COCWD Awards

​Arnold​ J. Capute Award

The Arnold J. Capute Award is presented annually at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition to recognize an AAP Fellow for notable contributions to the field of children with disabilities.

Arnold J. Capute, MD, FAAP (1923-2003) was a professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. He was the recipient of the first Arnold J. Capute Professorship in Developmental Disabilities at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and has been credited by many as one of the founding fathers of the field of developmental pediatrics and neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Dr. Capute was director of the first training program in developmental pediatrics and trained the majority of the pediatricians in this field. Dr. Capute received numerous awards for both teaching and achievement, serving as testimony to the significance of his work at national and international levels.

Dr. Capute became a member of the AAP in 1953 and served on the Committee on Child Development as well as the Section on Children with Disabilities Executive Committee. In 2000, the Section on Children with Disabilities (now the Council on Children with Disabilities) established and presented the first Arnold J. ​Capute award.

A call for nominations for the Arnold ​J. Capute award is conducted every spring through the Council on Children with Disabilities members-only email distribution list. Nominators must be Council on Children with Disabilities members.

To learn more about the Arnold J. Capute Award, contact us​.

Early Career Award

The COCWD Early Career Award will be presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition for the first time in 2023. This award recognizes an early career pediatric clinician (within 10 years of completing their residency, fellowship, or other terminal medical training) for their outstanding efforts related to children with disabilities.

This award will have 3 rotating themes, with one theme offered per year: community, academic, equity. In 2024, the award will be given to a candidate in either an academic and/or non-academic setting for outstanding efforts focused on promoting equity for children with disabilities. Activities of the recipient could focus on but are not limited to clinical care, research, teaching, and/or advocacy. Activities of the recipient must have a focus promoting equity for children from communities who are underserved in developmental care, including children experiencing the detrimental effects of the intersection between disability and other social injustices. 

The call for nominations for the COCWD Early Career Award will be conducted every spring through the COCWD members-only email distribution list. Nominees do not need to be a member of COCWD to submit a self nomination. For nomination a colleague, the nominator must a member of COCWD.