Facilities and Resources
The IDD psychology faculty and graduate students are based out of the Ohio State Nisonger Center. The Ohio State University Nisonger Center has existed since 1966, one of the first federally funded University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). The Nisonger Center earned an enviable reputation for its interdisciplinary research, education and training, clinical services, and dissemination activities. With a strong and dynamic interdisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, teachers, staff and trainees, the Nisonger Center strives to improve the lives of people with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities across their lifespan.
Nisonger Center is proud to be part of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, College of Medicine Office of Health Sciences, and Ohio State’s Neurological Institute. We have approximately 120 faculty and staff from more than 15 professional disciplines across six Ohio State University colleges (Medicine, Public Health, Dentistry, Nursing, Arts & Sciences, and Education & Human Ecology). In addition, Nisonger closely collaborates with Nationwide Children’s Hospital and has a strong community engagement within Central Ohio and across the state.
Our mission is to improve the lives of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. We accomplish our mission with a vision of developing and providing the highest quality interdisciplinary care, education, and research to support the inclusion of people with neurodevelopmental disabilities in all aspects of community life. The Nisonger Center values are the commitments made by our faculty, staff, and students regarding how we will carry out our work. Our values include: Person/Family-centeredness; Excellence; Compassion; Cultural Competence; Self-determination; Innovation; and Hope.
BY-THE-NUMBERS (ANNUALLY):
Patient care:
We serve more than 42,000 people with disabilities and their families.
Teaching/training:
Almost 17,000 students, direct service providers, professionals participate in Nisonger trainings.
Research:
- More than $4,000,000 in annual extramural grant funding.
- 90+ peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and books published.
- 75+ trainings and conference/scientific presentations.
In-house and Community-based Clinical SERVICES:
The Nisonger Center has a number of in-house and community-based services that have served as practicum training sites for IDD Psychology graduate students. These different clinics and programs include:
Childcare Program is a regular, full-day childcare program offering early learning services for neurotypical children between the ages of 6 weeks through 5 years old. This inclusive setting provides high quality childcare services to the staff of the University and Wexner Medical Center while also providing an enriched early intervention environment for children with, or at risk of developing, a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Interdisciplinary Developmental Clinic is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary (developmental behavioral pediatrics, psychology, genetics counseling, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, social work, special education, and medical dietetics) developmental clinic that provides families with a comprehensive evaluation of their child’s (ages 1-5 years) developmental strengths, skills, and needs (including a medical diagnosis and comprehensive developmental assessment of the child).
School-Aged Autism and Developmental Clinic is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary (developmental behavioral pediatrics, psychology, speech-language pathology, and occupational therapy) clinic that provides diagnostic evaluations, reevaluations and/or behavioral consultations to school-aged youth (5-22 years old).
Behavior Support Services is a community-based program that assesses and develops behavior support programs that teach prosocial/adaptive behaviors and address the function of challenging behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across the lifespan.
Adult Down Syndrome Clinic is a comprehensive multidisciplinary (primary care, genetics, psychology) clinic serving adults with Down syndrome and their families. This clinic provides comprehensive psychological evaluations, include screening for dementia and other mental/behavioral issues concerns frequently associated with Down syndrome.
Other Research and Clinical Resources
IDD Psychology Students have the opportunity to access a variety of programs and resources within both the psychology department and the Nisonger Center to promote their research and clinical learning activities.
- Center for Cognitive and Behavioral Brain Imaging (CCBI), a state-of the art imaging facility including MRI scanner for dedicated research
- Nisonger Research Registry, a registry of interested research participants with IDD across the life span
- Undergraduate Research Experience Program, a method for recruiting undergraduate psychology students for participation in research projects
- Buckeye Language Network, including the Language “Pod” at the COSI Science Museum