Understanding brain responses in children with autism and intellectual disability
Official title: Improving inclusion of individuals with intellectual disability in autism neuroscience research
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11269157 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses child-friendly EEG and eye-tracking to measure brain responses and looking patterns in 6–11-year-old children with autism and intellectual disability.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $753,418 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH138485-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11269157 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are children aged 6–11 diagnosed with autism and co-occurring intellectual disability, and separately children with intellectual disability without autism for comparison.
✕Less likely to help
Children outside the 6–11 age range, those without intellectual disability, or those unable to tolerate EEG or eye-tracking procedures may not be eligible or benefit.
What this research studies
You or your child would take part in a child-friendly brain recording session that collects EEG and eye-tracking at the same time. The team plans to include 70 children with autism and intellectual disability and 70 matched children with intellectual disability without autism, all ages 6–11, using a behavior plan designed by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst to help kids stay comfortable. The visit uses automated measures of where a child looks and how they move, plus individualized rewards to support participation. Researchers will collect signals linked to face processing (the N170 event-related potential) and the proportion of looking to faces to better represent children who have often been excluded from past autism work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could improve neuroscience understanding for children with autism and intellectual disability and help make future brain-based tools and supports more relevant to them.
How similar studies have gone: EEG and eye-tracking have successfully measured face processing in autistic children without intellectual disability, but adapting these methods with behavioral supports for children with ASD plus intellectual disability is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mcpartland, James Charles — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Mcpartland, James Charles
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.