Dr. Vey Nordquist

Department Head & Professor

I have always been interested in special populations of children and families. For several years I conducted studies of autistic children in an effort to learn about ways of promoting their social development. I also worked with young children who had conduct problems and examined some of the direct and general effects of punishment on compliance and social interactions with peers and adults. At the present time, I am the Principal Investigator of two related projects that involve very young children with disabilities and their families. Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS) is one of 9 projects in the state that are sponsored by the Department of Education (DOE). The TEIS office in the East Tennessee District serves more that 1000 families of infants and toddlers with disabilities each year. Early intervention services are provided by a staff of 18 service coordinators in a 16-county area that surrounds Knoxville. The service delivery system is guided by a family-centered philosophy and TEIS service coordinators are supposed to utilize family-centered practices that promote various kinds of family empowerment outcomes. In 2003 the DOE provided funds to support a research project to examine the extent to which service coordinators in all 9 TEIS districts were using family-centered practices. The DOE also wanted to know if families who received TEIS services were, in fact, more empowered as a result.

Pathways to Family Empowerment (Pathways) is the second project that I currently direct and is now in its third year of funding. It supports two doctoral research assistants and one Master’s research assistant. The doctoral students are conducting their dissertation research in the area of family empowerment. One is examining the effects of family-centered practices on maternal empowerment outcomes and the other is examining the effects on paternal outcomes. The Master’s student is conducting her thesis research in the homes of a small number of families, looking at various organizational and physical aspects of the home environment that may facilitate or impede the implementation of literacy activities, in particular, storybook reading. Dr. Sandra Twardosz, a member of the CFS faculty and an expert in the area of family literacy, is helping to develop the research protocol oversee the implementation process. So far, we have collected over 500 questionnaires from mothers and fathers of young children with disabilities that provide a wide array of information related to family-centered service delivery and various areas of family functioning. This data base will support thesis and dissertation research for the next several years and hopefully cast empirical light on an area of family functioning that to date has received very little attention from child and family scholars.

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Goin, R. P., Nordquist, V. M., and Twardosz, S. (2004). Parental accounts of home-based literacy processes: Contexts for infants and toddlers with developmental delays. Early Education and Development, 15(2), 187-214

Barnhart, R. C., Davenport , M.J., Epps, S.B., & Nordquist, V.M. (2004). Developmental Coordination Disorder. Physical Therapy, 8(83), 722-731

Nordquist, V.M., & Twardosz, S. (1992). Environmental analysis: The preschool setting (pp. 143-167). In S.M. Benner, Assessing young Children with Special Needs: An Ecological Perspective. New York:
Longman.

Nordquist, V.M., Twardosz, S., & McEvoy, M. (1991). Effects of environmental reorganization in classrooms for children with autism. Journal of Early Intervention, 15(2), 135-152.

Nordquist, V.M., & Twardosz, S. (1990). Preventing behavior problems in early childhood special education classrooms through environmental organization. Education and Treatment of Children 13(4); 274-287.

Twardosz, S., & Nordquist, V.M. (1987). Parent Training. In: M Hersen and V.B. Van Hassett (Eds.), Behavior Therapy with Children and Adolescents: A Clinical Approach. John Wiley and Sons, Inc: New York.

Nordquist, V.M., & Raab, M.M. (1986). A naturalistic approach to the problem of establishing fuctional language in home and community settings. In S. Adler (Ed), A Multidisciplinary Treatment Program for the Preschool Aged Exceptional Child. C.C. Thomas: Springfield, Ill.

Contact Information

1215 W. Cumberland Ave
115 Jessie Harris Building
Knoxville, TN 37996-1912

Phone: 865-974-6269
Email: vnordqui@utk.edu

Contact CEHHS

335 Claxton Complex 1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996

Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718