Stephen Camarata, Ph.D., Professor, Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 1215 21st Avenue South, Suite 8310, Nashville, TN 37232
Stephen Camarata is a nationally and internationally renowned clinician-scientist who studies late-talking children. His research focuses on the assessment and treatment of speech and language disorders in children with disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, and specific language impairment. He also studies children whose late onset of talking appears to be a natural developmental stage rather than a symptom of a broader developmental disability.
Nickola Wolf Nelson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Professor, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Health and Human Services, 1903 West Michigan Avenue, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. Dr. Nelson received her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Wichita State University. She is the author of Childhood Language Disorders in Context: Infancy Through Adolescence, Second Edition (1998 Allyn & Bacon), and Planning Individualized Speech and Language Intervention Programs, Second Edition (1989, PRO-ED), as well as numerous articles and chapters on classroom-based language intervention and related topics. Dr. Nelson began her professional career as a school clinician in Kansas and also served as a speech-language consultant specialist for Berrien County Intermediate School District in Michigan. She has been a member of the faculty at Western Michigan University since 1981. Dr. Nelson and her husband live on a lake in Three Rivers, Michigan. They enjoy gardening, boating, and entertaining their children, grandchildren, and extended families on the lake.
Ms. Van Meter is Clinic Coordinator at the Charles Van Riper Language, Speech, and Hearing Clinic. Her bachelor's and master's degrees are from the University of Michigan. Ms. Van Meter has presented widely and is co-author of a number of articles on language assessment and intervention in curriculum-based contexts. She began her professional career in the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. She has been affiliated with Western Michigan University since 1992. Ms. Van Meter, her husband, and their two daughters live in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They enjoy swimming, traveling, hiking, and entertaining each other with stories.
Dr. Michaelene M. Ostrosky is the Head of the Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her educational background and research focuses on early childhood special education with a particular interest in social emotional competence; social interaction and peer relationships; challenging behavior; and communication delays and disabilities. As a former teacher of young children with disabilities, Professor Ostrosky is committed to making research accessible to practitioners and family members through her writing and presentations.
Mary Louise Hemmeter, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University. She teaches courses, advises students, and conducts research on early childhood issues. She is the cofaculty director of the Susan Gray School for Children, which is an early childhood program for children with and without disabilities. Her research focuses on effective instruction, social–emotional development and challenging behavior, translating research to practice, and effective approaches to professional development. Currently, she directs an Institute of Education Sciences–funded research project focused on the efficacy of implementing the Teaching Pyramid in classrooms, and she works on the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning and the Office of Special Education Programs–funded Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Interventions. She is a coeditor of the Journal of Early Intervention and
