Katarzyna (Kasia) Chawarska, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology
Director of Developmental Disabilities Clinic for Infants and Toddlers

Research Interests

My research interests are focused on two lines on inquiry: 1) understanding of the expression of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) of infants and toddlers; 2) determining the early mechanisms that underlie gaze and face processing abnormalities in young children with ASD. In collaboration with Drs. Fred Volkmar and Ami Klin we have established a clinic that focuses on early diagnosis of ASD. Our clinical work and several privately and federally founded research projects have generated information regarding early diagnosis, stability and change in the syndrome expression, variability of the early developmental trajectories and outcomes, as well as utility of the existing state-of-the art diagnostic instruments for children under the age of 36 months. Along with Drs. Ami Klin and Rhea Paul, we are currently conducing a large-scale longitudinal study of infant siblings of children with ASD. The infants are at risk of developing ASD due to a genetic liability. We are particularly interested in determining when and in which areas the developmental trajectories of infants with ASD being to diverge from those of infants not affected by social disability. Toward this end we have been tracking the development of infant siblings in a number of distinct but interrelated areas including verbal and nonverbal cognition, communication, adaptation, social interaction, speech processing, as well as gaze and face processing. The experimental studies in my lab are focused on perception of various aspects of gaze processing that include attentional cueing, detection of direct gaze, and perception of gaze-related intentional action. We have discovered that despite impaired ability monitor gaze of others in naturalistic settings, toddlers with autism are sensitive to gaze cues on a basic attentional level. Thus, while some aspects of gazes processing are impaired in young children, others might be preserved. Determining which components of gaze processing are impaired and which are preserved will help us understand the underlying mechanisms of social abnormalities in early stages of ASD. This information might be consequential for designing early screening and intervention methods. Along with Dr. Olivier Pascalis from the University of Sheffield, UK, we are conducting a study examining the development of face processing in infants and toddlers with ASD including preference for and visual recognition of faces, as well as the effects of context on face perception in young children.

Recent Publications

• Chawarska, K., Klin, A., Paul, R., & Volkmar (in press). Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Second Year: Stability and Change in Syndrome Expression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
• Chawarska, K., Paul, R., Klin, A., Hannigen, S., Dichtel, S., & Volkmar, F (in press). Parental recognition of developmental problems in toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
• Chawarska, K., & Volkmar, F. (in press). Impairments in monkey and human face recognition in 2-year-old toddlers with ASD and Developmental Delay. Developmental Science
• Anderson, G., Jacobs-Stannard, A., Chawarska, K., Volkmar, F., & Kliman, H. (2006). Placental trophoblast inclusions in ASD. Biological Psychiatry.
• Schultz, B., Chawarska, K., & Volkmar, F. (2006). The social brain in autism: Perspectives form neuropsychology and neuroimaging. In: S.O. Modlin, & J.L.R., Rubenstien (Eds). Understanding Autism: From basic neuroscience to treatment.
• Chawarska, K., & Volkmar, F. (2005) Autism in infants and toddlers. In: F. Volkmar, A. Klin, & R. Paul (Eds). Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders. John Willey & Sons, NJ.
• Volkmar, F., Chawarska, K., Klin, A., (2005). Autism in Infancy and Early Childhood. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 1-21.
• Klin, A., Chawarska, K., Rubin, E., & Volkmar, F. (2004). Clinical assessment of young children at risk for autism. In: R. DelCarment-Wiggins & A. Carter (Eds). Handbook of infant and Toddler Mental Health Assessment. Oxford University Press, NY.
• Klin, A., Chawarska, K., Rubin, E., Morgan, T., Weisner, L., & Volkmar, F. (2004). Clinical case conference: Autism at the age of 15 months. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 1-8.
• Chawarka, K., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. (2003). Automatic attention cueing through eye movement in 2-year-old children with autism. Child Development, 74, 1108-23

Contact

Campus Address
Child Study Center
40 Temple Street, Suite 71
New Haven, CT 06510

E-mail
katarzyna.chawarska@yale.edu

Office Phone
203-764-5931

Fax
203-764-4373