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WI MCH Programs Team Up to Increase Diversity (WI UCEDD/LEND)
The Division of Maternal Child Health (MCH) Workforce Development created the 2017 Diversity and Health Equity Peer Learning Collaborative (DHEC) for MCH Training Programs interested in addressing issues related to diversity, linguistic competence and health equity. Wisconsin was selected as one of seven MCH peer groups to be a part of this national effort." Read more...
Making Assistive Technology Accessible to Latino Families (IL UCEDD)
Latinos are becoming the largest minority group in the United States. The City of Chicago is made up of 28.9% of people of Latino heritage/descent (e.g. Mexican, Guatemalan, Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc). Many Latinos in Chicago are Spanish speakers and understand little to no English. Although the Latino community continues to grow, they have limited access to assistive technology (AT) resources and support because of the language barrier. Read more...
SELN Systematic Instruction Series: A three-part online series for employment specialists (MA UCEDD/LEND)
 This spring, the State Employment Leadership Network hosted a 3-part online series on systematic instruction (SI) taught by nationally-known trainer, Teri Johnson. SI uses task analysis preparation, design, and strategies to help individuals with disabilities improve job performance and increase autonomy. Johnson shared original videos and stories to demonstrate the ways employment specialist can engage SI when the complexity of a task presents challenges to the learner. Read more...
The Boggs Center Celebrates Graduation of the Inaugural 2016-2017 NJLEND Cohort
 On May 5, 2017, the inaugural cohort of fellows graduated from The Boggs Center's New Jersey Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NJLEND) program. The highlight of the symposium was the NJLEND Leadership Project Poster Presentation, during which each fellow presented about his/her leadership project conducted throughout their time in the program. Read more...
Eliminating Barriers to Refugees Accessing Developmental Disabilities Services in Rhode Island (RI UCEDD)
 A refugee is defined by the United Nations as person who flees their country due to fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion. They are unable to return to their countries. Most people become refugees due to wars and conflicts in their countries. They mostly end up in camps around the world. For humanitarian reasons, some countries send officials to these camps to process and admit a few of these refugees to their respective for assistance. Read more...
What Works for Youth? Tracking Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes (MA UCEDD/LEND)
.jpg "What Works for Youth? Tracking Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes (MA UCEDD/LEND)") Mathematica's Center for Studying Disability Policy hosted a policy forum and live webinar teaching about how to track vocational rehabilitation (VR) outcomes. A panel of experts, including researchers and practitioners, presented and discussed new evidence on long-term outcomes of VR youth applicants; the Maryland Seamless Transition Collaborative's VR process and outcomes; and employment outcomes of post-secondary youth with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Read more...
Financial Empowerment: Focus on People with Disabilities (MS UCEDD)
 The University Of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies' (IDS) (IDS) housing staff member, Heather Steele, was invited to Washington, D.C. on May 8 - 9, to collaborate with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The CFPB and FDIC were convening to provide the opportunity for individuals from and serving the disability community to meet in person to learn about and share ideas for using the Your Money, Your Goals toolkit and the supplemental Focus on People with Disabilities Guide, as well as theFDIC's MoneySmart Program to empower people and communities in how they get, plan for and use their money. Read more...
Mailman Center Demonstrations Projects Address Disruptive Behavior in Students with Disabilities (FL UCEDD/LEND)
.jpg "Mailman Center Demonstrations Projects Address Disruptive Behavior in Students with Disabilities (FL UCEDD/LEND)") Students with disabilities have high rates of disruptive behavior and reduced school readiness. However, there is limited capacity of school staff to effectively address behavior concerns. The Mailman Center for Child Development department of pediatrics was awarded a grant from the Children's Trust for a research based demonstration project to reduce child disruptive behaviors, enhance teacher-student relationships, increase effective discipline and reduce teacher stress/burnout.
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Autism Myths on Public Radio for Kids (MT UCEDD)
 In partnership with Montana Public Radio, the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities is co-sponsoring several episodes of "Kids Like You and Me." This series is broadcast across Montana and focuses on helping kids learn about each other. The Autism episode features a son and her mother (a former LEND trainee). Read more...
