Disability and Motor Behavior

Contributors:
Pamela Beach, Collin D. Bowersock, Claire Bridges, Albert R. Cavalier, Heather A. Feldner, Nancy Getchell, Emily Gilbert, Daphne Golden, Candice Howard-Smith, Lisa Kenyon, Alyssa LaForme Fiss, Lauren Lieberman, Meghann Lloyd, Samuel W. Logan, Julia Looper, Megan MacDonald, Jessica Lynn McDonnell, Iva Obrusnikova, Melissa Pangelinan, Adam Pennell, Melanie Perreault, Nadja Schott, Bethany Sloane, Semyon Slobounov, Alex Stribing, Ming-Chih Sung, Matthias O. Wagner, Alexa Walter, James Wilkes
About the Editors:
Ali S. Brian is a professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Education, Department of Physical Education at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Brian’s PhD is from The Ohio State University in Kinesiology. Dr. Brian is a Certified Adapted Physical Educator (CAPE) and is the director of the Developmental Adapted Physical Education/Activity Research Lab at the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Brian’s research agenda focuses on underlying mechanisms that support positive developmental trajectories for whole-child health, including early integrative intervention efforts, for preschoolers with and without disabilities as well as for youth with visual impairments. Dr. Brian has published 3 books, 14 book chapters, 93 articles, and over 200 presentations. As a result of this work Dr. Brian has received numerous awards including the G. Lawrence Rarick Research Award from the National Consortium for Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPEID), the Early Career Distinguished Scholar award from the North American Society for Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA), the David P. Beaver Adapted Physical Activity Young Scholar Award from NCPEID, the Early Career Research Award from the College of Education at the University of South Carolina, the Breakthrough Star Award from the Vice President of Research at the University of South Carolina and was inducted as a Fellow of Research Council of SHAPE America. Dr. Brian has also served as Chair of the SHAPE America Research Council, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the NCPEID and the International Motor Development Research Consortium. Presently, Dr. Brian is the Research Director for the Institute of Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairments. She serves as an Associate Editor for Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and on the editorial board of Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy.
Pamela S. Haibach-Beach is a professor in the area of motor behavior in the Department of Kinesiology, Sport Studies, and Physical Education at the State University of New York Brockport. She earned her Ph.D. at the Pennsylvania State University in Kinesiology specializing in Motor Control. Dr. Haibach-Beach is the Associate Director of the Honors College and the Director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Program at SUNY Brockport. She also co-founded and co-directs The Institute on Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairments (IMSVI). She has been awarded with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest teaching award in SUNY, the Roland Fontaine’s student engagement award, and has been designated as a SUNY Online Ambassador. She has also recently been awarded the Corrine Kirchner National Research award from the American Foundation for the Blind for the Institute of Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairment.
Dr. Haibach-Beach actively encourages cultural competency through international experiences and has organized and led several student trips to New Zealand and the Dominican Republic. She teaches Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) classes with institutions in Lebanon and the Netherlands.
Her research focuses upon motor behavior and balance in individuals of any age who are blind or deafblind. She publishes research focused articles, practical articles, and chapters on gross motor development and balance interventions and presents nationally and internationally on her work with individuals with visual impairments and deafblindness including over 40 articles, 4 chapters, 85 national and international presentations, as well as 16 educational videos and webinars. In addition, Dr. Haibach-Beach has published two editions of the textbook “Motor Learning and Development” which have been widely adopted as well as the book, “Gross Motor Development Curriculum: For Children with Visual Impairment.” She co-founded the International Symposium on Physical Activity in Individuals with Visual Impairments and Deafblindness and continues to serve on the scientific committee. She has served on the American Kinesiology Board, chaired the National Association for Sport and Physical Educations Motor Development and Learning Academy, and is an active Brockport Lions Club member in which she was recently awarded the Lions Centennial Award and Membership Award. Dr. Haibach-Beach has also recently been inducted into Delta Kappa Gamma, a professional honor society of key women educators worldwide.