February 15, 2005

Expert on family dynamics to speak at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

What changes does a family go through when one of its members has a disability? Marsha Seltzer, Vaughn Bascom Professor of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will discuss her research on this topic at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development Thursday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — What changes does a family go through when one of
its members has a disability? Marsha Seltzer, Vaughn Bascom Professor
of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will discuss her
research on this topic at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on
Human Development Thursday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m.

Seltzer‘s research studies families over extensive periods of time,
with one study tracing the impact over 40 years in the lives of parents
who have a child with either developmental disabilities or
schizophrenia. She is currently conducting a study of 405 families with
an adolescent or adult son or daughter with autism.

Seltzer is a member of the national Sibling Research Consortium led
by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Research Program on Families. Her
lecture will take place at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center/MRL Building,
Room 241. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is a national center for research on
development and developmental disabilities. For more information,
contact Stephanie Comer at 615-322-8240 or visit http://kc.vanderbilt.edu.

For more Vanderbilt news, visit http://www.vanderbilt.edu/news.

Media contacts: Stephanie Comer, (615) 322-8240
Stephanie.comer@vanderbilt.edu

Melanie Catania, (615) 322-NEWS
Melanie.catania@vanderbilt.edu