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Amy Needham

@amyneedham.bsky.social
74 followers 25 following 27 posts

I’m a professor at Vanderbilt (Peabody College) studying learning and development in infants and children with and without disabilities. I’m into empathy, radical acceptance, and hugging my dogs.

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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
What Dolly Did for Tennessee Is What She Did for the World www.nytimes.com/2026/08/30/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | What Dolly Did for Tennessee Is What She Did for the World (Gift Article)
This is what she did for the written word. And medicine. And …
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
truthout.org/articles/tru...
truthout.org
Trump Is Destroying US Democracy at Unprecedented Rate, Global Watchdog Finds
“[T]he speed of decline is comparable to some coups d’états,” a global democracy watchdog wrote.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
I am guest editing a special issue of Behavioral Sciences on The Emergence of Tool Use In the First Years of Life. Send us your research on tool use in the early years, including in children with disabilities. Submissions due March 5, 2027. Please share widely!
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
fox17.com/news/local/v...
fox17.com
Vanderbilt student faces legal battle after being kicked out of Blackburn rally
Handcuffs and a jail stay isn’t how Justin Jones, a Vanderbilt University Divinity School student, imagined his Sunday evening two weeks ago. “We checked in and made our way to our seats with no...
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
Food Stamp Cuts Expose Trump’s Strategy to Use Shutdown to Advance Agenda www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/u...
nytimes.com
Food Stamp Cuts Expose Trump’s Strategy to Use Shutdown to Advance Agenda
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Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
"However, if you are debating whether the Trump administration’s proposed changes to university policies are reasonable or not, you are missing the point entirely. The compact is a thinly veiled invitation for universities to relinquish their self-governance" stanforddaily.com/2025/10/12/f...
stanforddaily.com
From the Community | We must refuse the 'Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education'
Associate professor Greg Martin writes on behalf of the Stanford's AAUP chapter to condemn the White House's compact on higher education.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Trump lays off employees in department funding special education www.npr.org/2025/10/13/n...
npr.org
Amid shutdown, Trump administration guts department overseeing special education
Multiple sources tell NPR that, as part of the Trump administration's latest reduction-in-force, the U.S. Department of Education has gutted the office that handles special education.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
Bernie Sanders: Kennedy Must Resign www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Bernie Sanders: Kennedy Must Resign
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Down Syndrome Education International @down-syndrome.org · 23/08/2025
It is with sadness that we report that Sarah Duffen has died peacefully in her home in Devon. Sarah and her family were instrumental in inspiring the groundbreaking research that led to our work over the past 45 years. go.dselink.net/6jdi
go.dselink.net
Sarah Duffen, 1968-2025
It is with sadness that we report that Sarah Duffen died peacefully in her home in Devon. Sarah and her family were instrumental in inspiring the groundbreaking
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Mel Buer @melbuer.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
This flew by my radar this week, but massively important: the 5th circuit court of appeals ruled that the NLRB’s structure unconstitutional. It is a huge blow to “American workers who hope to organize their workplaces without fear of retaliation. It represents a partial negation of the New Deal…”
newrepublic.com
Elon Musk Just Won His War on Labor Unions
The Fifth Circuit has done the mogul’s bidding and neutered the National Labor Relations Board, in a move that will likely substantially damage workers’ rights.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
A Bear Walked Into an Ice Cream Parlor. The Strawberry Never Had a Chance. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/u...
nytimes.com
A Bear Walked Into an Ice Cream Parlor. The Strawberry Never Had a Chance.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
Faculty Support of George Mason’s President Draws Federal Investigation www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u... I’m starting to realize that the self-governance that colleges and universities in the US have engaged in for hundreds of years is over. Unbelievable.
nytimes.com
Faculty Support of George Mason’s President Draws Federal Investigation
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
Make this go viral.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Senator Padilla of California was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed today for doing his job: Asking a question of Kristi Noem, the Trump administration's Secretary of Homeland Security. sign.moveon.org/petitions/th...
sign.moveon.org
Thank you, Senator Padilla
Senator Padilla of California was wrestled to the ground and handcuffed today for doing his job: Asking a question of Kristi Noem, the Trump administration's Secretary of Homeland Security.
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Melissa Baker @melissabaker.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Quick. Somebody tell Trump that the best way to own Elon is to restore all research grants and double NSF funding.
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Dr. Samantha Montano @samlmontano.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
9 people were killed in a tornado last night in KY. The NWS office responsible for that area has faced some of the most extreme cuts by the Trump administration, including the loss of overnight forecasting. Last night, they were rushing to find help for the office. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/w...
nytimes.com
After Cuts, a Kentucky Weather Office Scrambles for Staffing as Severe Storms Bear Down
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
www.npr.org/2025/04/25/n...
npr.org
What losing billions in federal grants means for universities, and the nation
The Trump administration has so far frozen about $11 billion in research funding. University leaders say no other source can fill the void.
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Paul Fairie @paulisci.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
President Declines Gift (1925)
President Declines Gift of Holiday Apple Pie

