Spina bifida program scheduled

The one out of 1,000 babies in the United States born each year with spina bifida – a birth defect in which the spinal cord and vertebrae do not properly develop – faces a number of disabilities affecting physical and neurobehavioral development.

To give people a better understanding of this disabling condition, and the resources available and research under way to manage it, the Waisman Center at UW–Madison offers a special program on Thursday, Nov. 6, from 4-5:30 p.m.

The program will feature a guest lecture by Jack M. Fletcher, a professor of pediatrics and associate director of the Center for Academic and Reading Skills at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center. His talk, titled “Outcomes in Spina Bifida: Learning and the Brain,” will highlight his research that investigates learning difficulties associated with this condition.

The talk is free and open to the public. It will take place in Room T216 at the Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Ave. Following the talk, refreshments and resource materials will be available. For more information about the program, contact Susan Vial at (608) 263-5192.

This event is sponsored by the Research Participation Core, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and UW–Madison’s Family Village – a global community of disability-related resources.