Yanru Chen Ph.D.

I am very proud to share my new publication on receptive language and receptive-expressive discrepancy in minimally verbal autistic children and adolescents, which was published in Autism Research last week. I’m so glad to see this project come to fruition!doi.org/10.1002/aur.30…

Many with profound autism exhibit severe behaviors like self-injury. Researchers are focused on understanding these causes. Join them on February 26, 2025, at 12:00 PM EST to discuss emotional regulation and interventions. 🔗 ow.ly/fE8e50UCG7u

@MGPecukonis @smithcollege Congratulations!!! Smith is very lucky to have you.

Congratulations again Carol on publishing a groundbreaking and truly insightful EEG paper!! Such inspiring work! I am so fortunate to be mentored by you!

Do babies develop accents even before they can speak conventionally? The short answer is yes… and these linguistic markers begin even sooner than you might think. So many of you tagged me in this video yesterday featuring an infant that babbles with the same Scouse accent as his mother. Other than “no” he doesn’t speak a single conventional word, but listen to how the rhythm and intonation of his vocalizations mirror those to which he is exposed daily. As hearing becomes functional during the third trimester, infants are exposed to the distinct patterns of their mothers’ native language - with studies suggesting newborns can already distinguish (and prefer) what will become their native tongue only hours after birth. Incredibly this learning doesn’t wait until the babbling stage to evidence itself. Research suggests that even the cries of newborns reflect this preference. That’s right: babies cry with an accent. One major study on the topic showed that French babies cry with a rising intonation, while German infants favor a falling melody - both reflecting the patterns of their native languages. We’re only just beginning to understand the deep learning that begins in utero. It’s just more evidence that the period from prenatal to three is the most critical window in all of human development. This little Liverpudlian was shared to TT by iamcustardpot.

I am really grateful to be invited to join and present at the ARF Autism Research Think Tank this weekend. So many thought-provoking talks and discussions on Day 1 with a group of wonderful neurologists, psychiatrists, scientists, and researchers. Looking forward to Day 2!

@qzhever It was an incredibly awesome and inspiring keynote!! I learned so much from it and can’t wait to hear what you will find out from your ongoing work!

I gave my first keynote in my career. I brought two laptops with me, and stayed up till 3 am before the day. AV had issues until 7 minutes before the talk. But it miraculously went well. Honestly, I couldn’t ask for a better audience than this wonderful crowd at @MtgLanguageASD!

Our @qlab_team had a blast at @MtgLanguageASD over the past week! Katherine Trice presented two distinctive word-learning profiles in autistic children that might be related to Theory-of-mind state, rather than traits. We are patiently waiting for her F31 NoA: keep tuned!

An awesome new work in Child Development highlighting the importance of classroom ethnic diversity- Check it out! Children in ethnically diverse classrooms and those with cross‐ethnic friendships excel at understanding others' minds srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…

While I was a bit worried about the upcoming trip, my dad wrote me this calligraphy last night. The closest translations — Strive Forward and Forge Ahead! 🏃🏻‍♀️

A recent episode of the Autism Science Foundation's podcast highlights a study that included 1,500 nonverbal research participants. We applaud researcher Yanru Chen from Boston University for her ongoing work. asfpodcast.org/archives/1633

I’m thrilled to join the #ASFpodcast this week to talk about my recent publication on receptive-expressive discrepancy in minimally verbal autistic children and adolescents. Thank you for having me! Check it out if you are interested in knowing more about the topic :)

@drstevenkapp Thank you so much for sharing! I’m so glad to see the work reaching a wider audience :)

@yanruchenASD's study is now published showing that many minimally or non-speaking autistic people have greater understanding than expression of language, while the reverse is rare. It also shows motor skills contribute to receptive-expressive discrepancy: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…

@JasonChow Thank you! :)

@yanruchenASD Excited to read this!

I am very proud to share my new publication on receptive language and receptive-expressive discrepancy in minimally verbal autistic children and adolescents, which was published in Autism Research last week. I’m so glad to see this project come to fruition!doi.org/10.1002/aur.30…

Thank you so much to my postdoc mentor @HelenTager for her wise advice on using the NDAR and SFARI Base data for this project when I proposed the research idea to her! Thank you to my undergraduate intern, Brynn Siles, for cleaning up the data with me!

Social skills significantly predicted receptive language reported by parents, and motor skills were the most significant predictor of greater receptive-expressive discrepancy (with relative strength in receptive language) in MV autistic children and adolescents.

@laurel_joy_gd That’s really wonderful news! Congratulations!!!

Yey! Our Campbell review on language interventions in children with neurodevelopmental disorders is out. Lots of work, but also lots of new insights. My third campbell, so much I have learnt from them ❤️ @lilacCourt @nordahlhansen onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…

@marjoleinmues @EDemurie Congratulations!!🎉🎉 Looking forward to seeing you in the US!

I became a doctor yesterday!!! #PhDone 🤩