Episode 17: Early Identification with Kate Barlow, CDC Act Early Ambassador

In this episode, Kate discusses the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Act Early Program.  Kare is a state ambassador for the CDC for this initiative to learn the signs of possible developmental delay and how to get supports and resources for children and their families.  Through this program there are also many valuable resources and materials for educators, caretakers and health professionals to use to raise awareness and gain knowledge. 

Kate Barlow, OTD is an Assistant Professor at American International College. She is also the current ambassador for the CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. program for the state of Massachusetts. Dr. Barlow received her BS in Occupational Therapy from Boston University, and her MS and OTD from Virginia Commonwealth University.  She has over 20 years of clinical experience that includes public school practice, early intervention, a pediatric hospital-based outpatient clinic and management.  Dr. Barlow’s area of clinical expertise is pediatric feeding and swallowing, which she has presented on at the OT state conferences of CT, MA, NH and VA, as well as guest lectured on the topic at Western New England University, Shenandoah University and Virginia Commonwealth University.  Dr. Barlow presented her research on pediatric feeding difficulties relating to ARFID at the World Federation of Occupational Therapy conference in South Africa. She is the current recipient of the Feeding Matters grant with Dr. Paula Rabaey for her current research in Pediatric Feeding Disorders. Dr. Barlow’s passion is in global outreach. She founded the International Interprofessional Mentorship Program that currently provides mentorship to over 100 therapists in over 15 countries. She also started an open educational resource (OER) page for occupational therapists to share resources and knowledge. https://libguides.aic.edu/OT_OER/webinars 

Additional Resources:

CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early.
Massachusetts Act Early (Many resources relevant for everyone)