Deborah Waber, PhD
Director, Learning Disabilities Program; Director, Behavioral Science Core, Translational Neuroscience Center
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
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Deborah Waber, PhD
Director, Learning Disabilities Program; Director, Behavioral Science Core, Translational Neuroscience Center
Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Medical Services
Education
Undergraduate School
Psychology
University of Pennsylvania
1970
Philadelphia
PA
Graduate School
Developmental Psychology
Yale University
1974
New Haven
CT
Fellowship
Boston Children's Hospital
1974
Boston
MA
Professional History
I completed my Ph.D. at Yale University in developmental psychology and then two years of post-doctoral training with at Boston Children's Hospital, joining the staff thereafter. With grant support from NIMH, NINDS, and NICHD, I have pursued research on learning disabilities, physical growth and cognitive development, nutrition and the impact of cancer and its treatment on neuropsychological function. Since 1985, I have been a neuropsychologist with the Learning Disabilities Program in the Department of Neurology, becoming director of the program in 2011. I was promoted to Professor in 2013.
Approach to Care
My interest in learning disabilities arises from my background in developmental psychology and the "whole child" approach to disabilities. I see learning disabilities as a variant of normal development, from which problems arise when the requirements and expectations of the community, in particular schools, are not a good fit for the child's profile of strengths and weaknesses. Our goal in the Learning Disabilities Program is to find ways to promote development by improving the fit between the child's profile and the school.
Publications
Prevalence of suicidality in children and adolescents with depressive disorders with and without epilepsy. View Abstract
Effects of Maternal and Child Lifetime Traumatic Stress Exposures, Infant Temperament, and Caregiving Quality on Preschoolers' Executive Functioning. View Abstract
Associations among maternal lifetime trauma, psychological symptoms in pregnancy, and infant stress reactivity and regulation. View Abstract
Special Education Services and School-Related Quality of Life in Children With Learning Disorders and Their Families: A One-Year Follow-Up Study. View Abstract
A "Proof of Concept" Randomized Controlled Trial of a Video Game Requiring Emotional Regulation to Augment Anger Control Training. View Abstract
Performance on the ROCF at 8 Years Predicts Academic Achievement at 16 Years in Individuals with Dextro-Transposition of the Great Arteries. View Abstract
Consensus Parameter: Research Methodologies to Evaluate Neurodevelopmental Effects of Pubertal Suppression in Transgender Youth. View Abstract
Developmental Dyspraxia in Children With Learning Disorders: Four-Year Experience in a Referred Sample. View Abstract
Detecting microstructural white matter abnormalities of frontal pathways in children with ADHD using advanced diffusion models. View Abstract
Functional abdominal pain symptom severity: Associations between cognition and emotion in a pediatric sample. View Abstract
Accurately Assessing Visual Deficits in Children With Developmental Dyslexia-Reply. View Abstract
Age-specific associations between oestradiol, cortico-amygdalar structural covariance, and verbal and spatial skills. View Abstract
Self-reported visual symptoms in children with developmental dyslexia. View Abstract
Frequency of Visual Deficits in Children With Developmental Dyslexia. View Abstract
Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents With Learning Problems: Development and Validation of the LD/QOL15 Scale. View Abstract
Suprathreshold fiber cluster statistics: Leveraging white matter geometry to enhance tractography statistical analysis. View Abstract
Relationship between infant malnutrition and childhood maltreatment in a Barbados lifespan cohort. View Abstract
Commentary: Toward a More Rational System for Delivering Pediatric Neuropsychological Services. View Abstract
Parental history of moderate to severe infantile malnutrition is associated with cognitive deficits in their adult offspring. View Abstract
Ascertaining educational outcomes after assessment in children with learning disorders. View Abstract
DNA Methylation Signatures of Early Childhood Malnutrition Associated With Impairments in Attention and Cognition. View Abstract
Polymorphisms in Genes Related to Oxidative Stress Are Associated With Inferior Cognitive Function After Therapy for Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. View Abstract
Lexical retrieval pre- and posttemporal lobe epilepsy surgery in a pediatric sample. View Abstract
Neuroanatomical correlates of behavioral rating versus performance measures of working memory in typically developing children and adolescents. View Abstract
Neuropsychological outcomes at midlife following moderate to severe malnutrition in infancy. View Abstract
Impaired IQ and academic skills in adults who experienced moderate to severe infantile malnutrition: a 40-year study. View Abstract
Cognitive ability changes and dynamics of cortical thickness development in healthy children and adolescents. View Abstract
Neuropsychological outcomes of a randomized trial of prednisone versus dexamethasone in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: findings from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute All Consortium Protocol 00-01. View Abstract
Malnutrition in the first year of life and personality at age 40. View Abstract
MATERNAL DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS IN CHILDHOOD AND OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE IN ADULTHOOD. View Abstract
Acute cognitive and behavioral effects of systemic corticosteroids in children treated for inflammatory bowel disease. View Abstract
Elevated rates of ADHD in mothers of children with comorbid ADHD and epilepsy. View Abstract
Functional and structural differences in the hippocampus associated with memory deficits in adult survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. View Abstract
Socioeconomic outcomes in adults malnourished in the first year of life: a 40-year study. View Abstract
Infant malnutrition predicts conduct problems in adolescents. View Abstract
Four-year longitudinal performance of a population-based sample of healthy children on a neuropsychological battery: the NIH MRI study of normal brain development. View Abstract
