The University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions (PHHP) will honor Dr. Sara Sparrow as alumna of the year at their spring commencement ceremony in May
Dr. Sparrow is senior author of the renowned Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, now in its second edition, published by the Clinical Assessment group of Pearson. She is also coauthor of the Vineland SEEC: Vineland Social-Emotional Early Childhood Scales, and the Early Screening Profiles (ESP).
In a PHHP news release, chair of their department of clinical and health psychology Russell M. Bauer, Ph.D., noted that Dr. Sparrow is a pioneer who has been a prolific contributor to the science and practice of developmental disabilities and child neuropsychology.
Bauer also paid tribute to Sparrow’s livelong commitment to children, saying her work has demonstrated her love, concern, and dedication to improving the diagnosis and treatment of the problems they face.
Dr. Mark Daniel, Director of Psychometric Development for the Clinical Assessment group said, “Dr. Sparrow has been an inspiring teacher and trainer, helping clinicians understand some of the most significant disorders of childhood and showing them how to use systematic clinical procedures for diagnosis and treatment planning, Her Vineland assessment instruments are an extraordinary blending of psychometric rigor and clinical judgment.”
Added Carol Watson, Clinical Assessment President, “We are proud to be associated with such a renowned test author, and congratulate Dr. Sparrow on this distinguished award.”
Dr. Sparrow is Professor of Psychology and Chief Psychologist at Yale University's Child Study Center. She is the author of over 100 articles and chapters in the fields of psychological assessment and developmental disabilities. She is co-editor (along with Drs. Ami Klin and Fred Volkmar) of a recent book on Asperger's syndrome. Her main research interests involve the assessment of adaptive behavior, autism spectrum disorders, mental retardation, child neuropsychology, and other developmental disabilities. Dr. Sparrow recently served on National Research Council, (National Academy of Sciences) Committee on Disability Determination for Mental Retardation. She was cofounder of the Journal of Child Neuropsychology and served as co-editor for five years. She recently received the Career Scientist Award from the American Academy of Mental Retardation.
Biographical information adapted from www.yale.edu/eglab/people.html