USC Learning, Development, and Rehabilitation Lab

A special congratulations to our graduating lab members, Jeannie, Minami, and Lauren! 🎓 Whether continuing their studies in developmental psychology or entering the field of physical therapy as licensed professionals, we know these three graduates will make an incredible impact through their dedication to science and helping others. We are so proud of you all and wish you the very best in your next steps. Congratulations, Class of 2026! ✨

April has been an exciting month for our lab! 🌟 We want to celebrate Dr. Kari Kretch, principal investigator of the Learning Development & Rehabilitation Lab, for publishing her work on everyday positioning in infants with and without cerebral palsy.
Dr. Kretch utilized text message surveys to gain an accurate picture of what infants are doing at random intervals throughout the day, over two weeks of activity. Through her work, we learned that infants with cerebral palsy spend considerably more time lying on their backs, and considerably less time standing, compared to same-aged typically developing infants.

Here are some quick highlights of presentations from our lab members this spring! 🌟 From SoCal Minds to Dentistry Day, the Undergraduate Symposium, to the ASN Annual Conference, we are excited to share our latest advances & future directions in infant motor development. We’re so proud of our team for representing the lab and contributing to important conversations! 👏

This month, we had the joy of hosting wonderful families for a Family Park Day in honor of World Down Syndrome Day! 💙💛 Families swapped children’s books, enjoyed board games, and spent the afternoon playing with hula hoops, balls, and bubbles. Together, we also painted a special banner to commemorate the date we celebrated our Family Park Day! 🎨

We’re so grateful to the families who continue to support our lab — your presence makes this community so meaningful. We hope to see you all again soon! 🌼

Congratulations to our DPT student research assistants who presented work from the LDRL at APTA CSM in Anaheim this week! 🎉

⭐️ Lauren Bussell class of 2026, and Lauren Vasquez class of 2027, “Stepping in Pre-Walking Infants with Down Syndrome: Treadmill Trials, Overground Trials and Overground Free Play”
⭐️ Mina Sasaki class of 2026, “Validating a Step Counter for Measuring Real-World Walking in Infants With and Without Down Syndrome”

We hope your fall semester has been productive, Trojans! 🍂 Meet our incredible Research Assistants in the Learning, Development, and Rehabilitation Lab who make our work possible this semester. 🙌

October is in full swing, and we’re falling into new discoveries here at the Learning, Development, and Rehabilitation Lab! 🍁✨

This season, we’re highlighting our research and sharing a few of the amazing resources and communities we’ve connected with while learning from families of infants with Down syndrome. 💙

💬 What resources have made a difference for your family?

✨ Please join us in officially welcoming our newest team member, Aylin, as the Data Collection Coordinator at the LDR Lab! She started in July 2025 and has already loved getting to welcome families into the lab. We’re so excited to have her on the team! 💡👶📊

🎉 Congrats to all the new students finishing their first week! Special shoutout to Flor, now back in the Learning Lab as a PhD student 🎓✨ We can’t wait to see her research on play, caregiving, and early development unfold! 👶📚

CURRENTLY RECRUITING!

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲
Delays in independent walking restrict children’s participation in their homes and communities and limit learning opportunities that contribute to global development. Prior work has demonstrated that early practice stepping on a treadmill can accelerate and improve walking development in infants with Down Syndrome, who typically learn to walk about a year later than their typically developing peers. However, treadmill training has several limitations, including its passive nature and lack of variability, context, and motivation. Overground gait training with assistance of supported stepping devices (“gait trainers”) may be a promising adjunct to, or substitute for, treadmill training. This longitudinal study will examine the developmental trajectory of supported overground stepping and walking in infants with Down Syndrome to inform the development of a novel overground gait training protocol.

DM for more information.

CURRENTLY RECRUITING! 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗲 Delays in independent walking restrict children’s participation in their homes and communities and limit learning opportunities that contribute to global development. Prior work has demonstrated that early practice stepping on a treadmill can accelerate and improve walking development in infants with Down Syndrome, who typically learn to walk about a year later than their typically developing peers. However, treadmill training has several limitations, including its passive nature and lack of variability, context, and motivation. Overground gait training with assistance of supported stepping devices (“gait trainers”) may be a promising adjunct to, or substitute for, treadmill training. This longitudinal study will examine the developmental trajectory of supported overground stepping and walking in infants with Down Syndrome to inform the development of a novel overground gait training protocol. 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. #downsyndrome #downsyndromeawareness #downsyndromelosangeles #infantresearch #trisomy21 #sindromededown