Special 3 Inspiration 4 Two Families, Contributions of Dan Marino Issue for Head Four Decades 6 Demonstration 11 Foundation 40th Start Schools Gift Anniversary
Four Decades of Discovery By Jan Rosemergy
he story of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center begins with the story of the Joseph and Rose TKennedy family whose nine children included a daughter, Rosemary, with intellectual disabilities, and a future president. As a brother, John F. Kennedy understood the profound effects of disability not only on the individual but on the entire family and their relationship to the community. As President, he took action. President Kennedy’s first step, in 1962, was creating the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and then the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation. Among its members were Peabody College faculty members Lloyd Dunn, Ph.D., coordinator of special education, and Nicholas Hobbs, Ph.D., professor of psychology and chair of the Division of Human Development. The Panel recommended the establishment and support of Mental Retardation Research Centers to bring together scientists from many disciplines to address the causes and treatment of intellectual disabilities. On October 31, 1963, President Kennedy signed legislation to construct a national network of 12 Mental Retardation Research Centers. Peabody College was viewed as a world leader in this arena. It had the nation’s first Kennedy Center founding director Nicholas Hobbs with youth in Project doctoral training program in mental retardation research, begun in 1954. The Joseph P. Re-ED Kennedy Jr. Foundation established Visiting Professorships in Mental Continued on page 2
Director’s Message A National Mission By Duane Alexander Investing in s one site in the national network of A Mental Retardation/Developmental Disability Research Centers Children (MRDDRCs) constructed by the t is remarkable how federal government, Vanderbilt Ioften in society we University’s John F. Kennedy Center is a seem to spend our living and visible remembrance of the time reinventing the President whose name it bears. wheel. Are we doing it One of John Kennedy’s early acts as here at the Vanderbilt President was to create a President’s Kennedy Center? We Panel on Mental Retardation, charged can take advantage of with seeking ways to improve the lives the ceremonial nature of persons with mental retardation, of anniversaries, many of whom lived separated from which often provide social interaction and research attention Pat Levitt, Ph.D. an opportunity (even in custodial institutions. Convinced 1961 announcement of the newly founded President’s Committee on an excuse) to take stock of where we were, largely by Robert E. Cooke, M.D., that Mental Retardation where we are, and where we’d like to go. Our the key to progress in mental retardation 40th anniversary as a national center for was research, and that such research needed to be conducted on university and medical school campuses research on mental retardation and develop- rather than at isolated residential institutions, the Panel recommended that the federal government pro- mental disabilities is upon us, and my own, vide funds to support construction of a network of MRDDRCs in these academic locations. Legislation admittedly biased opinion Continued on page 3 enacting this recommendation, the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Continued on page 9
Number 9 Summer 2005 Vanderbilt University Summer 2005 Discovery
ized by a commitment to families and to the Four Decades principle that persons are influenced in pow- from page one erful ways by settings and by other persons. Mission-oriented research. From the out- Retardation Research at Peabody in set, the Center’s work has been organized into 1962. The Institute on Mental mission-oriented research groups. During the Retardation and Intellectual early years those were the Institute on Mental Development, an NICHD program Retardation and Intellectual Development project, was founded in 1964. With this (IMRID, 1964-1996), the Demonstration and remarkable record, Peabody was success- Research Center on Early Education ful in the national competition. The John (DARCEE, 1966-1980), the Institute on F. Kennedy Center for Research on School Learning and Individual Differences Education and Human Development was (1965-1972), the Center for Community founded on May 19, 1965. Studies (1966-1981), the Research Group on “The creation of the Kennedy Center Behavior Disorders in Children (1965-1972), resulted from a magical collaboration Dynamic Assessment has been used since the 1960s to evaluate children’s and the Research Group on Sensory-Motor among the federal government, a private potential to do new learning and to generalize that learning. Disorders and Adaptive Behavior (1965- foundation, and a private college of educa- and Peabody. Today the Center has 150 Vanderbilt 1972). These institutes were led by faculty tion and human development,” said professor of faculty members from 19 disciplines. researchers including Lloyd Dunn, Ph.D., Susan psychology emeritus H. Carl Haywood, Ph.D., a Intellectual and related disabilities and those at Gray, Ph.D., Raymond Norris, Ph.D., Wilbert Lewis, Kennedy Foundation professor in mental retardation risk. The Center’s initial focus was on persons with Ph.D., and J. R. Newbrough, Ph.D. Forty years later, research at the time of the founding and the Center’s intellectual disabilities, but a new dimension was the Center is organized into four research groups: third director. “Without all three, it would not added: individuals whose learning difficulties were Communication and Learning, Developmental have happened.” largely due to inadequate opportunities to learn, Neurobiology and Brain Plasticity, Mood and Interdisciplinary research. A fundamental princi- lack of stimulation, ill health, poor nutrition, and the Emotion, and Family Research. Despite organiza- ple was—and is—bringing together scientists from effects of poverty. Concern not only for individuals tional changes over the decades to reflect faculty many disciplines to work together as a strategy for with disabilities but also for those whose develop- expertise and emerging knowledge, clusters of advancing knowledge more rapidly and efficiently ment is at risk is a hallmark of this Center. researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds than any single discipline can accomplish alone. Throughout its history, Center investigators have working together on related problems have been a This Center was conceived initially as having an pursued research in the broad areas of intellectual hallmark. almost exclusive emphasis in education and the disabilities and other developmental disorders, child A third hallmark has been the inclusiveness of behavioral sciences, but with a determination that development, and family functioning. Much of this scientific efforts. Studies of learning, animal behav- biology would not be neglected. This was accom- research has been conceived and conducted with the ior, and more recently, brain development and plished through relationships with Vanderbilt idea that education, broadly conceived, offers prom- plasticity have taken place alongside studies of the University School of Medicine, Meharry Medical ising approaches to the solutions of many of society’s effects of early intervention and school-wide College, and Fisk University, as well as through the problems. For example, when solutions were sought educational and mental health interventions. Center’s own biological research in its Psychobiology to the problem of children with emotional disorders, Another enduring hallmark has been pursuing Laboratories. Project Re-ED, an educational approach, was science and improved practices within a communi- When Peabody merged with Vanderbilt in 1979, devised, tested, evaluated, and disseminated. When it ty context. In addition, public support for persons the Center was able to expand its biological and became apparent that adverse social circumstances with disabilities and their families has been a part biomedical research and include many more disci- might be depriving children from low-income of the Center’s mission, along with a commitment plines. The breadth and depth of research was families of the proper physical, social, intellectual, to transfer the knowledge generated by research enhanced further in 2001 when the Center became and emotional development, the Early Training into practice. a university-wide research, training, diagnosis, and Project, an educational solution, was devised, which Research training. Research training is a part of treatment institute, embracing faculty and influenced the establishment of Head Start. the Center’s mission. It occurs at many levels: in resources in Medicine, Nursing, Arts and Science, Similarly, the work of the Center has been character- classrooms and laboratories, Continued on page 3
Mental retardation has many different causes: maladaptive behaviors and psychiatric conditions. Primer • prenatal, including genetic disorders and Such etiology-related behaviors have led to renewed accidents in utero, excitement in research about linking specific genetic • perinatal, including prematurity and anoxia anomalies to changes in brain structure or function, Mental Retardation (lack of oxygen at birth), to behavioral outcomes, and the issue of gene-brain- (Intellectual Disabilities) • postnatal, including meningitis and head trauma. behavior relations.
Core features: By the late 1990s, over 750 different genetic causes Psychiatric disorders are common among children • IQs below 70, (or etiologies) had been identified. The most and adults with mental retardation. • problems in adaptive behavior (i.e., need for prominent genetic etiologies are Down syndrome, supports to perform daily activities required for fragile X syndrome, and Prader-Willi syndrome. In many cases, behavioral training has increased adaptive and decreased maladaptive behaviors, has personal and social independence), For the majority of persons with mental retardation, no cause is apparent. been helpful to parents, and has contributed to • beginning in the childhood years. prevocational and vocational success. Children with different etiologies of mental Although debated, the standard view is that about Source: Hodapp, R. M., & Dykens, E. M. (2003). 1% to 2% of the population has mental retardation. retardation vary in their behaviors, showing different Mental retardation (intellectual disabilities). In E. J. More males than females have mental strengths and weaknesses in cognitive, language, or Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Child psychopathology 2 retardation. adaptive skills, as well as a proneness to different (2nd ed., pp. 486-519). New York: Guilford.
