Young Survivor Unit (YoSU)

adult hand holding the hand of a prematurely born baby. Photographer: herjua
Our research aims to better understand the development of children who have been seriously ill early in life. 

The child's early years are critical for later development. Injuries to the child in connection with childbirth, birth long before the expected date or serious illness early in life affect the child's opportunities to develop. Our research aims to better understand the development of these children.

In the past, many of these children did not survive the first period. As healthcare has developed, more and more are surviving. These new and later young survivors are at great risk for brain damage, motor abnormalities and CP, autism, ADHD and learning disabilities.

A research group sits on a bench at Campus US in Linköping.Young Survivor Unit (YoSU). Photo credit John Karlsson Our research aims to better understand the development of children who have been seriously ill early in life. Furthermore, to develop and study interventions that, in the long term, increase the children's functioning in everyday life. We evaluate assessment instruments with the aim of improving diagnostics and enabling the right support interventions for the children and families we meet. We study interventions with a focus on strengthening children's cognitive, motor and social skills.

The aim

The aim of our research is generally to improve knowledge, diagnostics and interventions for children who have been seriously ill during the newborn period. Ultimately, our vision is to move from "wait and see" to early intervention.

News

Publications

Latest publications

2026

Sofia Ekmark Sergel, Michael Lundberg, Cecilia Magnusson, Ulrika Ådén, Gunnar Bergman, Veronica Siljehav (2026) Academic Achievements in Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease: A Total Population-Based Cohort Study Journal of the American Heart Association: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Disease, Vol. 15, Article e049927 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.126.049927
M. Ortqvist, A. Spittle, Ulrika Ådén, K. E. Kraft, R. N. Boyd, C. Luke, A. F. Bos (2026) "Fidgety-like movements" in infants born extremely preterm and their relation to later neurodevelopmental outcome Early Human Development, Vol. 222, Article 106622 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2026.106622
Noni Wadström, Anna Hallin Provenzano, Kristina Löwing, Erika Zettby, Mara Westling Allodi, Ann-Charlotte Smedler, Maria Örtqvist, Ulrika Ådén (2026) Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 24 months in Extremely Preterm Born Children after the Stockholm PretermInteraction-Based Intervention (Conference paper)
Erika Zettby, Noni Wadström, Ulrika Ådén (2026) Child dimentsions, but not parental dimensions of interactions were affected by severity of prematurity and illness in extremely preterm infants at 12 months corrected age (Conference paper)
Ylva F. Kaul, Martin Johansson, Anu Haavisto, Ulrika Ådén, Karin Kallen, Thomas Abrahamsson, Aijaz Farooqi, David Ley, Karin Savman, Andreas Ohlin, Kerstin Hellgren, Fredrik Serenius, Lisa B. Thorell (2026) Academic achievement in children born extremely preterm: a cohort study Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2025-329756

Projects

Research group

Organisation