Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) member Jason Chow, Ph.D., serves as an associate professor of Special Education and Hearing and Speech Sciences. Chow’s research centers on improving the quality of life of children and adolescents with disorders of learning, communication, and behavior as well as helping the people who support them. His work focuses on children with developmental language disorders, clinical and school-based behavior disorders, and typical and atypical social development. Once a VKC UCEDD trainee in graduate school, Chow now focuses on the systems that facilitate or hinder access to services and education, and works to understand issues of implementation, adoption, and sustainment of policies, practices, and programs.
In the interview below, Chow shares how he became interested in disabilities research, describes his current research projects, and highlights how becoming a member of the VKC enhances the work he does.
How did you become interested in developmental disabilities research?
I actually don’t have a personal connection to disability, at least from a family or friends perspective. My journey started when I was an undergrad, and I was working as a substitute paraprofessional. I really enjoyed it and was attracted to the dedication that the special education teachers and other paraprofessionals had to supporting students with disabilities. I had the great experience of working in a really broad range of contexts, preschool through high school, and it really gave me a good first look into special education and how students with disabilities fit into broader education systems. I enjoyed it enough to apply for and take a job as a paraprofessional full-time after undergrad as I studied to become a teacher myself.
What are your current research interests/projects?
A through-line of my research has always been understanding how language and communication can really influence a child’s experience across different contexts. Our team studies how language and behavior are related, how they co-develop, and how we can support both domains within our education, social, and community systems. Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how structures and systems interact (or don’t interact) to better support children, families, and communities. One project I’m excited about is work we are doing to support speech-language pathologists who work in early intervention, community, and school settings improve their skills and self-efficacy to effectively support behavior within intervention contexts. Another project we are just starting is a systems-level approach to understanding the interactions between foster care/child welfare, juvenile justice settings, and special education service delivery.
Generally, these projects collectively tackle systems and structures that are aimed at supporting the same children and families but were not necessarily designed to work together in practice or legislatively.
Why is this work important/how might it have an impact on the lives of people with disabilities and their families?
We recently completed a large qualitative study where we interviewed over 100 practicing school speech-language pathologists, faculty and program directors, and graduate SLP students about their experiences with supporting student learning, delivering intervention, engaging in interprofessional practice, and behavior supports. We’ve learned so much about their needs and challenges, but I think more importantly we identified a ton of creative, strategic solutions for how programs and individual SLPs have adjusted and adapted to make their job work to best support the students they serve. It’s been really insightful to work together on a solution-focused series of research studies from which we’ll hopefully be able to provide solid, research-based, field-driven recommendations.
What are your reasons for becoming a VKC Member? How does the VKC enhance the work you do?
I have been a part of the VKC community (on and off) since 2012 when I started graduate school at Vanderbilt. I have been fortunate to return to the community, and it was a no-brainer for me to get involved. I’m excited to be able to learn from my colleagues and the community partners who are working hard to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families. Every talk I attend gives me something new to reflect on and bring back to my own work.
