The Blue Bird Circle

Approximately 350 Blue Bird Circle members devote at least 50,000 hours every year working in The Blue Bird Circle Clinic for Pediatric Neurology at Texas Children's Hospital or in The Blue Bird Circle Resale Shop (the Shop) and other fundraising activities to support the Circle's charitable causes. The Shop is substantially run by the volunteer members of the Circle and provides an important source of funding to enable the Circle to support its projects.Continued on Schedule O. The mission of The Blue Bird Circle Clinical Research Center at Texas Children's Hospital is to bring ever-advancing therapies to its patients. The Center supports cutting-edge research in neurology and enhances the larger effort to build a clinical research support structure that will advance care to the next level and make a difference in the lives of children affected by neurological disorders. It capitalizes on the remarkable scientific discoveries being made in childhood neurological diseases and serves as the clinical research arm of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, as well as for the Blue Bird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Lab and The Blue Bird Circle Rett Center, developing the treatments and cures of tomorrow. The Blue Bird Circle funded an endowed chair in pediatric neurology at Texas Children's Hospital to allow the program to have increased flexibility and to attract and keep the highest quality of physicians working in the area of pediatric neurology.

The Blue Bird Circle Developmental Neurogenetics Laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine continues to perform ground-breaking research into the causes and treatments of neurological disorders in both children and adults including seizures, stroke, brain trauma and other neurodegenerative disorders.

The Blue Bird Circle Clinic for Pediatric Neurology at Texas Children's Hospital is one of the largest neurology service centers in the United States, specializing in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care of neurological disorders in children. With over 20,000 patient encounters each year, the large team of specialists cares for patients with more than 450 neurological disorders including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, developmental delay, sleep disorders, stroke, cortical malformations, and brain tumors. The Clinic also diagnoses and treats such rare disorders as Rett syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Batten disease, and Prader-Willi syndrome. Satellite neurology clinics are located in Clear Lake, Sugar Land, the Woodlands, and TCH West Campus.

The Blue Bird Circle Rett Center at Baylor College of Medicine is one of the few centers in the world that specializes in the diagnosis and care of patients with Rett Syndrome, a neuro-developmental disorder that develops almost exclusively in females. The syndrome causes chronic neurological problems that include severe communication and motor disabilities. There is no known cure for the disorder, but the Center offers a multi-disciplinary approach focused on care, education, and research that will improve the quality of life for patients and their families.