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about children with developmental disabilities, Kennedy Center was one of the first research units Director’s Message from page one and it is astonishing to ponder the contributions at Vanderbilt to reach out beyond the academic is that our great scientists and clinicians are well that our scientists have made over the years. This disciplines on which its research was founded. We ahead of the curve in terms of bringing the special anniversary issue highlights many of these, are the prototype for that today on our campus, most creative solutions to our most difficult but from my perspective, we need to judge our- and even across the United States and abroad. challenges in understanding human development selves in terms of whether we are taking the fullest My colleague and friend on the National and behavior. advantage of this brilliant foundation of research Scientific Council for the Developing Child, Nobel Nicholas Hobbs, Lloyd Dunn, Susan Gray, Carl and application in developmental disabilities. economist James Heckman of the University of Haywood, and a remarkable cast of faculty As we have grown our research programs across Chicago, has demonstrated unequivocally that members knew in the 1950s what we now take as the Vanderbilt campus to include 150 faculty investing more of our great national resources in gospel: If you want to understand human nature members, the enthusiasm of my colleagues in dif- children will have a dramatic, positive impact on and behavior, study it from the beginning, in chil- ferent disciplines to participate in even greater the economic future for those individuals, their dren, and if you want to provide the best evidence- interdisciplinary efforts to solve the mysteries of families, and society. It makes little sense, just from based interventions for those with developmental development is truly remarkable. We now link our an economic standpoint, to wait. This is what the disabilities, study it with a truly interdisciplinary research efforts, more than ever, to practical solu- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center has been about, and lens. The remarkable legacy of our Kennedy tions for children and families through our Family what we will continue to pursue as we move Center scientists set the gold standard for research Outreach Center and Clinics. Historically, the beyond our 40th birthday.
When we arrived back in Inspiration for Washington, he contacted Dr. [Robert] Cooke and Dr. Ray Adams from Massachusetts General Hospital Head Start and the process for Head Start began. The work of Dr. Gray influenced By Eunice Kennedy Shriver much of the efforts of the planning n 1964, Carl Haywood and Nicholas committee for Head Start. I Hobbs invited me to visit Peabody College to I have often repeated this event and observe their research and accomplishments, its significance to Sargent, and I told especially those of Dr. Susan Gray. At that time, Scott Stossel, the author of Sarge’s Dr. Gray was conducting a study on small book, that we must include this event children with mental retardation examining the in his book Sarge: The Life and Times impact of tutoring with their parents upon the of Sargent Shriver. likelihood of these children entering into normal The credit for Head Start should be grades in school. given to special children, not to Sarge and As I was about to leave on my trip to Nashville The Early Training Project helped prepare preschoolers for school learning. not to me. Neither of us would have from my home in Washington, D.C., I asked Sarge thought of this idea if we had not if he wanted to accompany me. At that time, he child was able to perform were impressive, as was traveled to Nashville, met Dr. Gray, and watched the was organizing the War on Poverty. He seemed their ability to communicate. children do their extraordinary performances. rather reluctant at first but he decided to accom- At the conclusion of our visit, we talked for a Peabody College and Vanderbilt University pany me. When we landed in Nashville, we were while with Dr. Gray. Sarge and I were impressed benefited from Dr. Gray’s work as well as through met by Dr. Gray. She invited us to view two or with her results in improving the abilities of obtaining a large grant from the Joseph P. Kennedy three different centers where the parents were mildly retarded children. During our flight back Jr. Foundation to establish the John F. Kennedy working with their mentally retarded children to to Washington, Sarge turned to me and said, “If Center. In retrospect, Dr. Susan Gray was a upgrade their skills. you can do this with disabled children, I could do pioneer who influenced the development of Dr. Gray was excited at the thought that these this with regular children all across America.” I children worldwide. children could be educated in a regular classroom. said to him, “That’s wonderful, Sarge, but you We visited the different centers and observed, for must set aside a certain percentage of the funds of Mrs. Eunice Kennedy Shriver is the executive vice example, mothers who were tossing a ball to their this program for disabled children because they president of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation. children and those who were getting their children are the ones that made this enormous discovery.” For information on the Foundation, see to walk in a straight line. The motor activities each He said, “I certainly will.” www.jpkf.org.
Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, programs including those in special education, Four Decades from page two as well as positions in various levels of government. neuroscience, vision, neurogenomics, pharmacology, in the conduct of research, in consultation with More recent is the Center’s Developmental and biomedical imaging. experts, in lectures and presentations of research Psychopathology Research Training Program, Summary. In 1966, at the inaugural meeting of methods and findings, and in collaboration among which trains research scientists studying the the Center’s National Advisory Committee, found- researchers. The Center administers the Mental development, life course, and prevention of ing director Nicholas Hobbs challenged those Retardation Research Training Program, now in its abnormal behavior. It is designed for scholars in present: “In the character of what has been done, 51st year of continuous funding, first by National the fields of psychology, psychiatry, pediatrics, and you may surmise what may be done, and more Institute of Mental Health and later by NICHD. education who will become leaders in research in quickly move to share with us the task of inventing Graduates hold positions of responsibility in the developmental psychopathology and prevention. the future.” Forty years from its founding, Vanderbilt national Mental Retardation/Developmental Kennedy Center investigators also serve as Kennedy Center investigators are continuing to Disabilities Research Centers and in the University faculty in other Vanderbilt research training invent that future. 3
Summer 2005 Discovery Two Families, Four Decades By Stephanie Comer
he Vanderbilt Kennedy Center has been children with a broad range of abilities that just participant in all this. Work is very important Tserving families for the past 40 years. The didn’t fit into any other program.” to Chris–as it is for many others.” story of the Panvini and Howe families represents In the 1970s, Metro Public Schools did not enroll Chris works with an enclave from New Horizons not only some of each family’s changes over the children with disabilities until they were 8. “I think at the Tennessee Air Guard. One of his preferred four decades, but also changes in the disabilities that state governments were lagging behind. jobs is to take out the trash. He enjoys this job field nationwide. As parents we may not have been at the cusp of where he can see the start and finish and knows change, but we were good at looking forward.” that he accomplished a goal–something that Panvini volunteered as a room mother when Panvini is quite familiar with. Chris was old enough to attend Metro Schools, “What would I be if I didn’t have Chris? I think but she began to realize that many aspects were that you begin to appreciate the successes that people not contributing to Chris’s growth. have in their lives. And that the successes are different “In 1979, children with disabilities ages 8 for each person. Maybe situations can be improved if to 16 went to the same school. Nothing was people focus on the successes a little more.” tailor-made for the student’s specific needs. So a group of us parents developed the The first helping hand can make all the difference Action Committee for Special Education in Metro. We fought to get better transporta- Alex was a full-term birth. His mother Dara Howe tion, curricula, and accountability. We met had no idea at delivery that anything was unusual. with transportation providers, discussed the But as time passed, Alex was not meeting develop- issues with P.E., and talked to psychologists.” mental milestones. During Alex’s 6-month check-up, As Chris developed and changed, so did the doctor found the size of his head was smaller Panvini’s involvement. She was active with than it should be. He was diagnosed with micro- The Arc of Davidson County and now The cephaly and later, cerebral palsy. Chris and Doria Panvini in Chris’s home Arc of Tennessee. “I was working at Vanderbilt when Alex was “We started an agency with other families diagnosed and knew Jan Rosemergy, director of When “no” is not an option called Mid TN Supported Living, because we communications at the Kennedy Center,” said strongly feel you can provide supports that are Howe. “She raised my awareness about early inter- When Doria Panvini was in high school, she helped relevant to each person. Chris has his own home vention. Jan told me not only about the Susan Gray at summer camps for children with disabilities. In and a companion, and many others have apart- School (SGS), but she also gave me information college, she and some friends had a Girl Scout ments or condos, whatever works. But he really likes about other early intervention programs. Jan was troop for girls with mental retardation. it, and it is his home. It has been very successful.” an example of why it is important to have many “We found out very quickly they could do more Panvini has served on a variety of committees facts before you make an informed decision.” than we thought,” said Panvini. Little did she know with the Division of Mental Retardation Services Howe decided on the SGS because it was that this would be only the beginning of her (DMRS). One is the Tennessee Employment university-based and on the cutting edge of new experience with developmental disabilities. technologies and best practices. Alex At the age of 1 1/2, Panvini’s son Chris was started in June 1985 in the diagnosed with mental retardation. In the 1960s Infant/Toddler Learning Project when when Chris was born, supports available for parents he was 1. Howe believes that Alex’s were limited. Children with disabilities were not success was related to the fact that she included in public schools. The Arc movement was was taking part in his education as well. just starting to take hold with families fighting for “I was invited to participate in a an education program for their children with parent support group that was part of disabilities. Panvini became an advocate for Chris’s this research study. I have a very clear needs as well as the welfare of others. memory of when I met a parent with “The biggest difference between services then a child like my child. Up until that and today was the amount of childhood supports,” point I felt very much alone and said Panvini. “We lived in New York at the time, meeting this parent was an enlighten- and there was a program for Chris when he was 3 ing moment.” 