Dr. Alice Hayden, A Leading Researcher Of Down Syndrome

Alice Hazel Hayden, a University of Washington professor emeritus of education well known for her research on children with Down syndrome, died in her Seattle home Tuesday. She was 85.

Long before her 33-year career at the university, Dr. Hayden showed academic brilliance, receiving a master's degree in chemistry from Oregon State University at 19. Due to a congenital defect, she was legally blind as an adult, and often worked 10 to 14 hours a day, using thick, adaptive lenses to do her research.

She began teaching at the UW in 1946. In 1958, Dr. Hayden began concentrating her research on mental retardation in children. Two years later, she co-directed the experimental Pilot School for children with disabilities.

The school was a forerunner to the present-day Experimental Education Unit at the Child Development and Mental Retardation Center at the university, where Dr. Hayden served as associate director.

In 1967, Dr. Hayden began researching education of children with Down syndrome. Unlike many of her peers at the time, Dr. Hayden saw the importance of detecting the disability at birth and pushed for infant intervention. She began the Alice H. Hayden Preschool Program for children with developmental disabilities in the Experimental Education Unit at the university. She retired in 1979.

"She gained national recognition for her work in Down syndrome," said Professor Emeritus Norris Haring, who worked with Dr. Hayden for 15 years. "She was very precise about early intervention."

She was born Jan. 17, 1909, in Seattle. She moved to Eugene, Ore., with her father after her mother's death. After attending Oregon State, she received a Ph.D from Purdue University in Indiana.

As a professor, she was known for her high standards and outspoken opinions. She was proper and formal and preferred to be addressed as "Dr. Hayden."

"She had an intense sense of direction," said Haring. "She worked extremely hard. But when she wasn't working, she played very hard." Haring said Dr. Hayden often flew to Reno and Las Vegas to play blackjack during her vacations.

Dr. Hayden also prided herself on her appearance, was well-dressed and "had a beauty shop appointment once a week," said Margaret Nissing, an administrator who worked with Dr. Hayden for 25 years.

She is survived by two daughters, Geraldine Buttke of California and Mary Dougherty of Florida.

A memorial service will be held March 25 at the UW Faculty Club. Remembrances may be made to the Experimental Education Unit Gift Fund at the Children's Development of Mental Retardation Clinic, WJ-10, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195.