Applied Research Unit

Making Research a Priority

The Applied Research Unit houses numerous research projects aimed at improving learning among children with special needs. It is here that researchers develop curriculum and assessment materials, promote research to improve classroom instructional methods, and train professionals to become leaders in their field.  Researchers and educators carefully monitor student progress and individualized educational programs based on these data.  

Haring Center researchers use these data to develop and disseminate sustainable instructional materials and teaching procedures, many of which have become recommend practices in special education.  For example, the classroom approach that is used to teach children with Down syndrome in the majority of our nation’s classrooms is a model curriculum that was initially developed at the Haring Center. For the past 10 years, research on children with autism has led to a model program, Project DATA (Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for Autism), that has already been replicated in school districts across the U.S. and in 17 other countries.  

As a result of this work and the dissemination of the Haring Center’s best practices and models, countless students are thriving in regular, integrated P-12 classrooms and are receiving the education they deserve.

Learn more about the researchers and their current research projects. 

ARU New & Notable

Applied Research Unit researchers investigate effective intervention for infants & toddlers with autism

Dr. Ilene Schwartz, director of the Haring Center, will head up a 4-year study to examine the efficacy of an intervention for children under the age of 3 with autism and their families.  The study, funded by a $2.8 million IES grant, is one of the first studies of its kind, and will help inform critical early intervention practices for very young children on the autism spectrum.

UW College of Education faculty to lead $40 million Head Start grant

For two UW College of Education researchers, a huge new federal Head Start grant means the creation of a new center and years of hard work ahead - but, most of all, it means helping America's youngest learners prepare for and succeed in school.

CHDD Outlook   2011 Issue #1

 

UW Center on Human Development and Disability Improving Teaching in Head Start