1/2, but he couldn’t start before then. He did start a Howe knew Alex was going to need month or two early because I kept calling them.” help his entire life. The level of sup- When Chris was 5, the Panvini family, which port Alex gets is what determines his included siblings Lisa and Bob, moved to Nashville success. “Taking a look back, services when Robert Panvini joined the Vanderbilt physics Alex Howe receiving early intervention in the model Infant/Toddler were very limited. We knew Alex faculty. “We came to the Kennedy Center and talked Learning Project could receive a free appropriate public to Nicholas Hobbs in 1971. But at that time the education, but we stumbled outside of Kennedy Center didn’t offer anything for Chris’s Consortium, started by a Challenge Grant by the school services. But things are different now. There age group,” said Panvini. Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities to are various government programs, summer camps, Chris eventually enrolled at St. Bernard’s DMRS. It was formed to work with Vocational and countless organizations looking to lend a hand.” Preschool for the Handicapped under the direction Rehabilitation Services to get more people who are Through the years, Howe got excited about of Sister Marietta. “She believed that all supported by the DMRS employed. advances in technology and what it can do for 4 children could learn. There were about 20 “This is the fourth year, and I have been a children with disabilities. Continued on page 5
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Two Families from page four Leading the Vanguard of Discovery “With voice output devices, it was exciting to know In T. Luster & L. Okagaki (Eds.), Parenting: An that Alex could indicate ‘I am thirsty,’‘I am hungry,’ ecological perspective (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: or ‘My name is Alex.’ I began to realize it was all Erlbaum. about Alex being able to have a say. I want him to • Ly, T. M., & Hodapp, R. M. (in press). Children be able to have some control in his life, and with Prader-Willi syndrome vs. Williams technology does this.” syndrome: Indirect effects on parents during a Howe discovered early on that the key to their jigsaw puzzle task. Journal of Intellectual success as a family was the need for information Disability Research. to make informed decisions for Alex and his • Hodapp, R. M., Glidden, L. M., & Kaiser, A. P. future. She got involved with The Arc. She (in press). Siblings of persons with disabilities: attended a presentation about the Education of Toward a research agenda. Mental Retardation. All Handicapped Children Act, which encouraged parents to know the law and how it impacts a Education child. Howe was given fair and objective informa- B.A., 1977, Psychology, Columbia College, tion, touching a cord with her personal New York desire–family empowerment. Alex’s dad David, M.A., 1981, Developmental Psychology, older brother Aaron, and grandparents have all Boston University played vital roles in Alex’s life. ROBERT HODAPP, PH.D. Ph.D., 1983, Developmental Psychology, “It has been important to me to try to extend Professor of Special Education Boston University knowledge to others who don’t live with a family Co-Director of Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Postdoctoral Fellow, 1983-85, member or know anyone with a disability. I felt it Program on Family Research Child Study Center, Yale University gave me a purpose and meaning to my life that I Joined Vanderbilt Kennedy Center 2003
Research Interests Attraction to Developmental Disabilities Familial reactions to children with genetic Research syndromes; mother-child and teacher-child My interest in studying developmental disabilities interactions with children who have disabilities; arose from both my work and my educational behavioral differences among groups with experiences. Throughout college and graduate different causes of intellectual disabilities; school, I worked as a teacher of children with interventions based on profiles of cognition severe to profound disabilities. Simultaneously in and language in specific genetic syndromes my Ph.D. program, I was learning about children’s development, mother-child interactions, and Principal Investigator families of typically developing children. As a Adolescents with Down syndrome: Relating postdoctoral fellow with Ed Zigler at Yale, I began psychological, health, and family functioning, to join these two worlds. With his help, I started University Central Discovery Grant Program, exploring how theories, approaches, and findings Vanderbilt University derived from work on typically developing children might apply to children with develop- Clinical Interests mental disabilities. I also began examining with Generating information to improve parental and Elisabeth Dykens how children with particular familial coping and well-being, to allow families to genetic disorders differed in their behavioral understand their child’s disability, and to tailor development, and how behaviors of children with screening and intervention efforts to aid parents particular syndromes might affect their family and families who are having difficulties members.
National Service Reasons for Kennedy Center Membership Editorial Boards, American Journal on Mental When my wife Elizabeth Dykens and I were being Dara Howe (left) and Alex using a trolley during a Retardation, McGill Journal of Education, Mental recruited here three years ago, we realized the Franklin community orientation program Retardation, and Early Education and Development Kennedy Center combined a strongly held, multi- American Psychological Association, Division 33 disciplinary focus with a rock-solid commitment to had never had before.” Howe now serves as the (Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities) children with disabilities and their families. In addi- executive director of Family Voices of Tennessee, Treasurer, 2004-2005 tion to the researchers themselves, a skilled, a grassroots network of families and friends dedicated group of Kennedy Center staff help speaking on behalf of children with special health Selected Publications everyone to get things done. More recently—with care needs. • Hodapp, R. M., & Dykens, E. M. (in press). support from several private foundations and “I want to help new families know what the Mental retardation: Moving from research to federal agencies—the Kennedy Center has expanded ‘secret’ services are and how to navigate the maze. intervention. In I. Sigel & A. Renninger (Series the services it provides to persons with disabilities It is hard, and there is a lot to track and follow. Eds.) & W. Damon & R. Lerner (Vol. Eds.), and their families. Where else can one work every But I have to give the Kennedy Center credit. Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4. Research to day with such a talented, committed group of They helped me to get started and to feel that if I practice. New York: John Wiley & Sons. scientists, staff, and service providers, all of whom have the information and the determination, Alex • Hodapp, R. M., & Ly, T. M. (in press). Parenting share a mission to learn about and to serve is going to be the beneficiary.” children with developmental disabilities. individuals with disabilities and their families? 5
Summer 2005 Discovery Susan Gray School for All Children Vanderbilt Kennedy Center • Peabody College
Contributions of Demonstration Schools By Rebecca Fewell
Teaching and Learning longitudinal investigation was one of the first to demonstrate that intensive summer intervention, Demonstration schools along with home visits during the other months, have provided the resulted in young children from poor environments “hands-on” teaching and being prepared to enter their school experiences. learning experiences for These findings were instrumental in opening the many of the leading doors to Head Start and Early Head Start programs professionals in the field that are so much a part of our services to young of developmental children at risk for school difficulties. disabilities. As students Second, while the Early Training Project was we had hands-on experi- actively working with children and training teachers ence in the classrooms, on one end of the Susan Gray School, the Toddler learning the various Research and Intervention Project of William Bricker, techniques for meeting Ph.D., and Diane Bricker, Ph.D., was ensconced on the the needs of children. other. Now considered a classic in the field of early Many of us would later intervention, this project was the first federally funded take what we learned to research investigation to combine the cognitive theo- classrooms throughout retical perspectives of Jean Piaget and the instructional the world; others would strategies of behavioral psychologists as the curricula enter careers as university basis for young children with special needs. Also, the professors and pass on Brickers introduced the idea of including typically Rebecca Fewell (holding infant) these experiences to their developing children in classrooms that had tradition- students, teachers in ally served only children with disabilities. Over time, ach year persons from the U.S. and abroad, training. Students were but one beneficiary; this inclusion model became federal policy. Later, the E interested in learning about cutting-edge children, their parents, and others in the field Brickers moved their model and expanded it in programs for young children with special needs, also benefited. demonstration schools at the University of Miami and visit one or more of the major universities known the University of Oregon, where it is active today. for training professionals in this field. Invariably, Research A third example is yet another illustration of how a highlight of such experience is a visit to a demonstration school on or near the campus. Advances in any field are Demonstration schools are highly specialized in dependent on high- their mission and, in many cases, have been the quality research. proving grounds for the public policies and Education is no excep- educational experiences that have shaped today’s tion. Originally called practices. These schools play three important “laboratory schools,” roles in the field of mental retardation and these sites are the developmental disabilities: teaching and learning, scientific arenas in research, and service. which professionals As a graduate student in the Department of Special experiment with new Education when the Kennedy Center opened, I partic- ideas that advance ipated in several of the first programs of what was teaching and learning. then the Experimental School and is today the Susan Shortly after the Gray School. As a professor I taught, supervised completion of the students, and conducted research in the Susan Gray Kennedy Center MRL School and later in the Experimental Education Unit Building, Peabody of the University of Washington, and, most recently, researchers began several Inclusion of preschoolers with and without disabilities was demonstrated and evaluated in in the Debbie School at the Mailman Center for investigations that have the Experimental School in the early 1970s. Child Development at the University of Miami, had a significant impact where I served as director. A few examples of work on how preschool work at one demonstration school can take on a life of that began in the Susan Gray School during children are educated today. its own at another university. Research into curricu- those early years illustrate the critical roles First, Susan Gray, Ph.D., and her colleagues held lum development based on the cognitive mediated demonstration schools have and continue to classes of the Early Training Project in the School learning theories of Vygotsky and Feuerstein began life 6 play in this field. during the summer months. This classic with associations at the Susan Gray School, under the Summer 2005 Discovery
