Keep up-to-date with our latest news and happenings.
UMass Medical School’s Sibling Support Program encourages siblings of children undergoing inpatient mental health treatment to talk about what is happening at home, Emily Rubin, MA, creator and director of the program, told New England Psychologist.
The UMass Medical School Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center’s Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CANDO) clinic, in partnership with the Division of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, has joined the Autism Learning Health Network of Autism Speaks. The network convenes academic leaders in autism and other neurodevelopmental and intellectual disabilities nationwide to standardize and share clinical data collection and outcomes research to improve care for children and families affected by autism spectrum disorder.
Dr. Sarabeth Broder-Fingert was recently promoted to Deputy Director of the Shriver Center. In this new role, Dr. Broder-Fingert will assume more supervisory responsibilities, help with new faculty recruitment, support fundraising efforts, and collaborate on increasing the Center’s overall visibility through an enhanced public relations strategy.
Remember what it was like to be a kid and needing to get a shot at the doctor’s office? Chances are, it was probably not your favorite activity.
For many people with disabilities, especially children, getting a shot can become so traumatizing that it prevents the individual from becoming vaccinated. Often parents don’t know where to turn when the usual vaccination channels don’t address sensory issues and other challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and their families.
Throughout its 50 plus year history, the Shriver Center has been at the forefront of improving the lives of individuals with disabilities, their families, and caregivers through education, research, and service. Two innovative projects advance that tradition, and the leaders for each project recently spoke about the impact and long-term goals of their work addressing gaps in autism care.
“I had always wanted to get a PhD, but various factors over the years made that difficult. I was thrilled to have this opportunity and to be able to do so while still working full time at UMass Chan Medical School.”
Dr. Carol Curtin’s educational path didn’t follow the traditional timeline. She earned a PhD from the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in the Clinical & Population Health Research (CPHR) program at the age of 57, but “I took it on with the seriousness of purpose that was more intense than when I was younger,” she said.
The 5-year grant will be used to conduct the largest ever research study to understand the barriers to care for limited English proficiency (LEP) families with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMass Chan Medical School is extremely pleased to announce the renewal of its five-year University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) grant. Providing $3M over the next 5 years, this award continues a decades-long funding source of support to further the Shriver Center’s mission to conduct education, research, and services to improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families and caregivers.
Congratulations to Sue Swanson, Project Coordinator for Pathways for Inclusive Health Care at the Shriver Center! Sue was nominated by State Rep. David LeBoeuf and selected by the Mass Commission on the Status of Women to be a Commonwealth Heroine Class of 2022. She was recognized for her efforts to get the city of Worcester to construct Coes Park, the first multi-generational and universally accessible playground.
As part of our Employee Spotlight series, Sarabeth Broder-Fingert, MD, MPH recently sat down with us to discuss her professional responsibilities at the Shriver Center, and what makes the Shriver Center such a special place to work.
