Vintage

During the 1989 Civitan International Convention, Civitan members awarded a grant of $1 million dollars a year for 20 years to develop the Civitan International Research Center.  This gift concentrated extraordinary human and technical resources to benefit people with special needs: 

• The Center studies the development of the central nervous system and focuses on three fields:  clinical neurosciences, developmental neurobiology and human development and social ecology.
• The Center receives federal funds from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) and the Administration on Development Disabilities (ADD) to train healthcare professionals for leadership roles in their fields.
• The National Institutes of Health named the Center “The” Developmental Disabilities Research Center in the United States—a title carrying a research grant of $3.8 million.
• It’s Civitan’s largest project—a working partnership between the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Civitan International Foundation.
• Current studies include communication with children with cerebral palsy, nutrition needs of children with PKU, and examination of the dental and optometric needs of people with special needs. 

As an institution of medical treatment and research, the Civitan International Research Center leads the struggle to prevent and treat developmental disabilities.  The scope of this effort extends worldwide. 

• Prevention and Early Intervention Programs—works to reduce developmental disabilities in children and infants.
• Prematurity/Low Birthweight Studies—projects designed to prevent low birthweight and prematurity among minority and high-risk populations, reducing the risk of developmental disorders.
• Aging—studies concerning maturation of people with special needs and research into Alzheimer’s Disease.
• Neurobiology—how the brain develops, its chemical connections, electrical signals within the brain and cellular functions.