The Susan Gray School provides inclusive education for young children with and without disabilities and support for their families. Its fourfold mission is providing high-quality service, supporting research, contributing to the training of future teachers and researchers, and demonstrating recommended practices as a national model. It is a program of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and Peabody College.
initiated a program for very young children psychology students learned the art and the science with autism. This program was quickly of assessing the abilities of children who could modified to respond to a growing commu- neither see nor hear. In addition, children through- nity need. An increasing number of out the South and Midwest, their family members, families in Middle Tennessee reported they and a resource person from their local communities were baffled by behavioral problems in came to Nashville to participate in this classroom their young children. This program moved and to complete extensive developmental evalua- into the community, became known as the tions. The adults and siblings were trained in Regional Intervention Program (RIP), and intervention strategies to implement in their home and community settings. is recognized throughout the world as one of the first programs to train parents to Summary modify their young children’s behavior. The Kennedy Center is an important The programs cited are just a few examples of the member of a national network of centers contributions from the early years of the Susan Gray that have the capacity and School’s long and lustrous history. This story could be expertise to respond to critical needs. told over and over again as so many excellent model For example, in the mid-1960s the programs began in this demonstration school. Today’s country experienced the birth of 20,000 babies with Rubella syndrome. Most of demonstration schools, with their close proximity to these children had multiple disabilities, university faculty and students, continue to serve as training sites for model interventions with children In 1969, an Experimental School model classroom served children with including being deaf and blind. The need and families, places for experimenting with new multiple sensory and cognitive disabilities, developing curricula, training to provide services for the children and teachers, and supporting parents. especially to train teachers for the techniques, and birth places for tomorrow’s commu- children was urgent. Three faculty nity’s services. Demonstration schools will continue to auspices of H. Carl Haywood, Ph.D., Penelope Brooks, members, Verna Hart, Ed.D., Randall Harley, Ph.D., be an integral part of universities that place a high Ph.D., and then doctoral student Susan Burns. and Samuel Ashcroft, Ph.D., responded immediately priority on the integration of teaching, research, and Although I was not a part of this project at the by setting up a classroom in the Susan Gray School service within the context of intellectual and other Kennedy Center, I knew about it and was instrumental to serve local children. They employed highly skilled developmental disabilities. in introducing the model to my colleagues and graduates of their training programs as teachers and students at the Experimental Education Unit at the they, in turn, trained a cadre of graduate students Rebecca Fewell, Ph.D., retired in 2002 as professor of University of Washington. These researchers (Cole, who would take positions throughout the country pediatrics and psychology, University of Miami School Mills, Jenkins, and Dale) randomly assigned students where their highly specialized skills were needed. of Medicine; she is a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center to either an intervention based on the work of Under the tutorage of Norman Buktenica, Ph.D., Visiting Scholar. Haywood and his colleagues, or a direct instruction model, Distar, based on the theoretical work of Bereiter and Engelmann. Earlier this year, the Washington research group reported on their 15-year follow-up of their original study. These findings are extremely important to the field as they offer new insight into the social outcomes of preschool exposure to these two curriculum models.
Service to the Community
In addition to providing highly specialized services to children from the communities where they are located, demonstration schools play another impor- tant community role. The schools employ excellent teachers and have highly qualified graduate and undergraduate students assisting in the classrooms. The programs are developed under what is often referred to as ideal conditions. An important service the programs offer is to move the successfully devel- oped models into the community so that more indi- viduals can benefit from them. In the formative years of the Susan Gray School, Bright Start, an early education cognitive curriculum, was initially developed in a Susan Gray School classroom. John Ora, Jr., Ph.D., and Ronald Wiegerink, Ph.D., 7
Summer 2005 Discovery
and his associates. Other widely used Transforming instruments include the Woodcock- Johnson Psychoeducational Battery, the Lives Beery-Buktenica Development Test of Visuo-Motor Integration, and the Peabody By Jan Rosemergy Developmental Motor Scales. he translation of knowledge into practice” Preschool education. Susan Gray, Ph.D., “Tis a Vanderbilt Kennedy Center core value and researchers in the Demonstration that has characterized the Center since its found- and Research Center for Early Education ing. These two pages can only suggest how much (DARCEE) in the 1960s and 1970s has been done over four decades to promote the provided early Head Start training and development and learning of individual children developed a model preschool curriculum with disabilities and children developmentally at for national dissemination. DARCEE risk, to serve and support families and their researchers developed a Home Visitors communities, and to help shape public policies model to teach parents to enhance their and practices in health, human services, children’s development, which was used and education. with diverse communities, ranging from Inclusive education. As early as the late 1960s, urban low-income minority neighbor- Kennedy Center co-founder Lloyd Dunn, Ph.D., hoods to tribal reservations. These models was using research findings to challenge the The DARCEE Home Visitor Program helped parents promote their influenced early childhood education and prevailing educational approaches to mental young children’s development and learning. home visiting programs. retardation. Arguing that the use of segregated Bright Start, a cognitive early education schools or classes to educate students with mild ecological/educational approach to the residential curriculum focused on helping young mental retardation might be not only ineffective treatment of children with emotional disorders and children develop the logical thinking, motivation, but harmful, his work helped give rise to led to the successful reintegration of children into and work habits on which they can build later “mainstreaming” in the 1970s and 1980s and their homes, schools, and communities. Re-ED learning, was developed in the Susan Gray School “inclusion” today. schools were started in Tennessee and other states, in the 1980s, replicated in the Nashville communi- The Classification Project, conducted in the and Re-ED concepts influenced mental health care ty, then nationally. Developed originally for use 1970s by Nicholas Hobbs, Ph.D., critiqued prevail- for children throughout the country. with typically developing children who were at ing approaches to the classification of children and In the Regional Intervention Program (RIP) high risk of school failure, it also has been used associated intervention strategies. This project’s during the 1960s and 1970s, parents were taught to successfully nationally and internationally with findings influenced the Education of All manage the behavior of their young children with children who have mild to severe disabilities. Handicapped Children Act, or I.D.E.A. today. behavior disorders. After treatment, parents taught Developmental assessment and diagnosis. The Toddler Research and Intervention Project other parents. The RIP model spread and The Infant Developmental Evaluation Clinic in the in the early 1970s demonstrated that young continues today in Tennessee and other states. late 1960s provided valuable information for stud- children with and without disabilities learning In recent decades, FAST Track, KidTalk, and ies of motor and mental development in high-risk together benefited both groups of children. RECAP projects have addressed early intervention, infants, which in turn helped improve early evalua- school-based intervention, and parent training to tion assessments. Child development specialists prevent emotional and consulted with local child care centers, community behavior disorders. Other proj- centers, and well baby clinics. The Clinic evolved ects have focused on the effects into the Vanderbilt Center for Child Development of parent depression on and specialty clinics including the Treatment and children and the development Research Institute on Autism Spectrum Disorders of cognitive interventions to (TRIAD) and the Down Syndrome Clinic. prevent and treat depression Sensory and multiple disabilities. Among the in children and youth. earliest Experimental School programs were classes In children and adults with to develop curricula and to train family members disabilities, problem behaviors and teachers to educate children with multiple such as self-injury, stereotypy, disabilities, including sensory disabilities. Project and aggression are obstacles to Change focused on teaching strategies and learning and to inclusion. curricula to help students move into less restrictive Kennedy Center researchers environments. Model Vision developed diagnostic, have been at the forefront of field training, and evaluation services. In the 1980s, theory and research, investigat- the Infant/Toddler Learning Project developed and ing biological and environmen- demonstrated intensive services for young children Lloyd Dunn demonstrating the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, which with multiple severe disabilities. Today, the he developed tal factors and developing behavior modification tech- Tennessee Deafblind Project, or TREDS, provides The Experimental School’s inclusive Early niques. Today, the Center’s Behavior Analysis Clinic technical assistance to individuals, birth through Development Assistance Program and similar provides a research-based, comprehensive, interdis- age 21, with combined vision and hearing losses, model programs provided a foundation for the ciplinary approach to functional behavior analysis and to parents and educators. PAVE (Providing national practice of inclusive early childhood and intervention. Access to the Visual Environment) provides education. Psychological and educational assessment. comprehensive low-vision education services to Treatment of mood and behavior disorders. In the remotest corners of the world, one finds the children statewide. