The University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS) have received a $1.25 million grant from the U. S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs that will have a big impact on developmentally disabled children throughout the state of Nebraska.
The grant has three goals, said Terri Mathews, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the MMI Department of Psychology and Pediatrics.
“The first is screening, diagnostic and assessment practices for very young children, ages 18 months to three or four years,” she said. “The second is delivery of early intervention services. And the third is to help parents with the transition of their children from our program to school-based services.”
Grant activities will begin Oct. 1, and the program is aimed at students earning a master’s degree in school psychology, although the recipients of direct services in the course of the grant will be young children and their parents as well as educators, said Gina Kunz, Ph.D., a research associate professor at CYFS.
Organizers hope to have 20 to 25 students participate over the course of the five-year program.
“This is about equipping our future leaders with the tools they will need to promote effective family-school partnerships for the children with disabilities they serve,” Dr. Kunz said. “This is very exciting. It represents a true collaborative effort across the University of Nebraska system.”
In addition to Drs. Mathews and Kunz, the grant team includes: Susan Sheridan, Ph.D., director of CYFS; Katy Menousek, Ph.D., an assistant professor at MMI; and Ashley Lugo, a doctoral candidate at UNMC.
“A lot of school psychologist scholars aren’t well exposed on assessment or treatment (of autism),” Lugo said. “This grant will give them the opportunity to become familiar with empirically supported strategies.”
Physicians also will be part of the partnership, Dr. Kunz said, as grant activities and the educational component spur change across the entire system of care.
“It’s really about being able to serve these children in each role by understanding strategies from a systems perspective, so best outcomes can be realized,” she said.
The clinical services the grant will support are already underway, Dr. Kunz added, and this should result in additional personnel receiving important training.
Munroe-Meyer Institute is committed to unlocking the potential of children and adults with developmental disabilities and genetic disorders through exceptional patient care, education and research. MMI health care providers annually diagnose and treat more than 10,000 children and adults with special needs.
Through world-class research and patient care, UNMC generates breakthroughs that make life better for people throughout Nebraska and beyond. Its education programs train more health professionals than any other institution in the state. Learn more at unmc.edu and follow us on social media.
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