Gaudet presents at neuropsychology conference in China

Laura Gaudet poses for a photo in China during her conference.
Laura Gaudet

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Hangzhou, CHINA – Dr. Laura Gaudet, counseling and psychology professor and department chair, represented 黑料大事记 State College at an international neuropsychology conference May 23 in China.

The trip was to a familiar area for  who lived with her family on Taiwan for three years when her father was stationed there during his military assignment. She was 6 when they returned to the U.S.

Neuro-Talk 2015 was a three-day conference for industry scientists, clinical investigators, academic physicians and pharmaceutical professionals from more than 30 countries in Hangzhou, China. The goal of the gathering was developing therapies for the most challenging neurological diseases through research studies and technology innovation.

Gaudet鈥檚 presentation, 鈥淗ow Students with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Autism are Supported in the Public School Setting in the United States,鈥 was one of six in a session about 鈥淣euroabilities and Traumatic Brain Injury and Nuerorehabilitation.鈥 Other presenters in the session, chaired by Gaudet, were from China, Germany, Israel and Italy.

Students with TBI and autism in U.S. public schools are supported at a tremendous level, according to Gaudet鈥檚 research. She has continued to study these conditions and work with people suffering from them since she wrote her 1995 doctoral dissertation about brain injuries. It received the American Psychological Association (APA) dissertational research award. She also earned the Dean鈥檚 Citation Award for Excellence from the University of Northern Colorado in 1995.

鈥淐are for students with a brain injury is well-coordinated between school officials, family members and professional health care providers. They go to great lengths to assess and discuss the student鈥檚 injury and then coordinate age-appropriate rehabilitation for the individual. It鈥檚 also important to consider how a TBI affects the family members of the injured person,鈥 Gaudet said.

Several members of Gaudet鈥檚 family have been affected by TBI so her quest for more knowledge in this field is both personal and professional.

鈥淥ne big problem is that most people with TBI don鈥檛 seek any professional medical help. Many people discount the serious nature of head injuries. Some just go to bed and never wake up,鈥 she said.

Minor brain injuries don鈥檛 show up on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) results so the attending physician needs to be trained to assess other signs and symptoms, Gaudet said.

Topics of other presentations she attended at the conference included spinal cord injury, stem cell research, sensory and motor systems, Alzheimer鈥檚 and Parkinson鈥檚, epilepsy, stroke and behavioral, cognitive and language neuroscience.

鈥擳ena L. Cook, Marketing Coordinator

-Tena L. Cook, Marketing Coordinator

Category: Campus News