Research Happenings Dr. Elizabeth Caronna, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician and Director of the Pediatric Assessment of Communication Clinic at Boston Medical Center, and Elisabeth Duursma, Ed.D., Director of Research Initiatives at the ROR National Center, have received a grant to observe early signs of autism in a parent-child book reading interaction. They are analyzing video home diaries of book sharing with infants collected by parents in an ongoing study of high risk infant siblings of children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) and control infants from the age of 6 months to 24 months. Dr. Malgorzata Bulanowski, a neonatology fellow at Rochester University, received a $35,000 MedImmune Award to study the impact of the ROR program on children in NICU and Neonatal Clinic. The title of her project is Reach Out and Read: The Outcome of NICU and Neonatal Clinic- Based Intervention on Language Development in Preterm Born Children. The project is about changing the practice and attitude towards follow-up care of babies born prematurely. Very premature babies are prone to developmental and language delays. The ROR program has been helpful in improving language in children born at term. With this project, she hopes to change parents' attitudes towards reading to their children and improve language development in very premature babies when they evaluate them at 15-18 months of age. Last July, the ROR Research and Evaluation group was created by several ROR providers with a strong interest in research related to child development, health literacy, and parenting. At our meetings, we discuss new initiatives for research, possibilities for collaboration, and ways in which we can keep in touch. Future meetings will be conducted by phone, webinars, or at conferences. Please contact Elisabeth Duursma at the ROR National Center for more information: elisabeth.duursma@reachoutandread.org.   Return