Professional Information

Teaching at the University "Ukraina" March, 2005	Teaching Faculty Seminar at University "Ukraina" Kyiv, Ukraine - April,2005

I joined Old Dominion in 1985. Before that I acquired 17 years of classroom experience. I taught academics to school-aged students with learning disabilities and mild mental retardation, as well as students with moderate and severe disabilities. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador where I taught orientation and mobility to children and adults with blindness, and worked in Jamaica where I established the country's first preschool program for children with special needs. I have been a director and an interventionist/teacher in both infant-toddler and preschool programs for children with special needs and their families. Although I have enjoyed working with different disabilities, Early Childhood Special Education (birth to 9 years) has been my true love.

I have written over 130 publications, monographs, and chapters. I have also written curricula and developed an assessment tool, Early Independence, and other educational materials. Additionally, I have written 4 books.  My most current, Early Childhood Special Education (0-8 Years): Strategies for Positive Outcomes was released in 2008.  My books may be purchased from Prentice Hall/Merrill Publishing company, or any bookstore. I have had the pleasure of being a Fulbright Scholar four times. I taught at Palasky University in the Czech Republic in 1999 and 2008, at Manovikas Kendra in Calcutta, India in the Spring of 1999, and at University "Ukraina" in Kyiv, Ukraine in the spring of 2005. Each of these experiences have significantly enriched me personally and professionally.

Although I have been fortunate enough to receive several teaching and research awards (see Research and Publications page for a full listing), I am most proud to have been awarded the Virginia Outstanding University Professor Award in 2006.  Twelve faculty in the state received this award based on teaching, research and service excellence.  This award has humbled and profoundly touched me. 

My research interests center around measuring the effacacy of early intervention, family involvement/support, facilitating communication skills in young children with special needs, and teacher training. My personal interests are tennis, pottery, and travel. My husband, Greg, is a writer and Director of Publications and Public Relations at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughter. Our daughter, Emmy, is attending Marymount Manhattan College in New York city.

Carpathian Mountain BBQ, Ukraine 2005	Family Trip to Giza Pyramids, Egypt 2005

London 2003	In the summer of 2000, I taught a course with Dr. Jill Jurgens at Kitakyushu University in Kitakyushu, Japan, Old Dominion University's sister university.

Japan 2000

India 1999	NYC 1994

Two Book Covers (1991, 1999)