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hobbs led Project Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and the Peabody Partnerships with school systems. Since its 8 Re-ED, which demonstrated an Language Development Kits, developed by Dunn founding, Kennedy Center Continued on page 9 Summer 2005 Discovery researchers have collaborated with educators Learning strategies in reading and math for in public school systems to develop the most students with diverse learning needs, devel- effective teaching methods for students with oping and evaluating Curriculum-Based diverse learning needs. In the 1960s, the Measurement, improving assessment and intervention for students with learning Metro-Kennedy project brought students with disabilities, implementing Positive Behavior mental retardation and their teachers to the Supports for students with disabilities, Experimental School to take part in research developing peer mentoring programs, and and in-service training focused on teaching enhancing the development of gifted and arithmetic, reading, and physical education; talented learners. and keeping data on student performance to Reading interventions. For many years, evaluate effectiveness. Today, through the Britt the Child Study Center offered reading Henderson Training Series for Educators, tutorials, benefiting both children and school teams learn innovative research-based Peabody students preparing to teach. strategies for improving learning for diverse Today, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Reading Clinic offers intensive, systematic, learners in inclusive settings and reducing research-based instruction and assess- problem behaviors that interfere with learn- Kennedy Center researchers collaborated with Metro Nashville Public School educators to develop new instructional strategies for students with ment for students in the early ing. The Reading Clinic provides teacher train- intellectual disabilities. elementary grades, including students ing in research-based instructional strategies. with intellectual disabilities. Education of diverse learners. In the 1960s Instrumental Enrichment was evaluated as a cogni- In 1969, Kennedy Center professor H. Carl and 1970s, researchers in the Institute for School tive education program for adolescents with learning Haywood, Ph.D., addressed goals for a new decade in Learning and Individual Differences and later in the difficulties. Dynamic Assessment was tested with Institute on Teaching and Learning investigated children 3 to 8 years to identify cognitive deficits and behavioral research in mental retardation. His chal- concept development and teaching strategies in read- assess the kind and amount of teaching needed for lenge was: “Let us learn, to be sure. But as we learn, ing, math, geography, and physical education, for effective learning. In recent decades, educational let us also do.” For 40 years, the Vanderbilt Kennedy students with and without disabilities. In the 1980s, research has focused on developing Peer-Assisted Center has devoted itself to learning and doing.
(NICHD). From 1965 when the John F. Kennedy and put them and the research on their condition A National Mission from page one Center at George Peabody College for Teachers on a par with that of any other disorder. Mental Health Centers Construction Act, was was awarded its grant until 1973 when the Some of the major discoveries in mental developed by the Kennedy administration, passed last constructed center became operational, 12 retardation during the last four decades have by Congress, and signed by President Kennedy as centers were built using federal and matching come from the centers. Fetal alcohol syndrome, Public Law 88-164 on October 31, 1963. construction funds. Today, that network has one of the most frequent causes of mental The construction money was distributed over grown to 14 centers, receiving $18 million retardation, was first described by scientists from several years through competitive National annually in core support alone. the University of Washington MRDDRC. Institutes of Health grants, and research support Ensuing years have proved the wisdom of Research on neurotoxic effects of lead at the was provided by another creation of the Kennedy the Panel’s plan. With construction of the University of North Carolina and Boston administration’s program to help persons with MRDDRCs on campuses, research on mental Children’s Hospital MRDDRCs demonstrated mental retardation, the National Institute of retardation flowered and, as intended, moved adverse effects on IQ at levels previously Child Health and Human Development into the mainstream of medical and behavioral considered safe, leading to marked lowering of research. Scientists and clinicians were trained the safe limit by the Environmental Protection in the MRDDRCs and the Agency. The Abecedarian Project of the parallel university affiliated University of North Carolina MRDDRC and clinical training and service the Early Training Project at the Vanderbilt facilities in all 50 states, MRDDRC documented that early intervention now called University and stimulation programs through the preschool Centers for Excellence on years could markedly reduce the negative effects Developmental Disabilities on cognitive functioning of being raised in a Education, Research, and low-income family. Service. Advances in the The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center continues neurosciences and genetics, its tradition of leadership in mental retardation in particular, opened new research today. Unique among the MRDDRCs, understanding of many it combines a focus on education integrated disorders, including new with a university and medical school approaches to prevention and environment on the same campus. The treatment. Perhaps most NICHD is proud of what the Vanderbilt important, having persons Kennedy Center and the MRDDRC network with mental retardation in have accomplished and anticipates a long and these centers on university continued productive partnership in this campuses and medical research enterprise. Groundbreaking for the John F. Kennedy Center, August 17, 1966 (Courtesy of schools ended their status as Peabody College Photographic Archives, Vanderbilt University Special Collections second-class citizens shut Duane Alexander, M.D., is director of the National and University Archives) away in remote institutions Institute of Child Health and Human Development. 9
Summer 2005 Discovery
Since then the Brooks family has continued to help the Center by offering time and devotion. Spotlight The Brooks family contributed to building the accessible Susan Gray School playground, which was dedicated in October 2002. The Brooks Fulfilling Potential family was honored for their major gift at the earlier Groundbreaking in April 2002. LINDA BROOKS “We wanted to provide something that all children could enjoy. We wanted equipment By Traci Fleischman that was available to many different skill levels for the children and a surface that would inda Brooks is an ongoing presence at the allow children in wheelchairs to get around,” L Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. She has been explained Brooks. involved in the Center for 35 years and has devoted The Brooks family endowed the Brooks Family her time, skills, support, and encouragement. Discovery Fund in September 2004. It supports With her late husband Sam Brooks, she has three initiatives to advance research and treatment in the children, Wendy, Dan, and Ashley. Wendy was diag- areas of development and disabilities at the nosed with Down syndrome in early 1970. At that Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. The Fund has become time there were not a lot of options available for her. Wendy and Linda Brooks a vital part of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Reading “Back then many people thought that children Clinic and Behavior Analysis Clinic. with disabilities belonged in an institution, but we my family’s life. The Center helped to teach me “Wendy was fortunate enough to be able to knew that our family belonged together,” said how to reach Wendy’s potential while at home learn to read at an early age and is quite vocal, but Brooks. The Brooks family discovered the and how to remain consistent in her continued there are others that are not as fortunate,” said Kennedy Center when Wendy was a mere 6 training,” said Brooks. Brooks. This fund allows for individuals with months old and has maintained a deep belief in The options for individuals with disabilities are reading disabilities to have an opportunity to excel the Center’s research and programs. much greater now due to the knowledge and science with the help of tutors and a skilled staff. Wendy’s early enrollment in the Experimental that is available today. “Children with disabilities Brooks believes the best aspects of the Kennedy School (later renamed the Susan Gray School) need personal attention, but they also need the Center are early intervention, research, and hope. allowed her to participate in the Toddler Research opportunity to be integrated with typical and and Intervention Project, which pioneered “main- atypical children, as well as the opportunity to strive These three aspects of the Center forever changed streaming” or “inclusion,” showing that having in different environments,” Brooks continued. the lives of the Brooks family. young children with and without disabilities learn Linda and Sam Brooks were founding members “The Kennedy Center taught us not to give up, together benefited both groups of children. of the Nicholas Hobbs Donor Society and to maintain hope, and to help Wendy reach her full “The Kennedy Center became a vital part of co-chaired the second and third Leadership Dinners. potential, and I am grateful.”
