Caya Chiu
Doctoral Student and Research Assistant
University of Kansas
1200 Sunnyside Ave., 3109 Haworth Hall
Lawrence, KS 66045
Office Phone: (785) 864-7604
Fax: (785) 864-7605
Email: chiuc@ku.edu
Bio:
I am originally from Taiwan, and I am a special sibling- I have a brother with significant disabilities. Knowing the amount of responsibility and space of improvement that I have to make in my family and in the society, I have decided to devote myself into special education. My background has led me to pursue a higher degree in special education, made me naturally and intensely familiar with giving assistance in adaptive skills to individual who has profound disabilities. Moreover, it has given me the ability to connect with their families by understanding the parents’ and siblings’ feelings. After graduating from National Taiwan Normal University and being certified in teaching, I worked as a substitute teacher in life skill classroom, tutored students with disabilities. I came to the United States in 2007, lived in Nashville for two years, and received master’s degree from Vanderbilt University.
Through my academic, research, volunteering experiences in the past few years; I concluded family support as an essential element to enhance the quality of life for persons with disabilities and their families. The Family-Professional Partnership Enhancement program offers trainings range from family support, technology-based knowledge to policy analysis; which enables me the knowledge and skill to improve services and outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
Education: Master of Education, Special Education, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, May, 2009
Bachelor of Education, Special Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei City, Taiwan, June, 2005
Interests: My advisor is Dr. Ann Turnbull. My interests lie in family support, cross-cultural studies and behavior science. I always consider myself as an advocate for siblings and family members, and I would like to focus my research on providing support to all family members of individuals with disabilities across life span.
My work at the Beach Center involves working for Dr. Turnbull on developing online modules for service providers and maintaining the Beach Center website.