Ciara Ousley, assistant professor of special education and communication disorders, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Early Career Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (DADD).
For autistic people — especially those with intellectual disabilities, or others with extensive support needs — communicating needs and ideas can be difficult. Many rely on intense individualized support and educational interventions.
When spoken words are not enough, alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) is often needed to meet their daily needs and wants. Common methods include gestures or facial expressions, sign language and speech-generating mobile apps for iPads or phones. While these methods can be helpful, they can also be costly and tricky to use effectively as treatments.
A student’s ability to read is a key predictor of academic and lifelong success. In Nebraska, the COVID-19 pandemic hit students with reading difficulties especially hard, particularly students attending rural schools.
Since then, Nebraska WORDS project — Workshops on Reading Development Strategies — has been a valuable resource for teachers by promoting effective strategies to deliver high-quality reading instruction and assessment. The research-based professional development program supports Nebraska’s targeted efforts to boost early literacy among K-3 students across the state.
For children with severe speech and physical impairments (SSPI), the inability to share their thoughts and feelings can deeply affect their quality of life and well-being.
Researchers and engineers continue to seek new ways to help these children communicate, including an experimental technology that enables thoughts to control communication devices, known as communication brain-computer interfaces (cBCIs).
The Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research has selected six faculty members to serve as Policy Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year.
The NAECR Policy Fellows Program is designed to educate early childhood researchers on policy processes, impacts and relationships to research; to provide policymakers with insight into the latest early childhood research at the University of Nebraska; and to generate collaboration among researchers and policymakers to develop effective research agendas that enrich early childhood experiences.
For many Nebraska families, finding affordable child care can seem like piecing together an impossible puzzle.
Parents juggle waitlists, long commutes and tough choices between work and staying home — all while early childhood teachers themselves face low pay, long hours and stress.
Autism is the fastest-growing disability category in Nebraska. About 30% of autistic children do not develop vocal speech by age 4 and require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) — non-verbal methods such as gestures, facial expressions, picture cards and tablets to communicate.
Children who are breastfed as infants are less likely to develop obesity. However, despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 25% of infants in the U.S. are exclusively breastfed for the first six months.
As many as 70% of mothers experience problems with breastfeeding, contributing to lower rates — particularly among Black Americans (17.2%) and rural residents (18%). Research suggests these low breastfeeding rates may compound potential nutrition-related health disparities from the start of life.
