Motor Skills and Early Developing Brain Structures in Autistic Individuals

Motor differences are commonly reported in autistic individuals and may be one of the earliest signs of autism in the first year of life. However, the daily-life impact and neurobiological basis of motor differences are not clear. This talk with distinguished speaker Dr. Brittany Travers will discuss motor differences commonly reported in autistic individuals, links to the early-developing brainstem, and links to daily living skills. We will also discuss the behavioral and structural imaging outcomes of a randomized controlled trial testing a biofeedback-based balance intervention in autistic youth.

Dr. Brittany Travers is an Associate Professor in the Occupational Therapy Program in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her work is inherently interdisciplinary. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Spanish from Creighton University. She earned her MA and PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Alabama. Dr. Travers completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research at University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Her overarching program of research, housed at the UW-Madison Waisman Center, focuses on the intersection between sensorimotor skills and neurobiology in autistic and non-autistic individuals. Specifically, she focuses on how motor development may serve as a window into neuroanatomy, core symptomatology, and skill development. This line of inquiry has led to a strong interest in the brainstem. She also examines how motor challenges impact the daily lives and occupations of autistic and non-autistic individuals, and whether novel interventions targeting motor skills can enhance quality of life. As such, her research combines brain imaging (Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MRI]; Diffusion Weighted Imaging [DWI]) with quantitative measures of sensorimotor function, cognition, and daily living skills in autistic and non-autistic youth.

Follow us on Facebook!
  / njautismcent.  .
Take a look at our website, where we post the latest in NJ Autism News https://njace.us
Join our mailing list to keep up-to-date with our center https://tinyurl.com/njace-contact

NJACE is funded in part by the New Jersey Governor’s Council for the Medical Research and Treatments of Autism and by the NJ DOH

The views expressed herein may not necessarily reflect the views of the NJACE or our partners, the Governor's Council for Medical Research and Treatments in Autism, the New Jersey Department of Health, and Children's Specialized Hospital.

The mission of the NJACE is to educate society about the neurobiology of autism, and autistic people‘s unmet needs across their lifespan. We do this by listening to the perspectives of autistic people, their parents and families, clinicians from interdisciplinary fields, and researchers from various fields including psychology, genetics, engineering, and computer science. We hope to build an all-inclusive community, which embraces autistic people as valued members of our society.