Infant malnutrition is associated with persisting attention deficits in middle adulthood. View Abstract
Benign rolandic epileptiform discharges are associated with mood and behavior problems. View Abstract
Early malnutrition predicts parent reports of externalizing behaviors at ages 9-17. View Abstract
Neuropsychological outcomes of standard risk and high risk patients treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia on Dana-Farber ALL consortium protocol 95-01 at 5 years post-diagnosis. View Abstract
Central nervous system late effects: a new frontier? View Abstract
CNS germinoma: one more piece of the puzzle. View Abstract
Negative associations between corpus callosum midsagittal area and IQ in a representative sample of healthy children and adolescents. View Abstract
Neurobehavioral side effects of corticosteroids during active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children are age-dependent: report from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocol 00-01. View Abstract
Cognitive impairment as a mediator in the developmental pathway from infant malnutrition to adolescent depressive symptoms in Barbadian youth. View Abstract
Cortical thickness correlates of specific cognitive performance accounted for by the general factor of intelligence in healthy children aged 6 to 18. View Abstract
Developmental fMRI study of episodic verbal memory encoding in children. View Abstract
Family functioning and posttraumatic stress symptoms in youth and their parents after unintentional pediatric injury. View Abstract
Adaptive phase I study of OROS methylphenidate treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with epilepsy. View Abstract
Early childhood malnutrition predicts depressive symptoms at ages 11-17. View Abstract
Getting a "Head Start": neuropsychological functioning of young children treated for brain tumors with delayed or no cranial radiation therapy. View Abstract
Intrauterine cocaine exposure and executive functioning in middle childhood. View Abstract
Introduction: survivors of childhood cancer: the new face of developmental disabilities. View Abstract
Neuropsychological outcomes from a randomized trial of triple intrathecal chemotherapy compared with 18 Gy cranial radiation as CNS treatment in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: findings from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocol 95-01. View Abstract
The NIH MRI study of normal brain development: performance of a population based sample of healthy children aged 6 to 18 years on a neuropsychological battery. View Abstract
Psychiatric disorders and behavioral characteristics of pediatric patients with both epilepsy and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. View Abstract
Executive capacities from a developmental perspective View Abstract
Toward a Grounded Synthesis of Mind, Brain and Education for Reading: An Introduction to the Field and This Book View Abstract
Chemotherapy agents for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia View Abstract
Executive functions and memory in children treated for inflammatory bowel disease: Impact of steroids vs. disease factors View Abstract
Beyond Reading: How does neuroscience inform our understanding of LD? View Abstract
Everyday cognitive function after craniopharyngioma in childhood. View Abstract
Executive functions and performance on high-stakes testing in children from urban schools. View Abstract
Behavioral effects of childhood malnutrition. View Abstract
Neurodevelopmental characteristics of children with learning impairments classified according to the double-deficit hypothesis. View Abstract
Outcomes of a randomized trial of hyperfractionated cranial radiation therapy for treatment of high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: therapeutic efficacy and neurotoxicity. View Abstract
Neurobehavioral factors associated with referral for learning problems in a community sample: evidence for an adaptational model for learning disorders. View Abstract
Event-related correlations in learning impaired children during A hybrid go/no-go choice reaction visual-motor task. View Abstract
Neuropsychological functioning after surgery in children treated for brain tumor. View Abstract
The developmental course of processing speed in children with and without learning disabilities. View Abstract
Motor sequence learning and reading ability: is poor reading associated with sequencing deficits? View Abstract
A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of paced finger tapping in children. View Abstract
Psychosocial functioning in learning impaired children over a two-year period: Risk, Resilience, & Adaptation View Abstract
The ROCF and Pediatric Closed Head Injury View Abstract
The developmental course of processing speed in children with and without larning impairment View Abstract
Parsing children’s productions of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure: What Develops? View Abstract
Information processing deficits in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type, and children with reading disability. View Abstract
More good news about neuropsychological late effects in long-term survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. View Abstract
More good news about neuropsychological late effets in long-term survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia View Abstract
Memory deficits among children with craniopharyngiomas. View Abstract
Sources of poor performance on the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test among children with learning difficulties: a dynamic assessment approach. View Abstract
Excellent therapeutic efficacy and minimal late neurotoxicity in children treated with 18 grays of cranial radiation therapy for high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a 7-year follow-up study of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Consortium Protocol 87-01. View Abstract
Auditory evoked responses to similar words with phonemic difference: comparison between children with good and poor reading scores. View Abstract
Auditory evoked response data reduction by PCA: development of variables sensitive to reading disability. View Abstract
Processing of rapid auditory stimuli in school-age children referred for evaluation of learning disorders. View Abstract
Children with adequate academic achievement scores referred for evaluation of school difficulties: information processing deficiencies. View Abstract
Aberrations in Timing in Children with Impaired Reading: Cause, Effect or Correlate? View Abstract