WASHINGTON, Oct 27 - AP - President and Mrs. Coolidge have declined an offer from the Girls' Club of Vermont University of a large apple pie for the White House Thanksgiving dinner. Although no reason was given for declining the pie, apparently it was refused because acceptance might have been taken as an endorsement by the president of the proposed apple week to be held about that time.

This might be regarded as a precent for endorsement of similar movements in other parts of the country. The telegram tendering the pie said it was designed to be a part of the apple week program.

--The Fresno Bee, 27 Oct 1925
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
There’s been some “advice” coming from some quarters for scientists not to focus on DEI-related funding cuts. I wholly reject this concept. Cutting programs designed to reduce science and healthcare disparities is as detrimental to science as anything else, both morally and functionally.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Full article: The Future of Cognitive Development in Challenging Times www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... This article is important! Please read!
tandfonline.com
The Future of Cognitive Development in Challenging Times
Published in Journal of Cognition and Development (Ahead of Print, 2025)
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
m.youtube.com/watch?v=2h4t...
m.youtube.com
'Don't fight alone': Universities band together to defend against Trump attacks
YouTube video by MSNBC
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/n...
nytimes.com
Decades Ago, Columbia Refused to Pay Trump $400 Million (Gift Article)
A quarter century ago, the university was looking to expand. It considered, and rejected, property owned by Donald Trump. He did not forget it.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Went to the Nashville Stand Up For Science demonstration today. It was a good experience and the local npr station estimated that about 300 people attended!
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...
nytimes.com
As Trump Goes After Universities, Students Are Now on the Chopping Block (Gift Article)
Uncertainty about how much money colleges and universities stand to lose has led some schools to reduce the number of doctoral students, in some cases reneging on offers.
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Lisa Fazio @lkfazio.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Very clear description of what's going on, the collective action problem that's leading to institutions laying low and the specific steps universities should be taking instead. Silence will not save us www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
thecrimson.com
Harvard Must Take a Stand for Democracy | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson
To silence ourselves in the name of neutrality would not only violate our own policy but also abdicate our broader civil responsibility.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
‘Silence is complicity’ — universities must fight the anti-DEI crackdown
Higher-education establishments must not be bullied into abandoning their mission of diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 12/02/2025
Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025! Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide! #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence
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Jenna Somers @jennasomers.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
We’re being run by the F students who cheat off the A student’s test, but now the F students won’t even let the A student study. When they all fail, the F students will claim the A student is stupid. www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Pentagon guts national security program that harnessed social science
Dozens of U.S. academics lose grants from Minerva program for studies related to terrorism, drug trafficking, and other threats
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George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
Also no funding for Musk-related businesses.
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David M. Perry @lollardfish.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
If you would like to learn how to do this kind of writing, I will teach you. I will, if you have no money, do it for free. I will, if you have some money, invite you to my "writing coach" patreon. I will, if you have an institutional budget, charge a fair workshop rate. Lollardfish @ gmail.
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Leah Greenberg ❌👑 @leahgreenberg.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
the richest man in the world has decided that your kids don't deserve special education programs
A screenshot of an email notifying Spotsylvania parents that funding for a program for youth with disabilities has been canceled
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
I don’t see how this could possibly go wrong. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data, raising alarm at IRS
