Dr. Napolitano has broad research interests in the area of developmental and intellectual disabilities such as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS). Her research has focused on three primary areas, a) biobehavioral interventions (e.g., effects of medication on problem behavior and the interaction between medication and behavioral interventions) b) functional assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, and c) interventions for repetitive behavior. Dr. Napolitano has obtained research funding to examine interventions to increase diverse responding in persons with ASD. Dr. Napolitano also has worked with her research mentors on several federally funded research projects. She worked as a project coordinator for Dr. Steven Schroeder at the University of Kansas on a clinical trial of Risperdal for persons with autism and other developmental and intellectual disabilities and most recently at the University of Rochester as a co-investigator on Dr. Jennifer Zarcone's research examining the compulsive behavior of persons with Prader-Willi Syndrome.

• Napolitano DA, Smith T, Zarcone JR, Goodkin K, McAdam DB. Increasing response diversity in children with autism. J Appl Behav Anal. 2010; 43(2):265-71.
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• Napolitano DA, Zarcone J, Nielsen S, Wang H, Caliendo JM. Perceptions of body image by persons with Prader-Willi syndrome and their parents. Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2010 Jan; 115(1):43-53.
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• Zarcone J, Napolitano D, Valdovinos M. Measurement of problem behaviour during medication evaluations. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2008 Dec; 52(12):1015-28.
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• Zarcone J, Napolitano D, Peterson C, Breidbord J, Ferraioli S, Caruso-Anderson M, Holsen L, Butler MG, Thompson T. The relationship between compulsive behaviour and academic achievement across the three genetic subtypes of Prader-Willi syndrome. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2007 Jun; 51(Pt. 6):478-87.
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• Tessing JL, Napolitano DA, McAdam DB, DiCesare A, Axelrod S. The effects of providing access to stimuli following choice making during vocal preference assessments. J Appl Behav Anal. 2006; 39(4):501-6.
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• McAdam DB, Sherman JA, Sheldon JB, Napolitano DA. Behavioral interventions to reduce the pica of persons with developmental disabilities. Behav Modif. 2004 Jan; 28(1):45-72.
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• Marshall BL, Napolitano DA, McAdam DB, Dunleavy III JJ, Tessing JL, Varrell J. Venlafaxine and increased aggression in a female with autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003 Apr; 42(4):383-4.
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• Yoo JH, Williams DC, Napolitano DA, Peyton RT, Baer DM, Schroeder SR. Rate-decreasing effects of the atypical neuroleptic risperidone attenuated by conditions of reinforcement in a woman with mental retardation. J Appl Behav Anal. 2003; 36(2):245-8.
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• Valdovinos MG, Napolitano DA, Zarcone JR, Hellings JA, Williams DC, Schroeder SR. Multimodal evaluation of risperidone for destructive behavior: functional analysis, direct observations, rating scales, and psychiatric impressions. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2002 Aug; 10(3):268-75.
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• McAdam DB, Zarcone JR, Hellings J, Napolitano DA, Schroeder SR. Effects of risperidone on aberrant behavior in persons with developmental disabilities: II. Social validity measures. Am J Ment Retard. 2002 Jul; 107(4):261-9.
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