Autism is a developmental disorder that involves differences in social communication skills and the presence of restricted or repetitive interests. One way children learn language is fast mapping: the process of forming associations between new words and their meanings. Growth in language production and comprehension is predictable by 2.5 years of age, and autistic children who learn more slowly during fast mapping tend to score lower in receptive language measures. However, there has not been extensive research on the differences in language learning during fast mapping between autistic and neurotypical children. Therefore, this study addresses fast mapping in one particular learning context and tests whether receptive language learning in a storybook-listening task differs between autistic and neurotypical children. There are 47 participants aged 2.7 to 11 years (mean age = 5.8 years, SD = 2.0), of which 17 are autistic (mean age = 7.8 years, SD = 1.6) and 30 are neurotypical (mean age = 4.7 years, SD = 1.2). I code videos of participants completing the storybook listening task for demonstrations of receptive language skills for novel vocabulary words — namely, the accuracy of participants' responses to prompts to look at named novel objects. I use t-tests to measure the statistical significance of the differences between the groups. Additionally, I conduct group matching based on participants' Growth Scale Value (GSV) scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-5 (PPVT), a standardized measure of receptive vocabulary (autistic participants’ mean PPVT GSV score = 488.1, SD = 18.5; neurotypical participants’ mean PPVT GSV score = 479.2, SD = 12.2). I hypothesize that the autistic group of participants has lower receptive language learning scores. I hope the findings of this study can provide insights to help professionals in the field of communication sciences and disorders in their work with autistic children.

Vocabulary acquisition in children involves many cognitive processes, with semantic descriptions playing a potentially crucial role in word learning. Broader literature points to a positive impact of metacognitive strategies early in children’s learning. Additionally, studies have highlighted semantic descriptors in facilitating word acquisition. However, there is a lack of literature regarding the direct correlation between children's productions of semantic descriptions and success in word learning, which is the current focus. We examined the number of semantic descriptions produced by children alongside their corresponding word-learning performance to determine whether a relationship exists. We analyzed data from 33 participants ages 2.7 - 6.7 years (mean = 4.6 years, SD = 1.2) with an average Expressive Vocabulary Test-3 standard score of 120. Our team coded a total of 165 word-learning assessments from videos of participants engaging in a storybook listening activity where participants were exposed to novel words paired with objects, assessing their receptive and expressive word learning. Participants were asked to look at the objects, imitate the novel words in real-time, and both point to and label the associated objects after a delay. We recorded the number of times children made semantic descriptions (ex. “The gek is spiky”), total correct identifications (receptive performance), and total phonemes correctly imitated and labeled (expressive performance). For analysis, we tested the correlation between semantic descriptions and both receptive and expressive word learning scores. I hypothesize that a positive correlation between these scores will indicate that children who produce semantic descriptions find more success in word learning. I anticipate that our study will contribute to a better understanding of how semantic descriptions play a role in receptive and expressive word learning outcomes. Also, study findings could serve as a foundation for future research on how parents and educators might better support children’s vocabulary acquisition.

Kathak is a classical dance form which originated in Uttar Pradesh, North India. Kathak loosely translates to “story-teller,” and has become a symbol of Indian culture and national identity. Additionally, this dance form is very physically demanding, with skills that challenge the biomechanics of human anatomy. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to explore the cultural context of Kathak, as well as examine Kathak from a medical perspective. Specifically, I sought to examine the injuries which are common to Kathak dancers, particularly focusing on the risk factors, prevalence, and mechanisms of these injuries. The methods to investigate this research question were primarily through literature review. Kathak dancers experience injuries in the lower extremities due to high rates of twisting, jumping, and stomping in the dance form. These repetitive and compressive motions may lead to hyperpronated feet, flattened arches, and extreme dorsiflexion and plantarflexion. These foot injuries overall produce a lack of alignment in the dancer’s anatomy and can decrease proprioceptive orientation and neuromuscular function and control of the lower extremities. The outcome of this research has the potential to bridge the gap between dance and medicine. Education is powerful for dancers so that they can be aware of high-risk injuries and perform exercises as preventative efforts. Preventative efforts may include reducing static stretches and instead incorporating more dynamic stretches into their daily warm-up routine. Additionally, dancers should be empowered to take initiative of their health and seek professional guidance when necessary, and dance schools should play an active role in encouraging this.

