Child Communication Research Laboratory was founded in 2001 by professor Marta Ljubešić as Developmental Neurolinguistics Lab, based on the agreement between the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences (University of Zagreb) and Croatian Institute for Brain Research. It was grounded on long-lasting cooperation between biomedical and behavioral scientists.

Head of the Laboratory: Assoc. Prof. Maja Cepanec, PhD

The Laboratory’s associates:

• Prof. Marta Ljubešić, professor emeritus (psychologist)
• Prof. Draženka Blaži, PhD (SLP)
• Assoc. Prof. Jasmina Ivšac Pavliša, PhD (SLP)
• Assis. Prof. Blaženka Brozović, PhD (SLP)
• Assis. Prof. Sanja Šimleša, PhD (psychologist)

Goals:

• To study development and developmental disabilities of communication, language and speech
• To study the roles and interrelations of higher cognitive functions in the development of communication, language and speech in various clinical populations
• To study interrelations between neurobiological and behavioral developmental indicators
• To study the role of environmental factors (e.g. parenting styles, intervention programmes etc.) on developmental outcomes
• To develop various measuring instruments for the assessement of early child development

Projects:

• Analysis of key developmental features in preschool children with autism as prerequisite of developmental profiles quantification (UNIZG)
• Autism Diagnostic Observation with Robot Evaluator (ADORE) (HZZ)
• From early communication to literacy in children with autism spectrum disorder: the role of executive functions (UNIZG)
• Implementation of science-based (early) assessment of autism in Croatia (Zaklada Adris, HEP, HT)
• Cognitive and language development in children at neurodevelopmental risk (MZOŠ)
• Early communication and language development in children with early brain injury (MZOŠ)