{"id":2600,"date":"2014-08-20T11:19:57","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T15:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/?p=2600"},"modified":"2016-01-19T11:41:12","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T16:41:12","slug":"alumnus-of-the-year-oswald-pioneer-in-helping-children-with-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/2014\/08\/20\/alumnus-of-the-year-oswald-pioneer-in-helping-children-with-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumnus of the year: Oswald, pioneer in helping children with Autism"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Donald-Oswald\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When accepted his first teaching job after graduating from college, he also discovered a field of study that defines his academic and professional career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opportunity to work with children with autism was not the result of a deliberate plan or any previous experience with autism,\u201d says Donald Oswald<\/b>. \u201cGrafton School in Berryville, Virginia, was just beginning the program for students with autism and I was fascinated by the children and intrigued by the opportunity to work with them individually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oswald\u2019s fascination with the emerging field of autism diagnosis, combined with the strong foundation he received as a psychology major at EMU, helped launch his productive career.<\/p>\n

Raised on a Nebraska farm, Oswald chose Hesston College (Kansas) for his first two years of college. EMU\u2019s innovative psychology department, led by John H. Hess Jr. \u201964<\/b>, attracted him for his junior and senior years. A young Galen Lehman \u201973<\/b> had just started his long teaching tenure. And in one psychology class, Oswald met Jean Miller \u201974<\/b>, the woman who became his wife.<\/p>\n

Of his non-psychology professors, Oswald names Willard Swartley \u201959<\/b> as \u201cperhaps the most memorable. His Old Testament course made a lasting impression because of his commitment to scholarly integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Within the newly build Hartzler Library, Oswald was introduced to scholarly research first-hand. \u201cI recall the pleasure I got from spending whole days in the library tracking down sources, and reading and integrating the material I found. I no longer remember the topic, but the process made a real impression and the experience whetted my appetite for independent research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whetted may be an understatement. Oswald\u2019s 19-page curriculum vitae lists more than 12 pages of academic articles, book reviews\/editorials\/abstracts, books\/chapters, grant-related products, and workshop presentations which he authored, co-authored or produced.<\/p>\n

After graduating magna cum laude in 1975, Oswald received a master\u2019s in education in school psychology from James Madison University in 1981. Two degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University followed: master of science in psychology in 1987 and doctor of philosophy in psychology in 1989.<\/p>\n

Among his peers, Oswald is known for his willingness to share knowledge and research. He is director of diagnostics and research at Commonwealth Autism Service in Richmond, Virginia.<\/p>\n

Of his work there, Oswald says, \u201cAbout 15 years ago, I had the opportunity to develop an interdisciplinary diagnostic assessment clinic for young children for whom there was a question of a diagnosis of autism. The clinic was established on the principles of using the best evidence-based diagnostic tools available, working together collaboratively across disciplines, and actively seeking to integrate parents as essential and equal partners in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has served as director of the clinic ever since, guiding it to its mid-Atlantic status as a model training site for interdisciplinary teams that wish to provide similar diagnostic services.<\/p>\n

Oswald is also clinical professor at Virginia Commonwealth University\u2019s department of psychiatry, mentoring psychologists-in-training.<\/p>\n

His wife Jean has just retired from her position as director of a preschool where she spent 20 years. Oswald is active at First Mennonite Church of Richmond, leading music and worship. His hobbies are reading, bicycling, and singing.<\/p>\n

Music unites Oswald\u2019s EMU years with his present life, recalling that he sang in the touring choir under Lowell Byler. \u201cI still sing with a community chorus, One Voice Chorus. Our mission is to foster harmony between people of African-American and European-American descent.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When accepted his first teaching job after graduating from college, he also discovered a field of study that defines his academic and professional career. \u201cThe opportunity to work with children with autism was not the result of a deliberate plan or any previous experience with autism,\u201d says Donald Oswald. \u201cGrafton School in Berryville, Virginia, was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":148,"featured_media":2601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,412],"tags":[714,813,203,649,453,454,452,814,815,455],"class_list":["post-2600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-summer-2014","tag-alumni","tag-autism","tag-donald-oswald","tag-education","tag-galen-lehman","tag-jean-miller","tag-john-h-hess-jr","tag-psychology","tag-special-education","tag-willard-swartley","issues-summer-2014"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/148"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2600"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3185,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600\/revisions\/3185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}