Dr Stephanie Lorenz 1944-2024

Stephanie Lorenz, who passed in March 2024 at the age of 79, made and left her mark in Educational Psychology, particularly in relation to children with Down's Syndrome, setting up Downright Education Services in Manchester, and in advocating for children, parents, and Inclusion.

I first met at her Educational Psychology Meetings in the NW when she was Principal Educational Psychologist in Leeds. However, we had no idea that our paths would later cross, and that we would discover a shared childhood location in Finchley, that we attended neighbouring secondary schools, and that we were both very committed to equal rights, inclusion and a humanitarian perspective; inevitably we became life-long friends. 

Stef was a ferociously intelligent, sharp thinking and focused woman, a prolific writer and researcher, a visual artist, a lover of canal barges and canal trips, a family woman, grandmother and latterly a liberal democrat local candidate. Much of her professional life was devoted to working with the Down's Syndrome Association, researching, writing. She was a pioneer in supporting the development of inclusion policies and was one of the first to work on research in the development of literacy in children with Down Syndrome. She volunteered with The Independent Panel of Special Educational Advice in the 1980s, where we both contributed in the setting up a panel of independent witnesses which offered parents free second opinions, across a range of disciplines, including Educational Psychology, and she was an expert panel member at the first tier Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.

Several years ago, following the death of her husband Roger to MND, Stef relocated to the Midlands, to be nearer her daughter Amy,  and grandchildren. She will be missed professionally and personally.

Publications included

• Reading and Down's Syndrome   1985      BJSE
• The Placement of Pupils with Down's Syndrome: a survey of one northern LEA. Stephanie Lorenz, British Journal of Special Education March 1995
• Children with Down's Syndrome: A Guide for Teachers and Support Assistants in Mainstream Education (Resource Materials for Teachers) (Resource Materials for Children) Paperback –  Taylor Francis 1998
• Effective In-Class Support: The Management of Support Staff in Mainstream and Special Schools (Paperback) 1998
• Making inclusion work for children with Down syndrome  DSE 1999
• First Steps in Inclusion: A Handbook for Parents, Teachers, Governors and LEAs by Stephanie Lorenz  David Fulton pub. Lorenz, S. 
• Trends and outcomes in educational placements for children with Down syndrome, October 1998, European Journal of Special Needs Education 13(3):225-237