Institutes, Divisions & Centers

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Improving the Health, Quality of Life and Outcomes of Children With Developmental Disabilities

The research team within the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DDBP) at Cincinnati Children’s focuses on improving the health, quality of life and outcomes of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities.

Our team has more than 100 years of combined research experience. We’ve been highly successful with publishing important work in top-tier journals, procuring substantial extramural support, and becoming recognized authorities in our areas of research in neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Our faculty members are currently engaged in 38 grants totaling over $6.4 million in FY24, including eight projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and 26 additional federally funded projects.

Our Research

Recognized as one of the top pediatric mental and behavioral health programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report, DDBP focuses on areas including:

• Behavioral research
• Clinical effectiveness and quality improvement research
• Clinical research, including medication trials
• Community-based applied research in child development
• Healthcare quality research

Our research is condition-specific, helping children and adolescents with conditions including:

• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Autism
• Deafness and hard of hearing
• Developmental-behavioral conditions
• Down syndrome
• Intellectual disabilities
• Spina bifida

Some of our current research focuses on:

• Adapting a web-based bullying curriculum for children and adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders
• Conducting clinical trials of medications for ADHD, including among children with Down syndrome
• Determining predictors of ADHD medication response, including how a child’s genetic makeup and certain clinical characteristics are linked to medication effectiveness or side effects
• Developing and improving chronic care models for children with autism
• Documenting links between an increased risk of ADHD and exposure to lead, bisphenol A and pyrethroid pesticides
• Establishing early intensive behavioral interventions for young children with autism
• Evaluating appropriate outcome measures for youth with Down syndrome
• Identifying sociodemographic factors that are linked to ADHD treatment continuity
• Improving the navigation of the healthcare system for children with developmental disabilities from marginalized groups

We also work to improve the developmental needs of children in foster care, the transition needs of adolescents with special healthcare needs, and language interventions in children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

We share our expertise with other institutions, and we use it to inform how we treat patients. For example, we’re using what we’ve learned about ADHD sociodemographic factors to develop interventions that are co-designed and co-delivered by a patient’s family to ensure sustained treatment is feasible, acceptable and accessible.

Findings from our studies on the predictors of ADHD medication response also have informed national clinical practice recommendations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics’ ADHD clinical guidelines.

Collaborating With Internal and External Partners to Drive Innovation

Our research team partners with groups both internally and externally. Within Cincinnati Children’s, our researchers work with partners from divisions including Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Speech-Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy, Otolaryngology (ENT), Cardiology, Pulmonary Medicine and Patient Services.

Our team is also connected with several external research networks. One of these, the DBPNet, is a consortium of academic developmental and behavioral pediatrics programs across the country. Our division is in the top two for both faculty size and clinical volume in this network. Other networks we’re connected with include:

• Autism Care Network
• International Down Syndrome Patient Database consortium
• National Spina Bifida Patient Registry
• SPARK consortium

In addition, our researchers collaborate with the DDBP’s Family Advisory Council, which provides guidance on clinical research efforts, to ensure our projects are equitable, inclusive and reflective of families’ priorities. And we partner with community-based and advocacy organizations to plan and conduct research. Some of these organizations include:

• Autism and We
• Down syndrome organizations
• Head Start
• Our Tribe
• Spina Bifida Coalition
• Su Casa Hispanic Center

Training the Next Generation of Developmental Behavioral Pediatricians

The Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s is one of the largest in the United States. With around 26,000 patient encounters each year, our fellows have the opportunity to evaluate and treat a variety of conditions.

We’re also teaching future clinical scientists through our Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) programs, which provides long-term, graduate-level interdisciplinary training.