AUCDigest
September 25, 2006 • Volume 6, Number 65
Forging New Partnerships for New Challenges Through Research, Education and Service
The Arc Honors DDRC and LEND Program Director from District of Columbia with Distinguished Research Award. Mark L. Batshaw, MD, Children's National Medical Center, the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, will receive The Arc's Distinguished Research Award for his lifelong research on urea cycle disorders and his leadership and contributions to research related to intellectual disabilities. The award will be presented at The Arc's National Convention Research and Prevention Luncheon on October 13, 2006 in San Diego, California.
Westchester Institute for Human Development (NY UCEDD) Receives $5 Million State Grant to Establish CDHT. The Center on Disability, Health and Technology (CDHT) will be a focal point for developing and translating new knowledge in the biomedical, informational, communications and technological sciences into improvements in health, health care, and well-being of persons with disabilities including cognitive disabilities. Interdisciplinary teams of researchers and clinicians will pursue critical research questions aimed at improving health outcomes and enabling a better quality of life for persons with disabilities and their families. These knowledge and technology advances will be the product of partnerships between the public and private sectors to ensure that the technologies and intellectual property developed within the Center achieve commercial application. For more information, contact David O'Hara, PhD, via email.
Clinical Center for the Study of Development and Learning (NC UCEDD) Partners on DVD: We're Part of the Ring The CDL collaborated with local DD Act network agencies to produce a professional DVD that demonstrates the impact of these agencies on individuals, families, and communities. The 19-minute piece, spotlights several individuals who have benefited from services provided by one of the three agencies. This past spring, a screening was featured during 20 Listening Sessions held across the state with individuals with disabilities and their families. Listening Session evaluations completed by attendees indicate that the DVD strongly contributed to a better understanding of each agency's role and impact on the lives of North Carolinians with disabilities and their families. Limited copies of We're Part of the Ring will be available at the CDL website.
Center on Disability Studies (HI UCEDD) Receives Funding to Increase Civic Participation. The UCEDD received a grant from the Native Hawaiian Education Program to increase the proportion of Native Hawaiian youth and adults who are knowledgeable and actively engaged in civic affairs. The Kïwila Project will develop and field test civics curricula for grades 4, 8, and 12 that will be culturally responsive to the needs of Native Hawaiian students. The curricula will also be differentiated and use universal design principles to ensure usability for students of all ability levels and learning styles. For more information, contact the Principal Investigator Kelly D. Roberts, PhD at 808-956-9502.
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD) Parent Support and Education Program. At the UCEDD's new Parent Support and Education Program (PSEP), autism specialists provide information, support, and consultation for parents of children with autism under 4-years-old. PSEP is a three-session model that includes an assessment and two-follow up clinic visits. PSEP is among the range of services provided by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD). For more information, contact Sherry Conaster at 615-936-1705.
Rose F. Kennedy UCEDD (NY) Takes Pride in Providing High Quality Family Services. The UCEDD has demonstrated leadership in the field of early intervention services for young children coming from diverse, low-income families by creating the Young Children's Mental Health Program. The Program is funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and from grants from private foundations. The Program not only focuses on high risk and developmentally delayed children with associated emotional or behavior problems, it also leads in the establishment of outreach components in the primary care pediatric sites of a major academic medical center in the Bronx, several child care providers, and foster care agencies. New funding from the Robin Hood Foundation will enable the Early Childhood Center to expand to a new community based site with ample space to accommodate more children in need of intervention services. For more information, please contact Arnold Birenbaum, PhD.
Activities and Special Recognition from the Partnership for People with Disabilities (VA UCEDD)
- Grant to Enhance Lives of Individuals with Brain Injury. The UCEDD announces the award of a $321,000 grant to increase the number of qualified facilitators who can provide Positive Behavior Support (PBS) services to individuals with brain injuries. The project is funded by the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative Trust Fund as a community-based rehabilitation initiative. Based on the organization's experience with PBS training, the Partnership will conduct a pilot project to train brain injury specialists in PBS practices, demonstrate the efficacy of PBS for individuals with brain injury, and develop a sustainability plan for this service in Virginia. For more information, contact Bill Tinsley.