Musk’s DOGE seeks access to personal taxpayer data at IRS
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Pete Buttigieg @petebuttigieg.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
You are not powerless, and he is not unstoppable. Look at, and learn from, the funding freeze and how quickly he was forced to surrender.
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Dahlia Lithwick @dahlialithwick.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Asha has some vital pre kickoff misinformation check here.
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Stephen Floor @snf.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
not paying indirect costs for research is like only paying the players in the Super Bowl. can't have a Super Bowl without coaches, referees, security, janitors, announcers, stadium staff, and a stadium - and you can't have research without supporting people and facilities
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Anna Leahy @amleahy.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Call Congress to say you oppose the Trump administration’s cut to indirect research grant funding because it will diminish healthcare and harm patients. If you don’t know how to call Congress, download the 5 Calls app. It walks you through the process, including contacts and scripts. 5/5
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Anna Leahy @amleahy.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
The result of the Musk/Trump cut to indirect funding inclded in grants will be poorer quality healthcare, higher cost of healthcare, and less improvement in healthcare. The word “indirect” sound unimportant. Instead, it is foundational cost-sharing. So, what can you do now to stop this? 4/5
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Anna Leahy @amleahy.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
This cut will DEVASTATE the quality of our healthcare, increase cost for care, and stifle future improvement in care. Indirect cost-sharing is necessary for medical centers and universities to conduct research. 1/5 #science #medicine #highered www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
NIH slashes overhead payments for research, sparking outrage
Move to cut indirect cost rate to 15% could cost universities billions of dollars
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Making sure there’s a gift link out there: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/07/n...
nytimes.com
Judge Halts DOGE Access to Treasury Payment Systems (Gift Article)
The order came in response to a lawsuit filed by 19 attorneys general accusing the president of failing to faithfully execute the nation’s laws when he let DOGE comb through federal computer systems.
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samuel mehr @mehr.nz · 08/02/2025
Jeremy Berg (former director of an NIH institute) points out a number of quirks in the NIH announcement about the indirect cost rate cut, raising the real possibility that nobody at NIH actually wrote this
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Aidan Milliff @aidanmilliff.com · 08/02/2025
Cuts to the NIH are a strategy to strangle research universities not “reduce waste”
Graphic from United for Medical Research showing that NIH funding produces $2.46 in economic activity for every $1.00 awardedGraphic from United for Research showing that NIH funding produced over $92B in economic activity in FY 2023Graphic from United for Research showing that $914M in NIH grants to Florida institutions supported 14,688 jobs and produced $2.78B in economic activity
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Kim Weeden @weedenkim.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
DOGE plans to slash about as much ($4B) from NIH, and hence from universities and medical centers, as the government gave SpaceX ($3.8B) last year. It's not about the money and government "waste." It's never been about the money or government "waste." www.usatoday.com/story/money/...
usatoday.com
Elon Musk wants to cut government spending. Tesla and SpaceX benefit from it
Over the last 16 years, Musk's business deals with the government total nearly $20 billion, according to federal contracting data.
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Mike Wagner @prowag.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
We are not far away from your spouse’s cancer trial stopping, your parent’s Alzheimer’s clinical trial evaporating, your teen’s mental health intervention disappearing. It’s easy to attack universities, but the recent actions from the White House will stop cutting edge medical research very quickly.
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
NIH slashes overhead payments for research, sparking outrage
Move to cut indirect cost rate to 15% could cost universities billions of dollars
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Randall Munroe @xkcd.com · 06/01/2025
Features of Adulthood xkcd.com/3034
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Amy Needham @amyneedham.bsky.social · 18/11/2023
My first Bluesky post! Woo hoo!
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