Pittsburgh, July 29, 2004 -- A. Leland Albright, MD, professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh and former chief of neurosurgery at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, was honored by Exceptional Parent magazine at PNC Park recently as part of Disabled Awareness Night. Dr. Albright was given the Maxwell J. Schleiffer Distinguished Service Award June 29 prior to the Pittsburgh Pirates game with the St. Louis Cardinals. The award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the special needs community.

Disabled Awareness Night is part of a national campaign sponsored by the magazine in conjunction with Major League Baseball reaching 26 major league and two minor league ballparks. It pays tribute to the contributions of 54 million Americans with disabilities, their families and caregivers.

Dr. Albright’s primary area of expertise is treating children with movement disorders and spasticity, specifically the involuntary tightness of certain muscles caused by cerebral palsy and severe brain injuries. In 1996, he established the multi-disciplinary Spasticity and Movement Disorders Clinic, one of the leading clinics of its type in the world.

Together with his colleagues, Dr. Albright -- who holds the Children's Neurosurgery Chair at the hospital -- was the first physician in the nation to perform deep brain stimulation in children, a procedure in which an electrode is inserted into deep regions of the brain to treat involuntary jerking movements or tremor related to cerebral palsy.

Exceptional Parent is the nation's oldest and most widely read and referred to publication of its kind reaching a vast audience of physicians, nurses, therapists, teachers and families involved in the care and development of children and adults with disabilities and special health care need.

This is the third year Exceptional Parent has received grants to go to major league ballparks and recognize local individuals for their service to the disability community. This year the grants were provided by MassMutual Financial Group of Springfield, MA.