Dr Janet Carr, Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Tizard Centre, has been awarded an OBE for services to people with Down’s Syndrome and their families.
Dr Carr, a pioneering psychologist, undertook a longitudinal study of 54 babies born in 1963/1964 and living with their families in south-east England. She discovered that, while the babies’ development was slower than their non-disabled peers, families coped well as the children grew, with youngsters bonding and developing good relationships with their brothers and sisters.
Dr Carr wrote up her findings as her doctoral thesis in 1970-71. Although she assumed the project was over, she began sending birthday cards and her research has become the world’s longest-running study of people with Down’s Syndrome.
Professor Glynis Murphy, Co-Director of the Tizard Centre, trained under Dr Carr – now aged 88 – and is helping her compile the latest findings.
To mark the Queen’s Birthday Honours, an Order of the British Empire (OBE) has also been awarded to Julie Nixon, who has worked closely with the Tizard Centre. The award was in recognition of her contribution as a foster carer and for services to children and families.
Julie Nixon was a teaching fellow on the Diploma in Applied Psychology of Learning Disabilities in the 1990s/early 2000s and then, until 2014, a guest lecturer on its Autism Studies undergraduate programme.
For further information, contact Jo Ruffels in the Tizard Centre.