It鈥檚 not that children are little scientists but that scientists are big children.
Effects of alcohol to unborn babies - a study by Smith, Jones, and Lancet (FAS Smith Jones Lancet article on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome)
For more than 50 years, 91探花innovators have conducted groundbreaking research that has transformed the world鈥檚 understanding of how babies grow and thrive.
In the early 1970s, 91探花Dr. Christy Ulleland noticed a distinctive pattern of birth defects in babies born to alcoholic mothers. Her colleagues on the 91探花Medicine faculty, David Smith and Kenneth Jones, shared Ulleland鈥檚 interest in the relationship between maternal alcohol abuse and fetal development. Their findings were devastating: babies of alcoholic mothers suffered from low birth weight and congenital birth defects, and they battled physical and intellectual disabilities into toddlerhood and beyond. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) raised public awareness about the dangers of severe alcohol abuse in pregnancy, and it became a basis of many more studies at the 91探花about the maternal and infant health.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 鈥� Further Reading
The 91探花research into Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was of great interest, and was reported in the popular press, 7/1/1973.
Seattle Times
91探花research into Fetal Alcohol Syndrome informed scholarly writing and also public educational brochures, 8/28/1966
Seattle Times
The Seattle Times editorial writers on maternal alcoholism, perceived as a public health crisis, 5/1/1975.
Seattle Times
Seattle newspaper continues FAS coverage, noting the enduring nature of the syndrome, in older children – in this case, an adopted child, 8/9/1989
Seattle Times
Kenneth Jones and David Smith鈥檚 seminal academic paper that described Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
The Lancet, November 3, 1973
Dr. Ulleland鈥檚 1972 paper described her clinical experiences from UW鈥檚 Harborview Hospital, 1968-69, with newborn babies born to alcoholic mothers.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1972
In the 1970s and 1980s, 91探花Psychology and Biophysics professor Davida Teller wanted to better understand how babies see. So she invented the Teller Acuity Cards, now used around the world. Her work hasn鈥檛 just helped doctors treat their infant patients–but has shown how infant brains connect seeing to understanding the world around them as they grow.
Teller visual acuity test cards
Baby Visual Acuity 鈥� Further Reading
Dr. Davida Teller鈥檚 summary 1998 article on her research, exploring color visual acuity in infants.
Vision Research 38 (1998)
A reprint of Dr. Davida Teller鈥檚 Lecture, presented on receipt of the Friedenwald Award by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, 1997.
Teller Collection, University Archives, Special Collections, 91探花Libraries
Andrew Meltzoff
And as UW鈥檚 Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff have shown in their work over the past two decades, humans possess a thrilling drive to learn from birth. Meltzoff鈥檚 discoveries about infant imitation of adult behavior dramatically changed understandings of personality development. Kuhl鈥檚 research on language acquisition has shown how babies listen and practice communication skills from the cradle-fundamentally altering public understanding of the critical 0-3 years for babies and children.
Brainy Babies 鈥� Further Reading
Popular interest Patricia Kuhl and Andrew Meltzoff鈥檚 work at the 91探花was intense, as parents made practical application of their laboratory research. 4/17/1997
New York Times
The national press continued to cover Meltzoff and Kuhl鈥檚 91探花research, 8/1/1997.
New York Times
As early as 1992, the national press eagerly reported the research of Kuhl and Meltzoff, 2/4/1992.
New York Times
Local coverage of public applications of Kuhl and Meltzoff鈥檚 91探花research, 4/18/2011.
Seattle Times
Kuhl and Meltzoff鈥檚 work went far beyond understanding infant speech acquisition to surprising patterns of infant learning, 3/6/2005.
Seattle Times
Dr. Patricia Kuhl seemed to some journalists to embody the busy woman who managed to 鈥渉ave it all,鈥� and she became a role model, 5/8/1997.
Seattle Times
When The Scientist in the Crib was published, the press popularized many of its findings – here, interpreting the pointing game parents and children 鈥減lay鈥� as the work of learning, 10/5/2002.
Seattle Times
