MULTICULTURAL COUNCIL (MCC)
2/1/2024
Medical and Dental Curricula on IDD: Training Inclusive Providers
A Study on How Medical and Dental Schools Teach Students about IDD
Past research has shown that many medical and dental students do not learn about IDD in school. The WITH Foundation, AUCD, and UC-LEND, led by Dr. Kashia Rosenau, collaborated to learn more about how medical and dental schools are teaching students about intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The study found that most of the schools had self-advocates to help them teach their medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD. The study also found that medical and dental students want to learn more about caring for their patients with disabilities. Overall, the study highlights the importance of teaching medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD and including more self-advocates in this training.
1/30/2024
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute and Michigan Vaccination Partners accomplishments Highlighted in APHA's Thought Leadership Film Series
The American Public Health Association (APHA) selected the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute (MI-DDI) at Wayne State University and the Michigan Vaccination Partners project to be featured in the APHA 2023 Thought Leadership Film Series. The series profiles cutting-edge efforts to address public health issues being led by researchers, advocates and organizations across the country.
1/30/2024
New Issue Released of Review of Disability Studies: Extended Volume on Disability and China (Vol 18, No.4 & Vol 19 No. 1)
The Center on Disability Studies, College of Education, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, is pleased to announce the release of the Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal Special Issue on China and Disability. The 595-page issue (Volume 18, Issue 4 & Volume 19, Issue 1) was guest-edited by Drs. Luanjiao Hu, The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Brandeis University, and Fengming Cui, Harvard University.
1/26/2024
Apply Today: AUCD Leadership Academy
The deadline to apply is March 1st at 5:00 PM EST
The AUCD Leadership Academy is a week-long intensive experience, paired with a year of pre and post interactions designed to enhance the skills of current and emerging leaders from disability networks to build coalitions to improve systems of supports and services. The Leadership Academy engages participants from UCEDDs, LENDs, and the wider community of disability partners to come together to immerse themselves for a week of study, shared experiences, self-evaluation, and skill development.
1/18/2024
ICI, UM Extension Partner For 4-H Youth
The MN UCEDD has created accommodation kits containing tools to better accommodate Minnesota 4-H members with and without disabilities. The training also shared tips about more fully including youth with disabilities.
1/17/2024
Student Spotlight - Blake Jackson
Meet Blake Jackson, a resilient second-year student in the Direct Support Professional - General (DSP-G) track. As a proud member of the PATHS class 2024 in the fightin' Texas Aggie community, Blake is enrolled in the Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) Program, where he finds inspiration in Andrey Hepburn's timeless words: "Nothing is impossible, the Word itself says "I'm possible'!".
1/16/2024
Five-year Grant to Support KU Project's Goal to Make Disability Data Accessible and Inclusive for Broad Audiences
Numbers alone can't tell a story. That's the foundation of a project now based at the University of Kansas that takes volumes of raw federal and state expenditure data and distills that information for everyone - including policymakers, service providers and individuals with developmental disabilities and their families - to help them make the most informed decisions.
1/16/2024
Missouri's UCEDD Develops "After Abuse: Resources for Missourians with Disabilities"
The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Institute for Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the state of Missouri, in cooperation with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council, has published a new online resource called After Abuse: Resources for Missourians with Disabilities to help people with disabilities learn about abuse and what happens when it is reported.
11/20/2023
Iowa Creates a New Vaccine Clinic for Patients with Unique Needs
Iowa's Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) has a new vaccine clinic for children and some adults with unique needs, including sensory issues, anxiety, and other disabilities. Earlier this year, the mother of a child with autism got in touch with CDD, looking for a place to get her child vaccinated against Covid-19. CDD clinical nurse manager Sheree Murphy, RN, took up the challenge, and enlisted the help of UCEDD program coordinator, Anne Crotty, MPH.
11/15/2023
OHSU UCEDD: A personal and professional experience
In the summer of 2020, Jan Staehely, communication consultant and staff member at the OHSU Institute on Development and Disability UCEDD, and an individual with Cerebral Palsy who uses an assistive communication device, had a frightening experience. Wildfires were approaching the south-eastern towns near Portland, Oregon and her neighborhood was placed in an evacuation zone.
11/7/2023
2023 AUCD Multicultural Council Award for Leadership in Diversity
The AUCD Multicultural Council Award for Leadership in Diversity is presented to an Association member or group in recognition of: their exhibited leadership and commitment to advancing programs and practices aimed toward increasing the diversity, cultural, and/or linguistic competencies (in curriculum, services, supports, research, and recruitment) within a Center and the AUCD network as a whole exemplary programs and practices addressing the areas of diversity, cultural, and/or linguistic competencies (in curriculum, services, supports, research, and recruitment) within a Center and the AUCD network as a whole significant contributions in furthering the cause of diversity understanding for the needs of families seeking disability services. The 2023 AUCD Multicultural Council Award for Leadership in Diversity was presented to Mirian Ofonedu during the AUCD 2023 Awards Ceremony on November 7, 2023.
10/30/2023
Defining Equity
We are excited to announce AUCD's Board-approved working definition of equity in IDD. Below you will also see a plain language and easy read version. We hope this will help guide you in your future Council work as we continue to discuss concrete ways to improve systems, services, policies, and programs to improve equity. We know this will be an ongoing and evolving conversation within your Centers and across the Network. Thank you for your feedback and contributions to this effort.
10/26/2023
Announcing the 2023-2024 Emerging Leaders Community Interns
The Emerging Leaders Community is excited to announce 3 Interns for the 2023-2024 training year! These trainees will serve as visible ambassadors to the broader AUCD network, interacting with AUCD staff at all levels and the AUCD Board of Directors' Emerging Leaders Representative.
9/21/2023
Host a Fellow from the Professional Fellows Program
Is your UCEDD or LEND eager to drive global change in disability inclusion? Host a Fellow from the prestigious Professional Fellows Program (PFP)! The PFP supports mid-career disability rights professionals from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia to participate in a five-week Fellowship in the US in Spring 2024. As a host, we will match you with a Fellow whose professional interests and goals align with your organization to exchange disability-inclusive civic engagement knowledge and practices.
9/21/2023
Identifying Autism in Rwanda
In rural Africa, people with autism and other disabilities are stigmatized and routinely hidden indoors. This summer, the MN UCEDD trained community health workers in Rwanda on identifying the signs of autism in children and on principles for addressing the needs of people with disabilities in rural areas.