Melissa Gard, Ph.D.

Ms. Gard received her Ph.D in the Department of Human Development and Family Life at the University of Kansas. She has a BA in Psychology from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., and during her undergraduate training, she began work in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis through a home based, intensive early intervention for children with autism run by REM, now FEAT of MN. Ms. Gard has continued to work with FEAT of MN in providing services to children with autism in the Kansas City area.

Ms. Gard’s research interests focus on increasing the availability and effectiveness of services for persons with disabilities. Her work to achieve these goals in the RTC/IL included researching a computerized instrument for risk assessment of secondary conditions for individuals with spinal cord injuries. She also assisted with focus groups that assessed the relevance of research to the lives of consumers which led to the design of a research primer to make scientific articles more understandable for the average consumer.