AUCD 360 - March 2016

Thank You for Your Support of AUCD's Education for All event!

Thank you so much for your support of AUCD's Education for All event! We were thrilled with the turnout and appreciate all of the positive feedback received from attendees. Please share our deepest gratitude with your guests, and enjoy the photos taken at the event!We can't wait to see you again next year, and welcome your ideas on how we can make the next event even better. Read more...

Invitation to Review and Comment on the Including People with Disabilities Public Health Competencies

The Including People with Disabilities Public Health Competencies have been developed by a national committee comprised of disability and public health experts for the current public health workforce. The Competencies address foundational knowledge about people with disabilities, health disparities, health promotion, and strategies on how to include people with disabilities in public health planning efforts. AUCD would like to invite you to provide comments and recommendations to help with the continuous development of the Including People with Disabilities Public Health Competencies. Read more...

Celebrating Inclusion in March for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

March is National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. In an effort to spread awareness about developmental disabilities, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD), and National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) are partnering to launch a social media campaign (Side-by-Side) to highlight the many ways in which people with and without developmental disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life, as well as awareness to the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to community life. Read more...

2016 AUCD Trainee Policy Summit

April 10, 2016, Washington DC

On Sunday evening immediately before the Disability Policy Seminar, AUCD is hosting a special Trainee Policy Summit! Attendees will have exclusive access to Hill staffers and former trainees now working in policy, and learn from the experts how to best craft your message for Wednesday's Hill visits. An evening reception will provide a comfortable background for trainees to meet and network with over 200 peers from around the country. Read more...

AUCD 2016 T-shirt Now Available!

$12/each; Group order deadline is March 24

Show your pride to be a part of the powerful nationwide network of trainees, family members, and professionals working to build a better future together for people with disabilities! The 2016 AUCD tshirt was designed in part by SC LEND trainee Michaela Schenkelberg. It features a diverse set of hands embracing the AUCD ball logo on the front, and a cloud of words key to the network on the back. Read more...

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Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D., Named New Director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute (NE UCEDD/LEND)

Following a nationwide search, Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D., has accepted the position of director of the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation, part of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, NE. Dr. Mirnics, pending approval of University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds, Ph.D., and the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, will begin at MMI this July. He replaces J. Michael Leibowitz, Ph.D., who retired in late 2015, and Wayne Stuberg, Ph.D., who has served in an interim role. Read more...

Kara Ayers Appointed New Associate Director of the University of Cincinnati University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities

The University of Cincinnati University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UC UCEDD) has named Kara Ayers, PhD as its new associate director. Dr. Ayers earned her master's degree and PhD in clinical psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at Wright State University in Dayton, OH. Prior to becoming Assistant Professor and Associate Director of UC UCEDD, effective January 1, 2016, Ayers was the Advocacy and Dissemination Coordinator for UC UCEDD for the last three years. In this role, she worked with self-advocacy groups on a number of policy initiatives and launched communication strategies to increase the reach of UC UCEDD. Read more...

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates Names Executive Committee (MD UCEDD)

The Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) named Maureen van Stone, the associate director of the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities at Kennedy Krieger Institute, to the Executive Committee for the Board of Directors for 2016-2017.aureen, who joined the Board of Directors in 2014, will be the secretary. COPAA is an independent, nonprofit, national organization, mostly volunteer run, which protects the legal and civil rights of students with disabilities and their families. Read more...

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Four UCEDDs Receive Nearly $200,000 in Grants from the Special Hope Foundation

The Special Hope Foundation is pleased to announce that four University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) are among six organizations selected for funding of projects researching questions of cost and quality in provision of healthcare services to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. All applications were carefully reviewed and considered by the Foundation's Board and staff as well as the Special Hope Foundation's Self-Advocate Advisory Board and medical providers. Read more...

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, IDDRC, LEND) Affecting Public Policy

Since January, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, IDDRC, LEND) has provided preparatory mock legislative visits for trainees and students, facilitated the sharing of personal stories with legislators and policymakers through Tennessee Kindred Stories of Disability, created helpful tools for attending Disability Day on the Hill, and educated state legislators during in-person meetings. These activities were undertaken in collaboration with members of the Public Policy Team of the UCEDD. Read more...

The Double Burden: Health Disparities among People of Color Living with Disabilities: The Ohio State University Nisonger Center (OH UCEDD)

Public health and health policy experts agree on the need to assess health disparities and healthcare inequities experienced by people of color and other historically disadvantaged groups. However, these assessments often fail to include disability identifiers so that the health of members of historically disadvantaged groups who also have a disability can be understood.  Read more...

Living Well with a Disability Featured by CDC as Intervention to Reduce Health Disparities (MT UCEDD)

Living Well with a Disability, a health promotion program for people with disabilities, was featured by the CDC in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) as an intervention to reduce health disparities experienced by people with disabilities. It was developed nearly 25 years ago by researchers at the University of Montana, Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural) and Kansas University Research and Training Center on Independent Living with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute on Disability Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The program focuses on the specific health self-management needs of people with disabilities by addressing and building skills to prevent and reduce secondary conditions. Read more...