Kennedy Center Donors
The Nicholas Hobbs Society Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Elman Mrs. Elsie C. Kraft Dr. and Mrs. William Anderson Spickard III Mrs. Annette Eskind ($1,000 and above) Dr. and Mrs. Ronald Emeson Mrs. Heloise Werthan Kuhn Mr. and Mrs. Timothy L. Stafford Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Feinberg Mrs. Annette Eskind Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan L. Lehman Dr. Gregg Stanwood and Dr. Raymond T. Ferri Senator and Mrs. Lamar Alexander Dr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Eskind Dr. and Mrs. Pat Levitt Dr. BethAnn McLaughlin Ms. Debra Frankel Dr. and Mrs. Ben J. Alper Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Eskind Mr. and Mrs. Irving Levy Ms. Elise Steiner Mr. and Mrs. Joel C. Gordon Mr. and Mrs. Joseph N. Barker Dr. and Mrs. Steven J. Eskind Ms. Jan Abby Liff Drs. Wendy Stone and Mark Jacokes Dr. and Mrs. William M. Gavigan III Mr. and Mrs. E. Warner Bass Dr. Robert Fox and Ms. Dona Tapp Mr. and Mrs. John Lytle Drs. Marshall and Karen Summar Mrs. Carol Henderson Mr. and Mrs. Lee Beaman Dr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Frist Jr. Dr. Mark A. Magnuson and Mrs. Mary Jane Swaney Kehillat Israel Religious School Committee Mr. and Mrs. Harold S. Bernard Drs. Doug and Lynn Fuchs Ms. Lucile Houseworth Mr. Wendell Tomlin and Ms. Pat McNellis Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Kindig, Jr. Ms. Leilani Boulware Mr. and Mrs. Glenn R. Funk Mrs. Alyne Q. Massey Drs. Richard and Mary Theresa Urbano Dr. and Mrs. Pat Levitt Mr. and Mrs. Jack O. Bovender Jr. Dr. Steven G. Gabbe and Ms. Andrea Blake McDermott Dr. and Mrs. William O. Whetsell Mr. Sam Levitt Ms. Ashley Brooks Dr. Patricia C. Temple Mr. and Mrs. Bruce McDermott Ms. Sara Levitt Mr. and Mrs. Dan Brooks Dr. and Mrs. William M. Gavigan Mr. and Mrs. Tom McMillan Honor and Memorial Gifts Mr. and Mrs. Tom McMillan Mrs. Linda Brooks Mr. and Mrs. Joel C. Gordon Ms. Laura Craig McNellis Ms. Mary L. Partin Ms. Wendy Brooks Dr. and Mrs. John Gore Dr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Nesbitt Jr. In memory of Dr. Irwin B. Eskind: Mrs. Barbara Gregg Phillips Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Brown Sr. Mr. and Mrs. William F. Harnisch Mr. and Mrs. Bernard A. Osher Mrs. Linda Brooks Dr. Aurea F. Pimenta Mr. and Mrs. Martin S. Brown Jr. Mr. and Mrs. William H. Hawkins Mr. Craig E. Phillip and Ms. Marian T. Ott Mr. and Mrs. William Gavigan III Ms. Sara Rich Dr. and Mrs. Stephen M. Camarata Mr. and Mrs. J. Michael Hayes Col. Robert Phillips Jr. and Mrs. Elizabeth G. Tannenbaum Drs. Dan and Jan Rosemergy Mr. and Mrs. William Capucilli Dr. H. Carl Haywood Mrs. Barbara Gregg Phillips Ms. Kristen Smith Mr. and Mrs. James H. Cheek III Mr. and Mrs. Blake Henderson Mr. Mark Pittsey In memory of Mr. Harry Levitt for the Drs. Greg Stanwood and Dr. Joseph S. Cheng Mrs. Carol Henderson Mr. and Mrs. Gary Lee Price Vanderbilt Kennedy Late Talkers Clinic Fund: Beth Ann McLaughlin Mr. and Mrs. Joe Chickey Mr. Robert W. Henderson II Mr. and Mrs. Keith Resnick Drs. Michael and Judy Aschner Mr. and Mrs. Timothy L. Stafford Mr. and Mrs. Roy E. Claverie Sr. Mr. and Mrs. G. Daniel Hewitt Dr. and Mrs. Charles E. Roos Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Atkinson Dr. Paul Sternberg, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John Clay Dr. Robert Hodapp and Drs. Dan and Jan Rosemergy Dr. and Mrs. Randy Blakely Ms. Christina Svitek Dr. and Mrs. Joe Ed Conn Dr. Elisabeth Dykens Dr. Phil and Dikkie Schoggen Ms. Melanie J. Bridges University of Pittsburgh School of Dr. Michael Cooper and Dr. Ann P. Kaiser Mrs. Joan Shayne Mrs. Linda Brooks Medicine Dept. of Neurobiology Ms. Bethany Jackson Ms. Christine Karbowiak Mr. and Mrs. Sargent Shriver Dr. and Mrs. Stephen M. Camarata Faculty and Staff Mr. and Mrs. Carl Dreifuss Dr. Craig Kennedy and Ms. Laurie Lee Sisk Mr. and Mrs. William N. Capucilli Dr. and Mrs. Paul Yoder Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Eaden Ms. Tiina Hyvonen Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Small Mr. and Mrs. Ron Clearfield Mr. Joseph Zendlovitz Dr. Kathie L. Eagleson Mr. Jonathan M. Kent Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Small Mr. and Mrs. David Dupré 10 Mr. Robert D. Eisenstein Mr. and Mrs. Jim Knestrick Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Speyer Dr. Kathie L. Eagleson Continued on page 11
Summer 2005 Discovery
KennedyNew Playground Center Donors from page ten In honor of Amelia Stanwood for the Mr. Kevin A. Clippinger Mr. and Mrs. George A. Hokayem Mr. Harry E. Payne and Ms. Elizabeth G. Thorne Tabitha Tuders Reading Clinic Mr. Joel B. Collins Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Wade Hornsby Ms. Ruth A. Sheehan Mr. and Mrs. Guiliford F. Thornton, Jr. Scholarship Fund: Dr. and Mrs. William O. Cooper C. A. Howell and Company Mr. and Mrs. John E. Perry Mr. and Mrs. Rob B. Townsend Dr. Elisabeth Dykens Dr. and Mrs. Mark S. Courey Howell Development Company Ms. Julia Tindall Pinkston Mr. and Mrs. B. Scott Troxel Dr. Jeroo D. Sinor Mr. Wilbur F. Creighton III Howell Realty Trust, Inc. Ms. Ann C. Poteet Mr. and Mrs. Jeff L. Trussler Drs. Greg Stanwood and Mr. Timothy Daly Ms. Sarah H. Kellar Mr. Peter S. Pressman Ms. Beth Walkup Beth Ann McLaughlin Mr. and Mrs. James M. Davis, Jr. Mr. Herman C. Kissiah Mr. and Mrs. David Rader Wells Fargo Foundation Mr. and Mrs. D. Scott Dixon Dr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Lefkowitz, Jr. Mrs. Ella Raines Wells Fargo Investments LLC In honor of William Hart Spickard for Mr. and Mrs. Gregory L. Dixon Mr. and Mrs. Jay V. Leopold Mr. Charles A. Recker and William Spencer Company Vanderbilt Kennedy Reading Clinic Mrs. Kathryn M. Duke Dr. Thomas J. Lewis, Jr. Ms. Diana L. Bibeau Ms. Lynda Wyatt Scholarships Fund: Mr. David R. Eckles and Ms. Melissa Watson Manning Mr. David G. Remington Mr. and Mrs. Daniel H. Alexander Ms. Allene H. Wong Mr. and Mrs. Josephus L. Mavretic Ms. Allison B. Riediger For information about joining the Ms. Susan Altman Mrs. Annette Eskind Mr. and Mrs. Claude R. McCullough III Mr. Norbert Riediger Nicholas Hobbs Donor Society or making Mr. and Mrs. Hal Andrews Mr. Paul B. Fay, Jr Mr. and Mrs. G. Bruce McDermott Mr. Mark A. Rizzie honor or memorial gifts, contact the Mr. and Mrs. J. Lang Aston Ms. Harriet H. Foley Mrs. Laura Trimble McFadden Ms. Alexis Ann Rockwell Development Office, (615) 343-5322. Dr. F. Clay Bailey, III Mr. Peter M. Goodman Mr. and Mrs. Jerry A. McPherson Mr. and Mrs. Robert O. Rolfe Mr. and Mrs. Stephen K. Ball Mrs. Virginia B. Grantham Shawn M. Miller Dr. Robert N. Sadler Every effort has been made to ensure the Ms. Barbara Barash Mrs. Susan Spickard Gray Mr. William D. Morgan Dr. Teris Kim Schery accuracy of this report, which reflects Mr. and Mrs. David R. Brogan Mr. Kenneth N. Haas Dr. and Mrs. Chetan R. Mukundan Mr. and Mrs. David P. Setran Hobbs Society membership, honor and Ms. Jacqueline Byrne Mr. and Mrs. Philip M. Hall The Nashville Striders Inc. The Shop Trust LLC Xiao Qian Cao Ms. Page E. Hart Mrs. Anne Wallace Nesbitt Mr. and Mrs. Randall S. Snyder memorial gifts March 1, 2005 – May 31, Ms. Jean Elder Cazort and Mr. T. G. Hartsock, Jr. Ms. G. Gail Nittle Dr. and Mrs. Anderson Spickard III 2005. If an error has been made, we offer Ms. Joan S. Harshman Mr. and Mrs. William H. Hawkins Mr. and Mrs. Rudy L. Ogburn Mr. and Mrs. David B. Spickard our sincerest apology and ask that you Center for Leadership Renewal Mr. Howard R. Hinds Ms. Amy Olney Mr. and Mrs. Steven N. Stewart bring it to our attention by contacting the Mr. and Mrs. John Dixon Claybrook Mrs. Judith Hodges Mr. and Mrs. John R. Owens, Jr. Drs. Marshall and Karen Summar Development Office. Dan Marino Foundation Gift Share Our Story By Jan Rosemergy
