Newsletter, October 2021
Norma and Don Stone Endowment for CCF
Longtime CCF supporters Norma and Don Stone are establishing the Norma and Don Stone Endowment for the Center for Children and Families. The endowment will be used to support CCF's research, training, and outreach operations, and will also result in the Center's reception area being named for the couple. When asked why she chose to give this gift, Norma replied, "My entire professional life has been focused on young children, so a logical component was the focus on very young children. I enjoy an awareness of how young children develop and how to promote that development. The mission of the Center for Children and Families reflects those things that give me pleasure to support." We are grateful to the Stones for this historic CCF gift! For more information on making a gift or naming opportunities for CCF, please contact Erin Dougherty at 972-883-3938 or erin.dougherty@utdallas.edu.
Meet the NSF REU Students!
Introducing 3 of the 12 National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates students who are working with us over the next year. Please join us in welcoming them! More to come in the next issue.
Paloma Salas

“I’m so proud to offer my voice and contribute to the effort to diversify research in the field of developmental science. It’s an honor to be given the opportunity to participate in this year’s REU program at UTD!”
Monze Gonzalez

“I’m eager to work with families in creating trust and building relationships, not only for the purpose of diverse research but to establish the love for discovery and exploration in the young children whom we have the pleasure of observing over the next few months.”
Jasmine Ramirez

“I look forward to meeting the families I’ll be working with and to make a bond with them (that’ll hopefully last for the rest of our lives!) and to give these children my all and, in turn, have a great time together with them while helping them begin their bright futures!” 
UTD Receives Wisdom's Hope Award
UT Dallas was recently awarded the Wisdom's Hope Award from Bryan's House, a local nonprofit providing underserved children in North Texas with specialized medical, educational and therapeutic care and holistic support services for families to thrive. The award, named after a brave young boy named Wisdom, annually recognizes community leaders, companies, and organizations for their commitment to Bryan's House and the Dallas community. UT Dallas master's students from the Human Development and Early Childhood Disorders program regularly support Bryan's House through internships and practicum experiences. CCF director Dr. Margaret Owen accepted the award on behalf of the University.
Recent Faculty Research
Faculty affiliates of the Center are highly productive scholars whose research crosses the fields of human development ranging from parent-child relationships to social-emotional health. Recent publications include:

Adamson, L. A., Caughy, M. O., Bakeman, R., Rojas, R., Owen, M. T., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Pacheco, D., Pace, A., & Suma, K. (2021). The quality of mother-toddler communication predicts language and early literacy in Mexican American children from low-income households. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 56, 167-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.03.006

Boyer, B. P., Nelson, J. A., & Holub, S. C. (2021). Sex differences in the relation between body mass index trajectories and adolescent social adjustment. Social Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12516

Danovitch, J. H., Mills, C. M., Duncan, R. G., Williams, A. J., & Girouard, L. N. (2021). Developmental changes in children’s recognition of the relevance of evidence to causal explanations. Cognitive Development, 58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2021.101017

Jones, D. R., DeBrabander, K. M., & Sasson, N. J. (2021). Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases towards autism. Autism, 25(5), 1246-1261. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320984896

Wiseman, K. B., Warner-Czyz, A. D., & Nelson, J. A. (2021). Stress in parents of school-age children and adolescents with cochlear implants. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 26(2), 209–222. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enaa042
From the Director
We are so grateful for the gift from Norma and Don Stone to establish an endowment to build a strong and successful future for the Center for Children and Families. Funds from this endowment will be used to ensure that our research, training, and outreach missions continue long into the future. CCF has 3 additional endowments--the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Opportunity Fund, the Bert S. Moore Center for Children and Families Opportunity Fund, and the Pagett and Mike Gosslee Opportunity Fund--which, along with the Robinson Family Professorship that I hold, contribute to CCF's operations and research and provide needed funding to ensure our firm foundation. We would love to discuss your endowment gift to CCF and what that could mean for our future.