- New Faculty Member. The faculty and trainees in the Virginia LEND program are pleased to announce that Stacey Dusing, PT, PhD, is our new core faculty member in Physical Therapy. Stacey joined VA-LEND and the Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in July 2006. She is a recent graduate from a doctoral program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was also a LEND fellow. Her research interests include motor development of infants and children who were born prematurely and those diagnosed with Lysosomal Storage Disorders. Stacey was recruited after the retirement of Annabel Edge, MS, PT who served as LEND core faculty in physical therapy since 1995.
News from Institute on Human Development & Disability (GA UCEDD)
- Duck Tape, Velcro & Beyond-four regional lunch-&-learn workshops-introduced assistive technology from a hands-on approach by Dr. Theresa Willkomm, Director of the New Hampshire Assistive Technology Program and Clinical Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of New Hampshire. Farmers, landscapers and disability self-advocates and professionals learned how to create switches and accommodations with everything from paper clips to blow torches. AgrAbility in Georgia is a program of the UCEDD and Cooperative Extension at The University of Georgia.
- Experts on Disability Speakers' Bureau at the UCEDD got off to a resounding start last month when Gail Bottoms was featured at this year's National Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered Conference and then went to New Mexico and opened the mid-year meeting of National Association for State Developmental Disabilities Directors. Toney Duvall (an expert who shares a story of 18 years growing up in an institution) was named Georgia Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities 2006 Advocate of the Year award for testimony appearances in support of the Children's Freedom Initiative. A booklet and CD of her poems are available for $20.
- UCEDD Disability Studies Certificate Program on the undergraduate level has been approved by The University of Georgia Board of Regents with graduate approval expected before 2007. Five departments contribute to coursework covering disabilities across the lifespan.
- Out-Of-School Settings For Youth With Disabilities presents the UCEDD research on Georgia's crisis of care for school-aged youth with disabilities. Analysis of surveys and focus groups of both parents and program providers were used to determine needs, gaps in services and how school-age youth with disabilities spend their time out of school. University of Georgia Departments of Child and Family Development and Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology collaborated with the UCEDD. The entire study can be downloaded through the UCEDD website and major results presented for lay audiences interested in advocating for change are available.
- GA UCEDD AmeriCorps Graduation of twelve members featured awards received, projects completed, community service rendered and the future plans of each member. This year, Georgia Personal Assistance Service Corps members contributed over 12,745 hours of direct service designed to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Additional inquiries about these activities can be sent to Gwen O'Looney.
Honors and Activities from the Institute on Disability and Human Development (IL UCEDD)
- Collaboration with other UCEDDs. Faculty and staff of the DHD participated in a two-day distance learning technical assistance training from Maggie Nygren of AUCD, Ann Cox from the Partnership for People with Disabilities (VA UCEDD) and Julie Fodor from the Center on Disabilities and Human Development (ID UCEDD) on July 13-14, 2006. Sessions included: an assessment of curriculum needs, issues, and distance education capacity; a review of curriculum development strategies; and a discussion of strategies and techniques for changing existing in person curricula into online.
- Honors. Rehabilitation Engineer Glenn Hedman, PE began a two-year term on August 1, 2006 as President of RESNA, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America. RESNA is an interdisciplinary society comprised of approximately 1,100 Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Speech-Language Pathologists, and Rehabilitation Engineers who perform service, research, and teaching activities in Assistive Technology. Hedman was elected to the position during 2004, and had been named a RESNA Fellow in 2003.
