Hello,

My name is Terre Graham and I am an assistant professor in the Special Education Department at Wichita State University in Wichita, KS. I am also the vice president for the Down syndrome support group here in Wichita. Prior to working at the collegiate level, I was a speech-language pathologist in the public schools for 15 years. During that time, I developed a strong passion for children with Down syndrome. I have adopted Down syndrome as my major area of interest and line of research. Currently I have been doing research on “fathers” as they are not as highly researched as mothers, particularly fathers with children with disabilities. Through this 50-item survey designed specifically for fathers, I hope to gather information in general regarding fathers’ reactions to the initial diagnosis of Down syndrome, the fathers’ role in their child’s educational planning, and their role in their child’s speech and language development. It is my hope that this information will add to the research literature with the emphasis being on fathers as well as extend my findings into the speech and language profession.

Completion of this father survey is entirely voluntary and will only take approximately 10 – 15 minutes. There are also areas where comments may be written or typed. No identifying information is required on the survey. There are three ways that this survey may be completed:

  1. If it has been e-mailed to you, open the attachment and print it. Then you may complete it in handwritten format. Feel free to add any comments or added information. Mail the survey to the address below at your earliest convenience but not later than May 15th
  2. If it has been e-mailed to you, you may save the document as a word document and then actually type your answers on the survey, save it and re-email it to me as an attachment at your earliest convenience but not later than May 15th. My e-mail is: . You may also print it out after typing on it and just mail it to me.
  3. If the survey has been handed to you at a meeting or function, simply fill it out in handwritten format and mail it to me at your earliest convenience but not later than May 15th.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions: 316-978-6866.

My address: Dr. Terre Graham

Wichita State University

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

1845 Fairmount

Wichita, KS 67260-0028

I truly appreciate your efforts and time in the completion of this survey. I feel that this focus on fathers is indeed an important one and hope to continue emphasizing the need for future research in this area.

Sincerely,

Terre Graham, PhD, CCC-SLP

Wichita State University