Aditi Shankardass on Learning Disorders in Children

Susan notes: Thanks to TED for making TED Talks downloadable and embeddable, and for providing the biographical information that goes along with them.

Developmental disorders in children are typically diagnosed by observing behavior, but Aditi Shankardass knew that we should be looking directly at their brains. She explains how a remarkable EEG device has revealed mistaken diagnoses and transformed children's lives.

Aditi Shankardass is a clinical neuroscientist trained across three disciplines of the field: neurophysiology, neuroanatomy and neuropsychology. She has also worked in three different areas of the field, from lab research to clinical research to clinical diagnosis of children. Currently, she leads the Neurophysiology Clinic at Bright Minds Institute and the EEG Lab of the Communicative Disorders Department at California State University.

Much of Shankardass’ work has been devoted to the advocacy and use of EEG (electroencephalography) technology that records and analyzes the brain’s activity in real time, producing the most accurate diagnoses possible for children with developmental disorders. She is also actively involved in public outreach to increase understanding of brain disorders as a board member of the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation, a consultant for BBC Science Line and author of the soon-to-be-released book Dyslexia and the Brain.