UCONN UCEDD "Hands Off" Behavioral Interventions Legislative Forum

The Connecticut General Assembly Committee on Children and Education hosted a legislative forum "Hands Off" Behavioral Interventions sponsored by the University of Connecticut Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities on January 27, 2016. The forum focused on the prevention and de-escalation strategies for students with complex behavioral challenges by applying the principles of school wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports.
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John Kramer Publishes Article "Siblinghood Through Disability Studies Perspectives" (MA UCEDD/LEND)

John Kramer, a research associate at the ICI, just published an article in Disability & Society. Kramer's article, which he co-wrote with Ariella Meltzer of the University of New South Wales Australia, is called "Siblinghood through disability studies perspectives: Diversifying discourse and knowledge about siblings with and without disabilities. In the article, Kramer and Meltzer apply approaches from the field of disability studies to their research on family relationships, specifically those involving family members with disabilities." Read more...

New Publications from Heike Boeltzig-Brown in Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education (MA UCEDD/LEND)

Heike Boeltzig-Brown, a senior research associate and program manager at the ICI, has co-authored an article in Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education.Heike also has a forthcoming article in the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability (JPED) http://www.ahead.org/publications/jped. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education is the quarterly journal of the National Council on Rehabilitation Education. Heike's article, co-written with Allison Fleming (formerly of the ICI) and Susan Foley (an ICI senior research fellow), describes a method used to prioritize vocational rehabilitation (VR) services for individuals with most significant disabilities within the context of Order of Selection.  Read more...

UCEDD-CIL Partnerships: Key to Long-Term Services and Supports for People with Disabilities (MD UCEDD)

The Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) are now under the same Administration on Community Living. Together they are working on strategic partnerships to maximizing the capacity for the delivery of long-term services and supports in the community. One such program is Maryland CIL-Ready, a partnership between the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute and the seven Centers for Independent Living across Maryland. Maryland CIL-Ready assessed and addressed CIL sustainability and capacity development. Read more...

Examining Perceptions of Intelligence: Grant Supports New Film by Dan Habib of the UNH Institute on Disability (NH UCEDD/LEND)

The Intelligent Lives Project will include a feature-length, internationally distributed documentary which will examine how the segregation of people with intellectual disabilities became the norm, why this segregation is slowly being dismantled, and how some people with intellectual disabilities are blazing a bold new path. Habib is also creating a 30-minute companion film focusing specifically on youth with disabilities transitioning from high school to employment and higher education. Read more...

Chit Chat with Taylor (MS UCEDD)

It is hosted by Taylor Carley, Self-Advocacy Coordinator, and is produced by the Institute for Disability Studies, specifically through the Mississippi Partnerships for Employment Project which is a joint project between the Mississippi's Developmental Disabilities Network. This network includes the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities (MS CDD); The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies (IDS), Mississippi's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service (UCEDD); and Disability Rights Mississippi (DRMS). Read more...

The Center on Disability and Development Welcomes the Leadership Diversity Fellows (TX UCEDD)

In the Diversity and Inclusion Survey that Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) conducted earlier this year, Center Directors from across the network stressed the importance of addressing diversity issues and training to ensure cultural competence and diversity goals. The Center on Disability and Development (CDD) at Texas A&M University (TAMU) recognizes the importance of growing leaders in the field of developmental disabilities who are prepared to deliver culturally competent services and who are themselves representative of diverse backgrounds. The goal of the Leadership Training for Diversity (LTD) Fellows Program at the CDD will be to produce a formal cultural competence fellowship that supports Fellows from diverse backgrounds. Read more...

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Friendships, Relationships & Intimacy

Relationship-building is an important part of life, and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities face additional, external barriers in establishing connections in their community. This article explores the importance of friendships, relationships and intimacy, and shares tips to help support people in relationship-building. Read more...

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Webinar Series Employment First: From Idea to Reality Success Stories: What is Possible in the World of Employment First?

Monday, March 14, 2016, 3:30p.m. - 4:45 p.m. ET

This second of five webinars will provide participants with three examples of Employment First practices from around the country. These rural, urban, and suburban examples will highlight programs that have helped people with a wide range of disabilities, from intellectual to mental health disabilities, from complex physical to sensory disabilities, to move from no work or limited work to competitive integrated employment. You will hear directly from service providers, researchers, policy makers, and people with disabilities. Read more...

Preparing for the Disability Policy Seminar: What to Know Before You Go

Monday, March 14, 2016, 3:30p.m. - 4:45 p.m. ET

This webinar, presented by Kim Musheno, Director of Public Policy at AUCD, offers students, trainees and early career professionals an orientation to the policy issues and current legislation one can expect to learn more about at the 2016 Disability Policy Seminar. Attendees will learn the basics of how to make an appointment to meet with Congressional representatives, and how to deliver a unified message about federally funded programs that benefit people with disabilities. Zipporah Levi-Shackleford, MA (AUCD Board Trainee Representative and Virginia LEND trainee) and Brandon Eddy, MA, CF-SLP (Assistant Virtual Trainee and Oregon LEND trainee) will also share their experiences attending the Disability Policy Seminar, as well as provide tips on preparing for and making hill visits. Read more...

Disability Policy Seminar 2016

April 11-13, 2016, Washington, DC

During this crucial election season we need YOU in Washington, D.C. to help us build bipartisan support on Capitol Hill for high-priority disability issues. When you attend the Disability Policy Seminar, we'll arm you with all of the information you need to help educate our Members of Congress and their staff on the priorities of the I/DD community. Read more...

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