AUCDIGEST: DONE
11/4/2014
Training Volunteers to Help Children in Malawi
Amy Hewitt, MN UCEDD/LEND, travels to work with families and volunteers
Dr. Amy Hewitt from the Institute on Community Integration UCEDD and LEND at the University of Minnesota recently completed a visit to Africa where she participated in a collaborative training project with Mikala Mukongolwa of the Baulini Project and Dr. Jason Paltzer, Director of the Kingdom Workers Lutheran Health Alliance. The team made stops in Lusaka, Zambia, and Blantyre, Malawi, working with volunteers and families.
5/14/2014
New Act Early Ambassadors Selected
30 new Act Early Ambassadors have been selected from a group of highly qualified applicants to represent twenty-nine states. Ambassadors will serve as a state, territory or organizational point-of-contact for CDC's national "Learn the Signs. Act Early." (LTSAE) program; support the work of Act Early Teams and other state or national initiatives to improve early identification of developmental delay and disability; and promote adoption and integration of LTSAE resources, including materials to support developmental monitoring.
5/2/2014
'Baby Motor Milestones: Birth to 2 Years' Video
Now available from Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NY LEND/UCEDD)
Pediatrician Lisa Shulman shows the motor milestones expected in typically developing babies, from head control to walking and what pediatricians look for during a well-baby visit. She also explains the specific types of motor control a baby must master before the next milestone can be achieved.
4/21/2014
2013 IACC Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Now Available
The Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) and the Office of Autism Research Coordination are pleased to announce the release of the 2013 IACC Summary of Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorder Research in conjunction with the celebration of National Autism Awareness Month. The 2013 IACC Summary of Advances is a collection of brief summaries of studies selected by the IACC as the twenty most significant biomedical and services research advances in the field of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research in 2013.
4/15/2014
LEND Trainees Attend 2014 Disability Policy Seminar
As a current LEND trainee in the field of public health, I was impressed with the collaboration between the multiple sponsor organizations. It is rare to see so many groups with differing missions come together to work towards a common goal and bring a united front when working on key policy issues.
4/15/2014
New Resources Focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder
The MCH Library at Georgetown University released a new knowledge path and set of resource briefs directing readers to a selection of resources about ASD screening, diagnosis, treatment, care, and impact on family life.
4/7/2014
DSM-5 Resources
The Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was released in May 2013, bringing with it several revisions to the criteria for the diagnosis and classification of mental disorders. One important change was for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) classifications. AUCD's resource page on the DSM-5 and ASD includes select resources that network members have found to be helpful in understanding the changes to the criteria.
4/1/2014
AUCD Celebrates April as Autism Awareness Month
On December 18, 2007, the UN General Assembly designated April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, which was first observed in 2008. This UN resolution is one of only three official disease-specific United Nations Days that brings world attention to autism spectrum disorder, a developmental disorder that affects as many as 1 in 68 children, according to new estimates from the CDC.
10/18/2013
Primer Helps LEND Trainees Learn to Make Better Use of Data
The primer, produced by the University of South Dakota with support from MCHB, is designed to help pre-service LEND trainees learn how to formulate good questions and find, select, analyze, and present data.
9/2/2013
Iowa LEND Director Recognized for Newborn Hearing Screening Research
The 2012 Editor's Award for the American Journal of Audiology will go to a team of researchers led by Lenore Holte, PhD, CCC-A, Iowa LEND Director and Clinical Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Department of Pediatrics, The University of Iowa.
8/15/2013
'Parents Perspectives' Video Series from the OK UCEDD
This short video series features parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities or special health care needs. In the videos, parents share their perspectives on getting a disability diagnosis, supporting their children through transitions in the school system, and dealing with emergency personnel.
8/12/2013
In Memoriam: Morris Green, MD
Dr. Green was a nationally renowned pediatrician, inspiring educator, and prolific author. He was the Founding Director (1970) of the Indiana LEND, then University Affiliated Facility or UAF, and a pioneer in Behavioral Pediatrics and family centered care.
7/31/2013
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD/LEND) Member Assists in Development of App to Ease Children's Fears of Clinic Visits
In order to ease patient anxieties and enable a smoother medical office visit, developmental medicine specialists working in the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt have created a new app for the iPad that allows providers and parents to develop storyboards about common routines. MyRoutine launched in June and is currently available on iTunes.
7/23/2013
'Healthy Bodies' Toolkit Addresses Puberty in Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities
The 'Healthy Bodies: A Parent's Guide on Puberty for Adolescents with Disabilities' toolkit addresses the needs of these families and is a response to the limited number of practical resources about puberty and disabilities. The toolkit was developed by faculty and trainees at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities LEND.
7/17/2013
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Releases New Study on Training Pediatricians to Decrease Wait Times for Autism Diagnosis in Children
A three-year study conducted by researchers at Vanderbilt University, entitled concluded that training pediatric health care providers to identify and diagnose children with autism will increase speed and accuracy of autism diagnoses.