Leonard Abbeduto

Leonard Abbeduto is a psychologist known for his research on individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, including Fragile X syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and Down syndrome, and factors that influence their linguistic development over the lifespan. He is the Tsakopoulos-Vismara Endowed Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at University of California, Davis. He serves as Director of Research at the Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopment Disorders (MIND) Institute, which was launched in 2001. Prior to his affiliation with the University of California, Davis, Abbeduto was the associate director for Behavioral Sciences at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Abbeduto received various awards during his tenure at the University of Wisconsin-Madison including the Kellett Mid-Career Research Award and the Emil A. Steiger Award for Distinguished Teaching. In 2010, Abbeduto received the Enid and William Rosen Research Award from the National Fragile X Foundation.

Abbeduto has authored several books including Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Educational Psychology and Guide to Human Development for Future Educators. He co-authored Language and Communication in Mental Retardation: Development, Processes and Intervention, with Sheldon Rosenberg. A review, published by the Linguistic Society of America, acknowledges the complexity of research on language development in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and describes the book as valuable and useful to the field.