AUCDigest
January 22, 2008 • Volume 8, Number 1
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Waisman Center (WI UCEDD/LEND) Faculty New Editor of the American Journal on Mental Retardation (AJMR). UCEDD Director Dr. Leonard Abbeduto is the new Editor for AJMR, published by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). Dr. Abbeduto takes over editorship of AJMR from Dr. William E. MacLean, Jr., Professor and Director of Clinical Training for mental retardation and pediatric psychology at the University of Wyoming. Read an interview with Dr. Abbeduto on his vision for the AJMR here.
Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (ME UCEDD) Offers Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation. The UCEDD has entered into a cooperative agreement with Project THRIVE of Tri-County Mental Health Services in Lewiston, Maine to pilot an early childhood mental health consultation model to inform the development of a comprehensive system to support the provision of and access to quality early care and education for all Maine's children, particularly those with behavioral health needs and children at risk of being expelled/excluded from community care and education settings. For more information, contact Sandra Horne, Acting Coordinator of Dissemination.
Indiana Institute on Disability & Community (UCEDD) Receives Autism Grant Award. The UCEDD's Indiana Resource Center for Autism was awarded a research grant in the area of autism spectrum disorders from the Organization for Autism Research. The project, Increasing Social Engagement in Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Video Self-Modeling and Peer Training, will help to provide additional information about early literacy skills and inform current instructional reading practices for teaching these skills to students with ASD. Contact Dr. Scott Bellini, Principal Investigator at 812-855-6508.
News and Activities from the NH Institute on Disability (UCEDD/LEND)
- Former
NH-LEND Trainee Appointed to NH Department of Health & Human Services. The New
Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services recently announced the
appointment of former NH-LEND trainee Elizabeth Collins, RN-BC, MS, as the
Director of Special Medical Services for Children with Special Health Care
Needs (NH's Title V program).
- Foster Grandparents Work with Children with Autism. For over twenty years, many older adults in New Hampshire have found a way to give back to their communities through the Friends Foster Grandparent Program. This intergenerational program offers a small, tax-free stipend to volunteers ages 60 and older in exchange for volunteer services in public and non-profit settings like schools, Head Starts, after-school programs, and childcare centers. During this past school year, the IOD's Beth Dixon visited several Foster Grandparent groups to speak about children on the autism spectrum and some strategies for working with them.
- Visit the Institute on Disability Events Page Often. Here are a few highlights:
For further information, please contact Matt Gianino, Manager of Marketing & Communications
News and Activities from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD)
- Autism Speaks Names Vanderbilt University Medical Center an Autism Treatment Network (ATN) Site. Autism Speaks awarded a 3-year grant to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) as part of its expansion from 5 to 15 ATN sites across the US and Canada. ATN treatment and research centers are dedicated to improving medical care for children and adolescents with autism. Principal investigators for Vanderbilt are Dr. Wendy Stone, Director of the VKC Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD), and Dr. Beth Malow, Director of the Vanderbilt Sleep Disorders Center and a VKC Investigator.
- New Treatment Program for Adolescents and Young Adults with Dual Diagnosis. The UCEDD has received a 3-year grant from the John Merck Fund to facilitate a mental health treatment program for adolescents and young adults who have both a psychiatric disorder and an intellectual or other developmental disability. The VKC UCEDD will collaborate with the Department of Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University, and the program will include clinical, outreach, and research services. It will provide statewide services, will use trainees from several disciplines, and will take advantage of telemedicine to reach Tennessee's vastly underserved rural population. "As strange as it may sound, there are few such clinics operating nationally," said Elisabeth Dykens, Ph.D., associate director of the VKC, director of the VKC UCEDD, and professor of psychology and human development. "Our goal is to institute a clinic that will be a world leader in the care to persons with intellectual disabilities and mental health concerns. From there-and using the UCEDD's national network to distribute our model to every state-we can lead the way in upgrading services for a group that continues to be among the most underserved in the country."
For further information, please contact Courtney Taylor, Associate Director of Communications and Dissemination.
News and Activities from the Institute for Community Inclusion (MA UCEDD)
- Outreaching to the Ethiopian Community. Dr. Judy Palfrey was an invited guest of the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association's weekly radio talk show on Sunday December 16th. Dr. Palfrey provided information about the ICI, as a joint program of the University of Massachusetts Boston and the Children's Hospital Boston, and about the Opening Doors Project. The ECMAA is a partner in the project and is seeking to connect Ethiopian families who may benefit from disability services with the ICI.
- New Member Joining SELN. The state of Colorado will be the newest member of the UCEDD's State Employment Leadership Network (SELN) beginning January 1st, 2008. This will be the fifteenth state to join the network.
- International Presentation. Sheila Fesko presented at the international conference for the Korean Employment Promotion Agency for Disability. The conference focused on employment for people with disabilities in an aging society. It was held in Seoul, Korea on December 4th.
- CMS Awards Grant to Improve Employment Services for Individuals with Disabilities. The UCEDD has been awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) through the University of Massachusetts Medical School to improve employment infrastructure, services and outcomes for people with disabilities in the Commonwealth.
For further information, please contact Quinn Barbour.
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