Bonnie Klein-Tasman, PhD, Director
I am a Professor of Psychology and a Licensed Psychologist and I direct the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Child Neurodevelopment Research Lab. Together with graduate students, I conduct research about the behavioral characteristics of children with Williams syndrome and approaches to support functioning. I have been conducting research about the cognitive, adaptive, social, and personality characteristics of children with Williams syndrome since 1993. I am currently working on research about the development and dissemination of guidance for clinicians to use play- and humor-infused exposure therapy addressing fears and phobias in young children with Williams syndrome. This research is funded by the Williams Syndrome Association where I serve on the Professional Advisory Board.
Karen Levine, PhD
I am a Psychologist in private practice, and a part time Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School. I was a co-founder and co-director of the Autism program at Boston Children’s Hospital in the late 1990s, and later of the Autism Center at Cambridge Health Alliance. I work primarily with young children with Williams Syndrome or Autism and/or with anxiety. I began integrating playful humor with gradual exposure to treat the fears and phobias of my patients, and I found that the children enjoyed the process and could gradually tolerate more and more of what they were afraid of as we played. Together with the Research Team headed up by Bonnie Klein-Tasman, Ph.D., we continue to study and refine this approach for children with Williams Syndrome.
Brianna Young, BA
I am a clinical psychology doctoral student currently in my third year. Together with Drs. Klein-Tasman and Levine, our current research includes treatment development of a play- and humor-infused behavior therapy for children with Williams syndrome. My clinical background is in neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, as a behavior interventionist trained in applied behavior analysis. My research interests include early detection and intervention strategies for children with neurodevelopmental disorders including Williams syndrome and autism spectrum disorders and co-occurring anxiety.
We would also like to thank members of our team who have been involved in this project: Brianna Yund, EJ Miecielica, Kenia Rivera, Nathanael Schwarz, Sydni French and Ellora Mohanty.