Name:

Jan Blacher

Member Since:

September 18, 2007

Member Name:

Jan Blacher

Last Logged in:

September 21, 2007

Hometown:

Riverside, CA

Colleges/Universities Attended:

Brown University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

A few words about me...

Biography

 

Jan Blacher received her A.B. in Psychology from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and her Ph.D. in Special Education/Developmental Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is currently Professor of Education and Faculty Chair of the Graduate School of Education,  at the University of California, Riverside.  She is known nationally for her research on intellectual disability/mental retardation and other developmental disabilities, and for her expertise in special educational programming.  Dr. Blacher is frequently asked to appear as an Expert Witness in contested cases involving right-to-education suits for children with autism, mental retardation or other learning disorders. Over the years, Dr. Blacher has served as consulting editor for the American Journal on Mental Retardation and Mental Retardation; she has served as reviewer for numerous other journals focused on child development and developmental disabilities.  She has written extensively on such topics as: out-of-home placement of children and young adults with severe disabilities; relationship between family functioning and mental retardation; dual diagnosis in mental retardation; and the impact of diagnosis, assessment, services, and coping in Latino children and families.  Dr. Blacher’s current research, which is longitudinal in nature, focuses on families of children and young adults with retardation; the development of dual-diagnosis and psychiatric disorder in young children; disability and family coping in a cultural context; issues of dual diagnosis in Anglo and Latino families; the transition to adulthood for young adults with severe retardation and their families; and the transition to school (kindergarten/1st grade). She was recently appointed to the National Research Council of The National Academy of Sciences, and the Johnson & Johnson/Rosalynn Carter Institute Caregivers Program.  As of February, 2002, she has been writing a monthly column for EP,  Exceptional Parent Magazine (www.eparent.com). She is a newly elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

 

Honors

 

Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Elected to Council, International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability

Elected Fellow, International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability

Dia Del Maestro Award from The Tomas Rivera Teachers’ Association “for  passionate teaching  style  and amazing ability to inspire UCR students and encourage their academic success”

 

Recent Publications

 

Odom. S. L., Horner, R. H., Snell, M. E., & Blacher, J. B (Co-Editors) (2007). Handbook of Developmental Disabilities.  NY: Guildford Publications.

 

Blacher, J., & Howell, E. (2007, September). Unlocking the mystery of social deficits in autism: Theory of mind as key.  Exceptional Parent, 37, 96-97.

 

Blacher, J. & Rodriguez, T. (In Press). Holding on to their kitestrings: Paraprofessional Support in inclusive settings. Exceptional Parent, 37.

 

Kaladjian, A., Neece, C., & Blacher, J. (2007). Developmental disabilities. In C. Reynolds & E.F. Janzen’s (Eds), Encyclopedia of Special Education, Volume 1, 3rd edition. New Jersey: Wiley.

 

McLaughlin, M. J., Blacher, J., Duffy, S., Hardman, M., McDonnell, J., Nisbet, J., Safer, N., & Snell, M. (2005). Effective education in the least restrictive setting. In K. C. Lakin & A. Turnbull (Eds.) National goals and research for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (pp. 39-63). Washington, DC:  American Association on Mental Retardation.

 

 

Blacher, J., & Hatton, C. (2007).  Families in context: Influences on coping and adaptation.  In S.L. Odom, R.H. Horner, M.E. Snell, & J. Blacher (Eds.), Handbook on Developmental Disabilities (pp. 531-551).  NY: Guilford Press. (Refereed).

 

Odom, S. L., Horner, R. H., Snell, M. E., & Blacher, J. (2007).  The construct of developmental disabilities. .  In S.L. Odom, R.H. Horner, M.E. Snell, & J. Blacher (Eds.), Handbook on Developmental Disabilities (pp. 3-14).  NY: Guilford Press.  (Refereed).

 

[I also wrote, as single author, two of the section introductions in this Handbook: Current issues in health, neuroscience, and genetics (pp. 77-78), and Family issues (pp. 529-530).]

 

Blacher, J., Widaman, K., & Kaladjian, A. (In Press). In D. Braddock (Ed.), State of the states in developmental disabilities:  2008. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation. (108 ms. pp.; accepted for publication March 2007; anticipated  publication  2008).

Interests

Team Sports, Yoga/Meditation, Travel