Allen Crocker, MD was a pioneer in the field of developmental pediatrics. He wrote scores of articles and book chapters on genetic diseases and developmental disabilities, and co-authored and edited several seminal books in the field. Crocker began his clinical training in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in 1948 and continued in his medical practice at the hospital until his retirement in June 2009. He was director of the Developmental Evaluation Clinic from 1967 to 1993, and program director of the Institute for Community Inclusion from 1993 to 2009. He was a senior associate in medicine at Children’s Hospital, an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and associate professor of society, human development and health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Crocker served on several editorial boards for various publications, and sat on numerous boards of nonprofit agencies and consumer groups. A recipient of several lifetime achievement awards, Dr. Crocker also had several awards named in his honor — the Allen C. Crocker Award is given at each annual meeting of the New England Regional Genetics Group. A similar award is presented through the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress each year.