Since their introduction to clean energy applications, organic-inorganic lead halide perovskites have received great attention for their potential to create highly efficient, manufacturable and cheap solar cell devices. To make effective perovskite solar cells, charge transport layers are used to remove electrons and holes from the bulk perovskite semiconductor, increasing current, voltage and power conversion efficiency. Phosphonic acid self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are a common hole transport layer. The phosphonic acid binds to the transparent conductive oxide electrode while an organic head group forms the SAM/perovskite interface. This head group is key for charge transfer and voltage characteristics, but the structure-function relationship is still poorly understood. My project investigates the role that deposition techniques and electronic structure play in the optimization of this SAM/perovskite interface. Expanding from the standard two step spincoating SAM/perovskite deposition method, I explored whether the codeposition of the two layers or the addition of a SAM solvent wash step produced an improved interface. I also fabricated films using several different SAM compositions to test for performance trends and improvements compared to the current field standard SAM, Me-4PACz. I collected photoluminescence lifetimes, quantum yields and solar simulation measurements to evaluate film performance. Preliminary data shows that neither the washing step nor codeposition add any performance benefit, but the single step codeposition achieves a more streamlined manufacturing method. Two of the new experimental SAMs performed comparably to Me-4PACz. These results encourage codeposition of the SAM/perovskite interface as the most efficient method to create high quality devices and show promising alternatives to the industry standard Me-4PACz SAM.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by distinct social-communication differences and restricted and repetitive behaviors. There is heterogeneity in the presentation of social functioning in autistic individuals, which may be attributed to sleep quality, alexithymia, and anxiety. Insomnia, prevalent in autistic children, was linked to higher levels of autistic traits, specifically, difficulties in social skills and relationship formation. Alexithymia, difficulty in describing and identifying emotions, has been reported in 55% of autistic youth. Anxiety severity, specifically social anxiety, is also negatively correlated with social functioning for autistic youth. This study aims to investigate the relation between sleep quality, alexithymia, and anxiety to social functioning in autistic adults. In a sample of 131 adults (ages 18-26, 51% female), we conducted a multiple regression analysis, with social skills as the dependent variable and sleep quality, alexithymia, and anxiety as the independent predictor variables. Sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire, alexithymia with the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), anxiety with the Adult Behavior Checklist - Self Report (ASR), and social functioning with the Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Edition (SRS-2). We hypothesize that sleep quality, alexithymia, and anxiety will each independently impact social functioning. This study contributes to the understanding of factors that influence heterogeneity in social functioning amongst autistic adults. Findings on predictors of social impairment may inform targeted interventions for and benefit the lives of autistic adults.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by difficulties in social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior or interests. ASD is associated with features beyond its core characteristics, including alexithymia and anxiety. Alexithymia is characterized by difficulty recognizing and describing one’s own emotions, it influences physical and mental health, and it is associated with symptoms of anxiety. Despite current research demonstrating the correlation between alexithymia and anxiety in both ASD and the general population, there remains a significant research gap in how alexithymia and autism traits individually and collectively influence anxiety levels among the participants. This study has two aims: 1) To explore the relationship between alexithymia and anxiety in participants with ASD and TD. 2) To analyze the role of alexithymia as a mediator of the relationship between autism traits and anxiety in adolescents and young adults. This sample includes 149 participants (93 ASD) ages 15-34, from the NIH funded study on sex differences in autism. Measures included alexithymia via the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), anxiety via the Screen for Adult Anxiety Related Disorders (SCAARED), and autism traits via the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2). We will first conduct regression analyses to examine the relationships between alexithymia, anxiety, and autism traits. Then, we will employ Preacher and Hayes’ INDIRECT Method to investigate the mediating role of alexithymia in the relationship between autism traits and anxiety. We expect to see a significant relationship between alexithymia and anxiety in both groups and the relationship between alexithymia and anxiety in the ASD group to be significantly different than TD group. Understanding the relationship between anxiety and alexithymia could aid in the development or improvement of interventions for anxiety in people with ASD.