Tamar Heller, PhD
Professor & Head, Department of Disability and Human Development
Director, Institute on Disability and Human Development (UCEDD)
Director, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with DD |  | | Phone | 312-413-1647 | | Fax | 312-413-1630 | | Email | theller@uic.edu | | Office | 436 DHSP | Bio
Tamar Heller, Ph.D., Professor, is Head of the Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago and director of its University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the State of Illinois. She also directs the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities and projects on family support and health promotion interventions for individuals with disabilities. One of these projects is the Special Olympics Research Collaborating Center.
Dr. Heller has written over 150 publications and presented numerous papers at major conferences on family support interventions and policies, self-determination, health promotion, and aging of people with developmental disabilities. She has co-edited and co-written four books and edited special issues of Technology and Disability, American Journal on Mental Retardation, Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, and Family Relations.
She is the incoming President-Elect of the board of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. As a co-founder of the national Sibling Leadership Network, she is a member of its steering committee. Her awards include the 2009 Autism Ally for Public Policy Award of The Arc/The Autism Program of Illinois; the 2008 Lifetime Research Achievement Award, International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities, Special Interest Group on Aging and Intellectual Disabilities; and the 2009 Community Partner Award of Community Support Services. In 2005 she was a delegate to the While House Conference on Aging.
Research Interests
Research interests are in studying lifespan transitions faced by individuals with a disability and their families. As Director of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with Developmental Disabilities, she oversees a comprehensive research program focusing on: 1) health and wellness, 2) later life family caregiving, and 3) public policy and programmatic interventions to improve the life of adults with developmental disabilities as they age. She also directs projects studying the impact of family supports on adults with disabilities and their families.
Research Publications
- Heller, T. & Kramer, J. (2009). Involvement of adult siblings of persons with developmental disabilities in future planning. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 47(3), 208-219.
- Heller, T., Caldwell, J. & Factor, A. (2007). Aging family caregivers: Policies and practices. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Reviews, 13(2), 136-142.
- Caldwell, J. & Heller, T. (2007). Longitudinal outcomes of a consumer-directed program supporting adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities 45(3), 161-173.
- Heller, T. & Caldwell, J. (2006). Supporting aging caregivers and adults with developmental disabilities in future planning. Mental Retardation, 44(3), 189-202.
- Heller, T., Hsieh, K. & Rimmer, J. (2004) Attitudinal and psychological outcomes of a fitness and health education program on adults with Down syndrome. American Journal on Mental Retardation;109:175-185.
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