UAB Fall 2024 Expo

December 4th: The STARS Lab is excited to have participated in the Fall 2024 UAB Expo, which celebrates excellence in research, creative activity, and scholarship. This is a great opportunity for our team to showcase our work, strengthen our presentation skills, and engage with fellow researchers while receiving valuable feedback from peers and faculty. The undergraduates in the lab presented four posters in total!

*Lovejoy, K., *Tollett B. Q., *Mercier, A., *Paquette, B., *Yu, W., Celine M. Li, C. M., Hoeft, F., Chen, J., & Richter, C. G. (2024, December). The Association Between Stigma Consciousness and Internalizing Problems in Children with a Neurodevelopmental Disorder. Poster presented at Fall 2024 UAB Expo.

Kibryn Lovejoy was the 3rd Place Winner of the in-person Fall Expo 2023 in the Works in Progress category.

*Tollett, B. Q., *Lovejoy, K., *Yu, W., *Paquette, B., Albright M. G., Mrug, S., Austin, H., Lanzi, R., Campbell, K., & Richter, C. G. (2024, December). Predicting Anxiety and Depression in Students with Specific Learning Disabilities: The Role of Stigma Consciousness After Social and Emotional Learning Programs. Poster presented at Fall 2024 UAB Expo.

*Alvarado-Resendiz, T., *Moreno, J. M., Schaefer, M. C., Wilson-Mendenhall, C., Wicker, P., Richter, C. G. (2024). Poster presented at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Psychology. Role of community care in scholars’ emotional well-being: Preliminary findings.  Poster presented at Fall 2024 UAB Expo.

Supported by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Healthy Minds.

Photo credits: Kayli Meek

*Burns, K. M. (2024, December). An Observational Analysis of the Frequency of Interactions with Clients in Natural Environment Teaching (NET) in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA). Poster presented at Fall 2024 UAB Expo.

Kaylie Burns was the 3rd Place Winner of the in-person Fall Expo 2023 in the Works in Progress (Class Projects) category.

Neurodiversity: Understanding The Supports and Value of Diverse Learning in the Classroom Webinar

November 11th: At the STARS Lab, we are always looking for ways to better support neurodiverse children in their learning journeys. In a recent Community Neuroscience Initiative webinar, Dr. Richter shared practical strategies for educators and parents to engage neurodiverse kids through hands-on activities and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Her insights offered valuable tools for creating inclusive and supportive environments that cater to the unique needs of every child.

The Federal University of Minas Gerais 2024 CogCom Conference in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Nov. 6th-8th, 2024—Dr. Richter visited Brazil this November, where she attended the 2024 CogCom Conference at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and presented a Keynote talk about “Neurodiversity and Education.”

Pictured left to the right: Caroline Richter, Daniela Teixeira Goncalves, Claudia Cardoso-Martins, Maria Luísa (Malu) Magalhães Nogueira, Jeane M. Soares

Early Signs: How to detect learning disabilities in children

Dr. Richter gives an interview where she talks about early signs of learning disabilities. More details can be found here: Early Signs: How to detect learning disabilities in children – News | UAB

Reading to children at any age is a great way to support their vocabulary and listening comprehension skills.

Some signs of learning disabilities in preschool include:

  • Late talking compared to other children
  • Trouble producing the sounds of certain words, animals or numbers
  • Slow vocabulary growth or difficulty finding the right word
  • Trouble rhyming words or remembering songs
  • Difficulty learning numbers, the alphabet and the days of the week
  • Frequent fidgeting, restlessness and easily bored tendencies
  • Getting lost in the middle of instructions or being easily distracted

National LGBTQ Health Conference 2024

Justess and Shannon presented a poster at the National LGBTQ Health Conference in Atlanta, GA. They got to talk with other LGBTQ+ researchers and attend talks over the course of the conference.

Rice, J., Kirshy, S., Boatright, V.A., Richter., C. G. (2024, August). Evaluating Elements of Social Support as Protective Factors for Mental Health and Well-Being in Autistic Sexual-Gender Minority Young Adults Poster presented at the National LGBTQ Health Conference, Atlanta, GA.

William Syndrome Association Convention 2024

Alecia and Shannon attended the WSA biannual convention to represent the STARS lab as both an exhibitor and researcher. We were able to meet and interact with individuals with Williams Syndrome and their families, attend learning sessions, share information about our lab and ongoing projects, and collect data on emotional well-being in adolescents with WS. The Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team also hosted a game night for all of the families and attendees!