Martino’s research explores autism-related differences in brain connectivity for use as biomarkers and seeks to clarify the neural bases of co-occurring conditions such as ADHD. Dr. Di Martino is an internationally recognized leader in the field and the founder of the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE), a data-sharing initiative responsible for more than a publication per month. Dr. Di Martino has received honors and funding support from NIMH and the Simons Foundation, among others.

The Autism Center: Research Lab currently has two ongoing studies that offer participants full, no-cost evaluations:

• Neuronal Correlates of Autism Traits in ADHD and Autism: Studying children aged 8 to 11 years old with ADHD or autism spectrum disorder (no formal diagnosis necessary)
  Email: autism.center@childmind.org
• Brain and Behavioral Changes Over Time in Young Children with Autism: Seeking children between the ages of 18 and 42 months to participate in our study on the brain and behavioral changes of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) over the first five years of life.
  Email: autism.center@childmind.org