News

NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.

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Media Advisory: Video coaching program may improve parenting skills and children’s school readiness

Woman and infant looking at picture book.

A video and coaching intervention program for at-risk mothers and infants increases parent-child interactions and helps to improve children’s social, emotional and language development, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Item of Interest: NICHD Selects Six Infrastructure Centers to Promote Rehabilitation Research

A toddler in a high chair, playing with toys.

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development recently selected six centers for its Medical Rehabilitation Research Resource Network.

Item of Interest: James A. Griffin, Ph.D., named new Chief of NICHD’s Child Development and Behavior Branch

James A. Griffin, Ph.D., named new Chief of NICHD’s Child Development and Behavior Branch

Spotlight: NICHD Looks Back on 50 Years of Learning Disabilities Research

NICHD’s contributions to research on learning disabilities highlight decades of studies that informed the identification, recognition and treatment of these disorders.

Media Advisory: NICHD chronicles its major research advances of 2018

Infocard has the text "2018 Research Advances #NICHD2018" in a green box surrounded by various images

As 2018 winds down, a new slideshow highlights a selection of initiatives, therapies, and scientific advances supported by NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2018

In 2018, researchers funded by NICHD made significant progress in advancing the health and well-being of infants, children, teenagers, and adults across the United States and around the world.

Spotlight: Highlighting Research on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

NICHD’s mission includes understanding child development and behavior. Check out these scientific advances related to Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Release: Atypical brain development observed in preschoolers with ADHD symptoms

Person holding pen points at brain scans displayed on a light box on the wall.

NIH-funded study uses high-resolution brain scans to uncover structural changes.

Spotlight: Selected NICHD Research Advances of 2017

Over the past year, NICHD contributed to numerous scientific advances and key initiatives.

Science Update: Preschool program to boost executive function leads to success in primary grades

A program to teach preschoolers pre-reading, social, and thinking skills appears to have benefits through third grade, particularly in executive functioning—the mental skills that include planning, paying attention, organizing, and remembering details.

NIH awards nearly $100 million for Autism Centers of Excellence program

The National Institutes of Health has awarded nine research grants totaling nearly $100 million over the next five years for the Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE), a program that supports large research projects aimed at understanding and developing interventions for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Focus on Early Learning

Children start learning long before they start going to school. Find out how you can support your child's learning from birth.

NICHD-funded study explores the toll of pediatric trauma

A conversation with Dr. Sheri Crow, a pediatrician specializing in critical care at the Mayo Clinic, about her NICHD-funded research. Dr. Crow has explored the long-term health outcomes of children who experience traumatic injury or a life-threatening illness in early childhood.

Getting to Know the New NICHD Director

NICHD Director Dr. Diana Bianchi shares some thoughts about joining NICHD.

Program for parents helps sustain learning gains in kids from Head Start to kindergarten

a graph showing intervention effects on child outcomes.

An instructional program for parents helps young children retain the literacy skills and positive learning behaviors acquired in Head Start through to the end of the kindergarten year, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Helping Your Child Improve Reading Skills

In his recent article in The Huffington Post, Dr. Guttmacher highlights the importance of reading every day with children.

How Does Reading Work?

Children learn to read by building a number of skills. Learn more about how reading works in this slideshow.

Studying the Growing Brain: A Q&A on the C-MIND Study

Illustration of silhouette of young child with various objects, like music notes, books, pencil, computer, science, superimposed where brain would really be.

The Cincinnati MR Imaging of Neurodevelopment (C-MIND) study was launched in 2009 to establish a new resource for the research community: a database of scans showing the structure and activity of the growing brain. C-MIND has taken an unprecedented look at what’s going on inside the heads of hundreds of kids from ages 0 to 18.

Neuroscience Research Resources

NICHD supports a variety of research projects and networks that are useful to neuroscientists. Find a detailed list here.

Researchers Use Brain Scans to Predict Early Reading Difficulties

Researchers have used brain scans to track how young children learn to read, raising the possibility that the method could be used to diagnose young children with dyslexia and other reading disorders before they experience problems in school. Once identified, the children could be fast-tracked to interventions designed to help them overcome their reading difficulties.

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