The Pandemic Cancelled It, and They Never Brought It Back takes readers into the daily lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities during the COVID‑19 pandemic, using their own photographs and words to reveal moments of loss, adaptation, resilience, and connection. Created by researchers at the Waisman Center, the book offers an intimate portrait of a community whose experiences are too often overlooked.
Karla Ausderau
Gallery Walk: The Pandemic Cancelled It, and They Never Brought It Back
The gallery walk goes from Monday, April 6 through Thursday, April 30, 2026 and will be accessible during regular business hours in the John D. Wiley Conference Center hallway at the Waisman Center on the second floor, north tower.
Waisman’s Summer Research Opportunity Program gives undergraduate student real-world experience in academic research
Each summer, the Waisman Center hosts undergraduate students with lived experience of a disability as a part of its Summer Research Opportunity Program.
Advising research through the lens of lived experience: How individuals with disabilities and their families are shaping research
NOTE: Each individual interviewed for this story stated their preference between person-first or identity-first language. The language used reflects the preference of each person. Researchers interviewed use identity-first language in alignment with the preferences of …
Karla Ausderau, PhD – Slide of the Week
Autistic children experience high rates of feeding challenges, negatively affecting their health, eating patterns, and social eating experiences.
Early feeding challenges predict later feeding challenge’s type and severity in autistic children
Feeding challenges seen in an autistic child’s first few years can help predict the type and severity of feeding challenges the child may experience later on.
Karla Ausderau, PhD – Slide of the Week
Opening the door to university health research: recommendations for increasing accessibility for individuals with intellectual disability
UW–Madison’s Ausderau is awarded COVID-19 Response grant from Wisconsin Partnership Program
UW–Madison’s Karla Ausderau, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Kinesiology, has been awarded a COVID-19 Response Research and Education Award from the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.
Karla Ausderau, PhD – Slide of the Week
Examine healthcare usage, pharmacy prescriptions and healthcare cost among people with Intellectual Disability in Wisconsin who participate in Special Olympics compared to people with Intellectual Disability who do not participate in Special Olympics. In addition, a sub-analysis was completed to compare Special Olympics athletes who participated in the Healthy Athlete program to those who had not.
Karla Ausderau, PhD – Slide of the Week
Mealtime is an important family routine commonly affected for families with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Limited research is available regarding strategies families incorporate to support mealtime engagement. The purpose of this study was to explore the frequency and characterize the purpose of Props used during mealtimes with children with ASD.