Ph.D. - Developmental Psychology
The University of Texas at Dallas - 2008

M.S. - Communication Disorders
The University of Texas at Dallas - 1999

B.S. - Speech Language Pathology
The University of Texas at Austin - 1998

School of Behavioral, Brain Sciences Recognizes Outstanding Teachers

Two weeks before the beginning of the fall 2012 semester, Dr. Melanie Spence suddenly found herself without a child development instructor. The emergency provided an opportunity that has worked out wonderfully for all concerned.

The one-time short-notice instructor Spence found —  senior lecturer Emily Touchstone MS’99, PhD’08 — was recognized with the 2018 Aage Møller Teaching Award by the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS), an honor that reflects her impact on students.

New Center is Ready to Lend Parents a Hand

Dallas parents and families have a new resource available to them.  The UT Dallas Center for Children and Families, housed in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences is ready to begin serving the Dallas community.

Dr. Emily Touchstone has joined the center as its community liaison specialist.  Parents may contact Touchstone with concerns about a child, and she will refer them to an appropriate service provider within the city.

“The center is a good first stop when parents don’t know where to turn for support,” said Touchstone. “We can guide them on the road to intervention for their child and help them find the services they need.”

Researchers Launch Infant Screening Initiative

Two UT Dallas researchers — Emily Touchstone and Suzanne Bonifert — have launched a pilot program to identify screening measures that could be conducted quickly and used together to provide a thorough picture of an infant’s development.

The result of their efforts, the Infant Development Program (IDP), which is part of the Center for Children and Families and the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, was created to research, identify and prevent developmental disorders during the earliest stages of life.