gather the pilot data needed to be success- Events ful in competing for federal grant funds. “The Dan Marino Foundation is proud to make this gift because of the positive impact it will have through research that directly or indirectly improves the lives of children and families in the special-needs community,” said Mary Partin, CEO of the Dan Marino Foundation. “The cutting-edge research programs and various out- reach efforts taking place at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center are some of the finest in the country.” “By supporting young inves- tigators and by creating a research fund to pursue new ideas, the Dan Marino Foundation is investing in the future,” said Kennedy Center eaching out to children with director Pat Levitt, Ph.D. Rautism and their families is what the Dan The mission of the Dan Marino Foundation is to Marino Foundation is all about, and now the impact autism by supporting integrated treatment Foundation is touching lives through a gift to the programs, outreach services, and disease research for Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. The gift will children with chronic illnesses and developmental create the Dan Marino Foundation Fellowships and disabilities. the Dan Marino Foundation Discovery Grants, and “Rooted in our family’s values, Claire and I Share Our Story (SOS) events are a new and fun will support the Center’s outreach programs. founded the Dan Marino Foundation in 1992,” way that the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Leadership Council has created to increase wrote Dan Marino. “The quest to find medical care A Dan Marino Foundation Fellow is a pre- or community awareness of the Center. Each event postdoctoral fellow mentored by a Vanderbilt for our son greatly impacted the mission of the features a Kennedy Center researcher and a family Kennedy Center investigator. The program Dan Marino Foundation. Claire and I are thankful who has benefited from the Center’s programs. encourages the best and the brightest to continue for the blessings that we have received in life and Leadership Council members Becky Chickey, on a career path to investigate autism and related believe it is important to give back to others.” Judy Claverie, and Bethany Jackson (in photo) lead the Special Events Planning Group and welcome neurodevelopmental disabilities. For information on the Dan Marino Foundation, participation. For information on SOS events, The Dan Marino Foundation Discovery Grants see www.danmarinofoundation.org or log onto contact Jenny Alford, (615) 322-5322, provide seed funding for novel research ideas to www.childnett.tv. [email protected]. 11
Summer 2005 Discovery
Discovery is a quarterly publication of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Leadership Council of Center for Research on Human Development designed to educate Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Hold the Date our friends and the community, from Nashville to the nation. The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is committed to improving the quality of life of persons with disorders of thinking, learning, Mrs. Barbara Gregg Phillips, Chair September 28 perception, communication, mood and emotion caused by Mrs. Annette Eskind, Past Chair disruption of typical development. The Center is a university- 40th Anniversary Community Celebration wide research, training, diagnosis, and treatment institute; and Mrs. Honey Alexander Luncheon 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Ms. Sissy Allen designated National Mental Retardation and Developmental Mrs. Madge Bass Keynote Address 4-5 p.m. Disabilities Research Center. Mrs. Ann Bernard Pat Morrissey, Commissioner of Administration on Mrs. Barbara Bovender kc.vanderbilt.edu (615) 322 8240 Mrs. Linda Brooks Developmental Disabilities Pat Levitt, Ph.D., Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Director Mrs. Cathy S. Brown Luncheon by invitation; contact (615) 343-5322. Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Associate Mrs. Rebecca Chickey Director and Director of Mood and Emotion Research Program Mrs. Judy Claverie Keynote address free and open to the public; Mrs. Beth Dreifuss information (615) 322-8240. Kendal Broadie, Ph.D., Director of Neurobiology and Plasticity Mrs. Ann Eaden Research Program Mr. Glenn Funk Stephen Camarata, Ph.D., Director of Communication and Mrs. Mollie Gavigan October 26 Learning Research Program Mrs. Bernice Gordon Ann Kaiser, Ph.D., Director of Families Research Program Mrs. Carol Henderson Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Leadership Dinner Mr. Robert W. Henderson II 6:30-9 p.m. Robert Hodapp, Ph.D., Assistant Director of Families Research Ms. Lucile Houseworth Program Ms. Bethany Jackson Loews Vanderbilt Hotel Tim Stafford, Director of Operations Mrs. Ruth Johnson By invitation; contact (615) 343-5322. Elise McMillan, J.D., Director of Community Outreach Mrs. Harla Levitt Mrs. Lorie Lytle Jan Rosemergy, Ph.D., Director of Communications Mrs. Alyne Q. Massey November 30 Ms. Andrea Blake McDermott Scientific Symposium Celebrating 40th Discovery Ms. Pat McNellis Anniversary Editor/Writer: Jan Rosemergy, Ph.D. Mrs. Anne Nesbitt Assistant Editors/Writers: Stephanie Comer, Traci Fleischman The Honorable Andrew Shookhoff “Science and Leadership in Developmental Art Director: Melanie Bridges, B.F.A. Ms. Laurie Lee Sisk Photography: Melanie Bridges, B.F.A. Mr. Richard and Mrs. Rhonda Small Disabilities” Dr. Karen L. Summar Discovery is supported in part by Grant No. P30 HD15052 1-5 p.m. from NICHD. Ex-Officio Members: Vanderbilt Student Life Center Vanderbilt University is committed to principles of Equal Dr. Pat Levitt For speakers, see Calendar listing Opportunity and Affirmative Action Ms. Sheila Jacobs © 2005 Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University Mrs. Elise McMillan
Mr. Tim Stafford
Return Service Requested Service Return
EMTN.85 NO. PERMIT
Nashville, TN 37203 TN Nashville,
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Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Kennedy Vanderbilt NON-PROFIT ORG. NON-PROFIT Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt Summer 2005 Calendar of Events Unless otherwise noted, events are free and open to the public. Events are subject to change. Please check the calendar on our Web site kc.vanderbilt.edu or call (615) 322-8240. For disability-related training and other events statewide and nationally see www.disabilitytrainingtn.org.
