Reflections
As part of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's 50th anniversary celebration, families, researchers, staff, trainees, and others shared their reflections. View a sample below, and select "more" to view additional comments.
| A reflection from a family |
| I have had a 21-year personal relationship with those who have special needs [because of our son, adopted at birth]. I do not know what my husband and I, both eggheads, would have done without the practical and research-based wisdom of the VKC. Nicholas’s first VKC program was TRIAD, a place where we all learned how to live with structure, what to attend to, what to let go. We also learned that we were not alone and that the professionals at VKC were actively working to make my family’s and other families’ lives better. That matters when your child is nothing like any other child you know. But my child could do more….The VKC has showed us how another way is possible. That our children can and will have another way. Robbie Pinter - Parent See More... |
| A reflection from a trainee |
| As a UCEDD trainee, the VKC has been very important to me. I have learned so much from contributing to many of its self-advocacy projects for people with disabilities, and I am proud to be a part of all they do in the Nashville community. As a graduate student in Peabody College, I feel that working with the VKC UCEDD has helped me to mature in ways that will make me a successful special education teacher. Carrie Glover - Graduate student in Special Education and VKC UCEDD Trainee See More... |
| A reflection from a professional |
| [The VKC] is an absolutely amazing place to work, but more importantly, people here truly help to change lives for the better. I’ve worked here in some capacity since I graduated from the Master’s of Special Education program in 2007, and I cannot think of a better place to refer families who have a loved one with a disability. In my own work, we are helping high school students with autism and their families prepare for the transition from high school, and we are also helping faith communities as they support people with disabilities to find and hold employment. Jenny Gustafson - Special Education Alumna and VKC Disability Professional See More... |
| A reflection from a researcher |
 | When I began my career, my clinical practice included many pediatric patients with chronic or recurrent pain who were referred to me for psychotherapy because their medical evaluations yielded no evidence of organic disease or injury. At that time, most health care providers believed that these patients’ pain was “not real” or was “just in their head.” I was intrigued by this problem and developed a program of research aimed at identifying processes that could create disabling chronic pain in children who, according to their medical evaluation, were perfectly healthy. My interest in this area has been sustained over the years by advances in our understanding of how the mind and the body interact to influence our experience of pain. Because a biopsychosocial perspective guides my research, I find the multidisciplinary nature of the VKC particularly attractive. The disciplines represented by the Kennedy Center offer unique and valuable insights into the nature of pain. The VKC is a major reason that I have spent my entire academic career at Vanderbilt. Lynn Walker, Ph.D. - Pediatrics and Psychology See More... |
Submit your reflection here