- Research Initiative: Computer Technology and Treatment Center for Hispanic Children with Autism and their Families. Research conducted within the past year at the UCEDD has identified a need to expand the training services offered to Hispanic families who have children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). In response to the needs of this population, IDHD has implemented a Computer Technology and Treatment Center (CTTC) specifically designed for children with ASDs. Expert driven, successful interventions include computer-based learning software and integrative behavioral approaches within a culturally sensitive bilingual family learning model. This comprehensive program provides specific computer related training in the areas of basic language and social skills for the children and basic computer skills for the parents. For more information contact Lorna Sanchez at 312-413-1871.
News from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (PA LEND program)
- Hosting an Employer Conference. The LEND program, in partnership with the Department of Diversity and Inclusion is presenting an employer conference to inform and educate local companies about employment of people with disabilities. The conference, "Workforce Innovation: Hiring Employees with Disabilities" will be held at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Friday Oct. 27, 2006. People interested in attending the conference should contact Megan DiTizio, LEND Program Manager, at 215-590-7466 for more information.
- LEND Collaborates with City Maternal & Child Health Program. LEND is pleased to announce a partnership with the HIP (Health Intervention Program). HIP is a Title V funded home visiting program focusing on families of children with special health care needs. HIP is coordinated by the City of Philadelphia's Department of Public Health, which contracts with 3 community agencies to provide services. This free program assists families by creating personal care plans that include parent education, insurance enrollment, and child care services.
Activities from the Institute for Community Inclusion (MA UCEDD)
- Customized Employment Workshops. This fall, ICI launches a six-session workshop series on customized employment for direct service staff from DMR-funded providers. This is part of a larger DMR/ICI partnership to improve employment outcomes. The partnership has already hosted several regional and statewide meetings to identify key issues and develop a strategic employment plan for the state.
- Mass Job First Day. ICI is participating in the upcoming Mass Job First Day with the state workforce system. Staff will give presentations on disability issues to employers at selected One-Stop Career Centers.
- Keynote Address. Joe Marrone, ICI's itinerant senior program manager for public policy, will make his way to Michigan this month for the state Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (IAPSRS) "EmpowerMints... Curiously Strong" conference. Mr. Marrone's keynote address is entitled "Recovery: Is It a Journey or a Treadmill?" He is also publishing an article on the same subject in the UMass Medical School Center for Health Policy and Research Disability Issues newsletter.
Additional inquiries about these activities can be sent to Danielle Dreilinger.
News and Activities from the Pennsylvania Institute on Disabilities
- Anniversary Celebration. In July, the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University in Pennsylvania celebrated the 19th graduating class of ACES (Augmentative Communication and Empowerment Supports). Founded by Institute Executive Director Dr. Diane Bryen, ACES is a year-long augmentative communication and empowerment program designed to increase the communication effectiveness of adults with significant speech disabilities.
- International Presenters. UCEDD Director Diane Bryen, Associate Director Amy Goldman, and Project Coordinator Priscilla Danielson attended the 12th Biennial International Conference of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) July 29 - August 5 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Dr. Bryen presented "ACOLUG: Augmentative Communication On-line User's Group" at a poster session during the conference.
- New Inclusive Education Program. The UCEDD has launched an exciting new program: Competence and Confidence: Partners in Policymaking-Inclusive Education. The program welcomes teams of teachers, parents and professionals to series of seven sessions where they will work together to help create a successful inclusive education experience for the individual child and to develop the team as "the local expert" for the school, the school district.
- Workshop on Accessible Formatted Documents. In August, the Institute hosted more than 100 people on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia for a workshop on creating accessible format documents. Accessible Electronic and Information Technology Coordinator, George A. Heake led the seminar, which was also "attended" by many via a webcast.
- Educational Opportunities for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. The second year of the Academy of Adult Learning (AAL) began this fall semester at Temple University. A two-year, post-secondary education program, AAL supports participation by individuals with developmental disabilities in classes and community life at Temple University's main campus.
Additional inquiries about these activities can be sent to Susan Fullam.
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