Rapid automatized naming in children referred for evaluation of heterogeneous learning problems: how specific are naming speed deficits to reading disability? View Abstract
Speed of information processing in children referred for learning problems: performance on a visual filtering test. View Abstract
Characteristics of children referred for evaluation of school difficulties who have adequate academic achievement scores. View Abstract
Processing speed in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, inattentive type. View Abstract
Cognitive sequelae in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia with dexamethasone or prednisone. View Abstract
Reliability and validity of a DSM-IV based ADHD screener. View Abstract
Commentary: otitis media: consistency is the hobgoblin? View Abstract
Diminished motor timing control in children referred for diagnosis of learning problems. View Abstract
Otitis media: Consistency is the hobgoblin View Abstract
Rapid automatized naming in children referred for evaluation of heterogeneous learning problems: How specific are naming speed deficits in reading disability? View Abstract
Mother and teacher reports of ADHD symptoms: DSM-IV Questionnaire data. View Abstract
Auditory evoked responses to single tones and closely spaced tone pairs in children grouped by reading or matrices abilities. View Abstract
Neuropsychological Sequelae in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) View Abstract
Mother and teacher reports of ADHD symptoms: DSM-IV questionnaire data View Abstract
Toxicity of CNS prophylaxis for childhood leukemia. View Abstract
Pediatric neuropsychological assessment View Abstract
Neurobehavioral profiles of children with neurofibromatosis 1 referred for learning disabilities are sex-specific. View Abstract
Developmental Scoring System for the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure View Abstract
Late neuropsychological outcomes in preterm infants of normal IQ: selective vulnerability of the visual system. View Abstract
Cognitive sequelae of treatment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: cranial radiation requires an accomplice. View Abstract
The oral health of long-term survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a comparison of three treatment modalities. View Abstract
Neurobehavioral and neurologic outcome in long-term survivors of posterior fossa brain tumors: role of age and perioperative factors. View Abstract
Performance of learning disabled and non-learning disabled children on the Rey-osterrith Complex Figure Test (ROCF): Validation of the Developmental Scoring System View Abstract
Interactions of steroid, methotrexate, and radiation determine neurotoxicity in an animal model to study therapy for childhood leukemia. View Abstract
Metacognitive factors in the visuospatial skills of long-term survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): An experimental approach to the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) View Abstract
Repetitive graphomotor output in learning disabled and non-learning disabled children: the Repeated Pattern Test View Abstract
Prose memory strategies of children treated for leukemia: a story grammar analysis of the Anna Thompson passage View Abstract
The relationship of sex and treatment modality to neuropsychologic outcome in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. View Abstract
Neuropsychological diagnostic profiles of children who received CNS treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia: the systemic approach to assessment View Abstract
Neurodevelopmental bases of spelling acquisition in children treated for acute lymphoblastic leukemia View Abstract
An animal model to study toxicity of central nervous system therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: effects on behavior. View Abstract
Late effects of central nervous system treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood are sex-dependent. View Abstract
Sex differences in cognitive processing in children treated with CNS prophylaxis for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. View Abstract
Developmental neuropsychological assessment: The systemic approach View Abstract
Remembering the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure: A Dual-Code Model View Abstract
The biological boundaries of cognitive styles: a neuropsychological analysis View Abstract
Rate and state: a critique of models underlying the assessment of learning disabled children View Abstract
Assessing children's memory productions of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure. View Abstract
Motor overflow and attentional processes in normal school-age children. View Abstract
Assessing children's copy productions of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure. View Abstract
Motor correlates of dichotic listening asymmetries in children. View Abstract
The search for biological correlates of behavioral sex differences View Abstract
Physical maturation rate and cognitive performance in early adolescence: a longitudinal examination View Abstract
SES-related aspects of neuropsychological performance. View Abstract
Developmental and differential aspects of mental rotation in early adolescence. View Abstract
The neuropsychological status of adolescent delinquent boys. View Abstract
Behavioral correlates of physical and neuromotor maturity in adolescents from different environments. View Abstract
Nutritional supplementation, maternal education, and cognitive development of infants at risk of malnutrition. View Abstract
Environmental influences on brain and behavior View Abstract
What is the significance of sex differences in performance asymmetries? View Abstract
Effects of nutritional supplementaion and early education of physical and cognitive development View Abstract
Maturation: thoughts on renewing an old acquaintanceship View Abstract
Neuropsychological aspects of Turner's syndrome. View Abstract
Cognitive abilities and sex-related variations in the maturation of cerebral cortical functions View Abstract
The meaning of sex-related variation in maturation rates View Abstract
Biological substrates of field dependence: implications of the sex difference. View Abstract
Sex differences in Mental abilities, hemispheric lateralization, and rate of physical growth at adolescence View Abstract
Letter: Amitriptyline therapy in patients with anorexia nervosa. View Abstract
Sex differences in cognition: a function of maturation rate? View Abstract