Helen A. Kellar Institute for Human disAbility - George Mason University
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About Us

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) is an interdisciplinary campus-based organization focusing on improving the lives and productivity of children and adults with disabilities. KIHd combines the resources of the university with local, state, regional, national, public, and private sector agencies and organizations to develop products, services, and programs for persons with disabilities.

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Licensure, Certificates & Training Grants

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) collaborates with a consortium of Virginia universities to offer training/licensure options for teachers of students with visual impairments and severe disabilities. Distance education makes the programs more accessible and maximizes the number of individuals who can receive the training.

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VDOE Grants

With the support from Virgina Department of Education KIHd serves teachers, parents, therapists, and community service providers by providing a variety of continuing learning experiences via annual workshops, conferences, and project activities. In many cases, KIHd uses distance education to provide teacher training and professional development across the state.

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Project We Got It
Research

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) continues to build and support numerous educational research projects that vary across disciplines spearheaded by the Mason faculty members. Our goal is to increase evidence based instructional and behavioral strategies to improve academic outcomes for all students with disabilities.

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Research of Consequence
Doctoral Students

The Kellar Institute for Human DisAbilities (KIHd) doctoral students conduct cutting edge research at George Mason University that is aimed to serve persons with disabilities and their families.

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Training Opportunities - MECTT

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  4. Training Opportunities - MECTT
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Multicultural Early Childhood Team Training (MECTT) Support Opportunities

MECTT staff are available for training and technical assistance to communities. A variety of outreach resource options are available. We will work with early childhood programs and communities to adapt and use the MECTT curriculum in their sites. The philosophical assumptions of the MECTT inservice program will guide these efforts. They include:

  • Parent and professional teams learning together can effectively reach parents and promote systems change.
  • Participants with diverse educational backgrounds and experiences enrich the learning process.
  • Multicultural community-based organizations, parents, and professionals play an integral role in developing materials.
  • Materials are flexible and can be used interchangeably for a variety of needs, audiences, and settings.

Sites will receive a twelve-module training curriculum that focuses on a parent/professional approach to cultural competence and recommended practices in early childhood services. The package includes a Trainer's Notebook with a guide and an orientation section developed to include suggestions and direction for adapting the training materials for use at individual sites.

Programs can contract with MECTT for services to provide training, modeling, coaching, and support for parent/professional teams in their communities.

Support resources that MECTT Outreach can offer include:

Implementation Planning
Technical assistance will include a preliminary problem-solving meeting to identify possible outreach activities, as well as ongoing support for implementation.

Modeling the Instructional Approach
Staff are available to demonstrate segments of the family/professional training model.

Technical Assistance
Ongoing technical assistance is available from MECTT staff. As teams deliver training, staff can be available to help them adapt the training for specific needs, to coach them in the effective delivery of materials, and to support them as needed.