In honor of Women’s History Month, we are proud to recognize two remarkable women whose leadership, dedication, and impact have helped shape our community and inspire meaningful change.
Diane Bricker, Professor Emerita, is a nationally recognized expert in early intervention. Bricker served as Associate Dean of the College of Education and Founder and Director of the Early Intervention Program.
As a leader in the field, she has built an exceptional and influential career dedicated to advancing the development and study of assessment systems and intervention approaches for young children with disabilities and those at risk for developing disabilities.
Jane Squires, Associate Professor Emerita, has dedicated her over 30-year career to improving outcomes for young children with developmental concerns through early identification, assessment, and intervention. As a researcher in the Center on Human Development, she developed assessment and intervention tools that enhance children’s developmental outcomes and well‑being. Jane taught master’s and doctoral students as the Director of the Early Intervention Program and now serves on the College of Education’s Advisory Board.
Ages and Stages Questionnaire
Together Diane and Jane developed the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), a screening system that revolutionized the field by involving parents in the assessment of their own children at no cost to them, and by making the tools affordable to childcare professionals. The ASQ’s unprecedented success, is used more than a million times a year worldwide and is one reason why the College of Education’s special education programs have long been among the most prestigious in the country.
“The value was to have parents complete the questionnaire, which made developmental screening economically feasible,” Bricker said.
Philanthropy
Diane and Jane continue to give back to the College of Education through the Bricker/Squires Chair in Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education. The Bricker/Squires Faculty Chair in Early Intervention was established by Dr. Diane Bricker, Dr. Paul F. Kaplan, and Dr. Jane Kaplan Squires in 2013 to support teaching and research focused primarily on children birth through age five who are at risk for disability or who have a disability.