Title: Research Coordinator
Email: emily.lawton@iwk.nshealth.ca

Emily Lawton, MSEd, CCLS, is the project coordinator of the Neonatal Education and Caregiving Support distance intervention program.

Ms. Lawton has a MSEd and is a graduate of the Infant Program and Parent Development and Early Intervention program from Bank Street College of Education in New York City with a specialization on the development of premature babies. She is a certified Child Life Specialist. She is also certified in the Clinical Neonatal behavioral Assessment Scale (CLNBAS) from the Brazelton Institute in Boston. As part of her graduate studies, she wrote her thesis entitled, "The Benefits of Individual Developmentally - Supportive Care for Hospitalized Premature Infants".

She received training at Bellevue Hospital in NYC where she worked closely with the Early Intervention team and NICU Infant Development Specialist in the Bellevue NICU follow-up program and in the Bellevue NICU. During her time at Bellevue she created a volunteer holding program to provide developmentally - supportive holding and positioning to premature infants.

Ms. Lawton recently developed a NICU course at Bank Street called, "The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), An Introduction to Supporting Infants and Their Families and Working with the Healthcare Team." She has co-taught the course the past two summers.

Ms. Lawton has a wide range of experience working with young children with special needs in various settings. She was a preschool teacher for five years, working closely with children and their families in an inclusive setting. She has also worked one-to-one as Special Education Itinerant Teacher for a young child who needed extra support in his classroom setting.