T K E N N E D K E N N E D B I L Y C LT Y E R E B I C D N T R E A N E E N V R Camps D T E N R A V
T K E N N E D Y B I L C R E N E T D E N R A V M P C A M P U S I C C A M
JUNE 20-JULY 1 JULY 24-30 My Life, My Choice, My Plan Williams Syndrome Music Camp S Co-sponsored with Down Syndrome Co-sponsored with Vanderbilt Blair School of U M 0 0 5 M E R 2 Association of Middle Tennessee Music and National Williams Syndrome The Summer Learning Academy serves up to Association 12 individuals, 11 to 22 years, with Down This 1-week residential overnight camp syndrome. Meaningful educational and social provides 12 adolescents and young adults from experiences are provided within a literacy-rich across the country with training in keyboard, environment. The theme My Life, My Choice, drums, guitar, vocalizing, and song writing. My Plan is in keeping with the need for The program promotes the campers’ highly individuals with disabilities in this age group developed and unique skills in music to to begin taking responsibility for their future. improve social skills, to reduce anxiety often ClearView Baptist Church, Franklin seen in those with this syndrome, and to Information Sara Rich, (615) 322-8147 enhance their independence. [email protected] Blair School of Music and various on/off campus locations Information Sara Rich, (615) 322-8147 [email protected] Outreach
JUNE 17 Charity Golf Tournament Benefiting the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Great golf, door prizes, cold beverages, lunch JULY 5-29 provided! Entry fee $100 per player. JUNE 13-JULY 1 Explorers Unlimited Camp Sponsored by Waddell & Reed Financial Services TRIAD Social Skills Summer Camp Co-sponsored with Down Syndrome Variety of company sponsorship opportunities Co-sponsored with Vanderbilt Treatment and Association of Middle Tennessee at different levels are available. Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders Arts education programming by the Frist Contact Jenny Alford, (615) 343-5233, For 120 campers on the autism spectrum, 6 to Center for the Visual Arts [email protected] to register. 22 years, this 3-week day camp focuses on social For 12- to 22-year-olds with Down syndrome, Friday 8 a.m. Shotgun start skills enhancement. Entering its 5th year, the this camp provides academic enrichment in Legends Club of Tennessee Camp uses peer modeling and pairs campers reading, math, and social awareness. with and without autism to work on basic social University School of Nashville skills using role-playing, video, and theater. Information Sara Rich, (615) 322-8147 University School of Nashville [email protected] Information Sara Rich, (615) 322-8147 [email protected]
Number 9 Summer 2005
Summer 2003 Discovery
JULY 15-SEPTEMBER 30 Arts and Disabilities Exhibit 40th Anniversary Concert of Children Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Lobby Kennedy Center/MRL Building SEPTEMBER 28 40th Anniversary Community Celebration Drawings of young children with Down Luncheon 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. syndrome by Nashville artist Allison Putnam Keynote Address 4-5 p.m. Pat Morrissey, Commissioner of Administration on Developmental Disabilities Conferences Luncheon by invitation; contact (615) 343-5322. Keynote address free and open to the public; information (615) 322-8240. JUNE 1-5 OCTOBER 26 3rd Annual Tennessee Disability Mega Vanderbilt Kennedy Reading Clinic Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Leadership Dinner Conference Fall session begins early September, extends 6:30-9 p.m. Sponsored by coalition of more than 50 12 weeks Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel Tennessee disability-related organizations, Registration accepted now, first-come, By invitation; contact (615) 343-5322. including the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center first-served, space limited Information: Some scholarship assistance available NOVEMBER 30 www.tndisabilitymegaconference.org Information Caresa Young, (615) 936-5123, Scientific Symposium Celebrating 40th Nashville Airport Marriott Hotel and [email protected] Anniversary Conference Center “Science and Leadership in Developmental Disabilities” JUNE 22 1-5 p.m. Art Dual Diagnosis Conference Vanderbilt Student Life Center Sponsored by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Behavior For speakers, see Calendar listing Analysis Clinic’s Community Inclusion Project Thomas Insel, M.D., Director, NIMH THROUGH JUNE 30 This conference is designed for those who work Fred Volkmar, M.D., Irving B. Harris Professor Arts and Disabilities Exhibit with individuals with a dual diagnosis of of Child Psychiatry, Yale Child Study Center Esteemed Colleagues developmental disabilities and mental illness, Carla Shatz, Ph.D., Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor Organized by Lain York and Untitled as well as family members and advocates. of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Information (615) 322-8185 Martin Seligman, Ph.D., Fox Leadership Lobby Kennedy Center/MRL Building Wednesday 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Professor of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania First Tennessee Children’s Theater, Monroe Free and open to the public; information Untitled is a nonprofit, grass roots, independent Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt (615) 322-8240. group of artists dedicated to supporting artistic innovation and to offering alternative visual JULY 13-16 arts experiences. This exhibit includes pieces 36th Annual Autism Society of America Taking Part in Research created by the Untitled artists and artists with National Conference disabilities. ASA at 40: In Tune with the Future The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center welcomes the Keynote Speakers include Stephen Shore, Paula participation of children and adults, with and Kluth, & Paul Shattock without disabilities, in research studies. Registration and information available To view a list of projects seeking participants, http://asa.confex.com/asa/2005/ see kc.vanderbilt.edu/studyfinder or call Nashville Convention Center (615) 936-5118.
Community Events Where to find help...
Vanderbilt Kennedy Family Outreach Center JULY 21, SEPTEMBER 15, & NOVEMBER 17 Supported by the Lili Claire Foundation and Autism Society of Middle Tennessee Events Brooks Family Discovery Fund Autism Orientation (615) 936-5118 Registration required kc.vanderbilt.edu/kennedy/community/clinics.html Information ASMT (615) 385-2077 Thursday 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tennessee Disability Pathfinder Room 241 Kennedy Center/MRL Building (800) 640-INFO [4636] English and Spanish (615) 322-8529 (Nashville) www.familypathfinder.org
Number 9 Summer 2005