Molly Gorelick, 83; Psychologist Worked With Disabled Pupils

Molly Chernow Gorelick, an educator, psychologist and author who worked extensively with disabled and special-needs children throughout her long and varied career, has died. She was 83.

Gorelick died Dec. 17 in Los Angeles of unspecified causes.

As an educator and psychologist, Gorelick was known for studying the development of children -- gifted, normal or disabled and exceptional -- and advising parents and schools in assisting them.

“The concern should be that parents interact a great deal with their children so that they really know each child and develop a sensitivity to how much stimulation, how much quiet and how much support each child requires,” she told The Times in 1975 when she was training preschool teachers to deal with a diverse student population. “Every single child is wired differently.”

Born in New York City, Gorelick earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees at UCLA. She was a teacher and counselor for the Los Angeles Unified School District from 1948 to 1961.

After teaching and conducting research at UCLA and USC, she served from 1963 to 1970 as chief of guidance services for the Los Angeles Exceptional Childrens Foundation.

Gorelick was a professor and practicing psychologist at Cal State Northridge from 1970 until her retirement in 1991. During her tenure there, she conducted several government-sponsored studies. Among them was a U.S. Department of Agriculture study of children’s preference for low-nutrient, high-calorie foods and how to change those habits to combat obesity, tooth decay and hypertension.

In addition to numerous scholarly articles for such publications as the American Journal of Mental Deficiency, Gorelick co-wrote a five-volume series of educational and entertaining books for children -- “Fire on Sun Mountain,” “Flood at Dry Creek,” “Storm at Sand Point,” “Fog Over Sun City” and “Snow Storm at Green Valley.” The books, written with Jean Boreman, were published in 1967 and 1968 by specialty book publisher Ward Ritchie.

With scriptwriter Al Levitt, Gorelick created the documentary movie “A Child Is a Child,” which won third place at an international film festival in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1981. The film described the professor’s work in bringing disabled children into mainstream preschools.

Gorelick also wrote works to assist new teachers, including “Careers in Integrated Early Childhood Settings,” “A Teacher in the Making” and “Recipes for Teaching,” all published in 1975.

A sculptor, Gorelick recently helped found and sponsor a senior artists exhibit for the Los Angeles Department of Aging.

Gorelick is survived by her husband of 62 years, Lee; two sons, Walter and Peter; and one sister, Etta Sheldrick.

A memorial service is being planned. The family has asked that memorial donations go to the donor’s favorite charity.