Who is Terry Jo Bichell?

Ms. Bichell received her BA from Johns Hopkins University in Social and Behavioral Sciences.  She later received a BS in Nursing from St. Louis University and a Masters in Public Health in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) from Boston University where she also became a Certified Nurse Midwife. Ms. Bichell managed family planning projects in West Africa and made documentary films concerning women’s health before working as an Adjunct Professor of MCH, as a nurse-midwife at hospitals and birth centers in Boston and San Diego, and as a scientific advisor to the CASA Midwifery School and
Maternity Hospital in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.  

In 1999, her fifth child, Louie, was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome and shortly afterward she met Dr. Arthur Beaudet at an international Angelman conference in Finland which made her decide to devote her attention to promoting Angelman Syndrome clinical research.  Ms. Bichell subsequently helped start the Angelman research site at San Diego Children’s Hospital in 2001 and was a Co-Investigator there until 2005.  She is now a Visiting Scholar at The Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  Ms. Bichell is working on diverse research projects, including:  1) Alphabet Therapy (a method
to teach pre-academic skills to children with AS), 2) Stem cells as a treatment for AS, 3) Levadopa as a treatment for AS, 4) Anti-Epileptic Medications in AS, and 5) Databases to Study Hospitalizations and Causes of Accidents in People with Disabilities.  She is also in the process of organizing a joint Angelman/Prader-Willi RDCRC research site at Vanderbilt.

With the help of the young and energetic Cristina Valle, Ms. Bichell created  Alphabet Therapy to teach academic skills to her son Louie. Ms. Bichell has devoted countless hours of her own time to its research and development and has been training therapists all over the nation! She is always open and eager to answer questions and give advice to parents of children with disabilities especially in regard to their capabilities for academic growth!