GPS - Guiding People Through Systems, Online Care Notebook (OH UCEDD/LEND)
 GPS, Guiding People Through Systems, is an online care notebook designed to help families organize medical and school records in one convenient, online resource. The tool was developed through a partnership between The University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD), Ohio Department of Health, Family Voices of Ohio, Ohio Medical Home and the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Read more...
Armenian Delegations Visit MN UCEDD
.jpg "Armenian Delegations Visit MN UCEDD") Two delegations from Armenia visited the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD) in April as part of a project funded by UNICEF Armenia focusing on inclusive education. The collaborative project between ICI and Armenian State Pedagogical University (ASPU) is titled, Enhancing the Inclusion of Children and Youth with Disabilities in Armenia: University of Minnesota/Armenian State Pedagogical University Partnership. Read more...
Hosting ADA fellows for Tanzania and Kenya (MA UCEDD/LEND)
 The ICI is worked with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) on the ADA International Fellowship Program on Inclusive Education, which is sponsored by U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to host Fellows from Tanzania and Kenya. Heike Boeltzig-Brown and Miwa Tanabe worked with AUCD to identify and recruit 20 mid-career professionals from Brazil, Kenya, Peru, and Tanzania, who have come to the US for 5 weeks and are working with faculty and staff at UCED's around the states.
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Diversity Fellows Grant Project Leads to Leadership Opportunity for Self Advocates (NM LEND)
.jpg "Diversity Fellows Grant Project Leads to Leadership Opportunity for Self Advocates (NM LEND)") As a New Mexico LEND Self-Advocacy trainee, Daniel Ekman worked with faculty mentor Phyllis Shingle to create a document with leadership competencies, objectives and activities for people with disabilities. The idea was to develop a document that organizations could use and adapt as part of their own leadership curriculum for individuals with disabilities. Read more...
The Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University announces the 2017 PATHS (TX UCEDD)
 The Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) program at Texas A&M University is honored to announce the 2017 graduates. This year, 36 young men and women successfully graduated from the PATHS certificate program. Read more...
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, IDDRC, LEND) Addressing Needs of Family Caregivers of Aging Adults with Down syndrome
 In a paper published in the Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities*, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, LIDDRC, LEND) investigators explore the growing issues of family caregiving for aging adults with Down syndrome. Robert Hodapp, Ph.D., Vanderbilt professor of Special Education, Richard C. Urbano, Ph.D., Vanderbilt research professor in Pediatrics, and Meghan Burke, Ph.D., BCBA-D, assistant professor of Special Education at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (and former VKC trainee!) report. Read more...
'Resilience' Study Examines How People with Disabilities Live Successfully in Rural Areas (MT UCEDD)
 The NEW Bachelor of Science in Disability and Human Development offers an innovative interdisciplinary program designed to train students on the complex social, cultural, political, historical, and economic factors that shape the lives of people with disabilities locally, nationally, and internationally. Read more...
Boston LEND Graduation (MA LEND)
 The Fellows presented on 5 major elements of the program: family visits, Title V program visits, their clinical and research summaries, and their work with community-based organizations, with a final review of their trip to Washington DC for the Disability Policy Seminar. For more on the fellows see our program booklet. Read more...
Celebration of Diversity, Teamwork, and the Future! (AZ UCEDD)
 The Fellows presented on 5 major elements of the program: family visits, Title V program visits, their clinical and research summaries, and their work with community-based organizations, with a final review of their trip to Washington DC for the Disability Policy Seminar. For more on the fellows see our program booklet. Read more...
2017 Leadership Training for Diversity (LTD) Fellows (TX UCEDD)
 In the Diversity and Inclusion Survey that AUCD conducted in 2015, UCEDD and LEND Directors from across the network stressed the importance of addressing diversity issues and training to ensure cultural competence and diversity goals. UCEDDs and the disability community benefit from trainees from diverse backgrounds as an important need within the disability service system are professionals who are racially, ethnically, and linguistic diverse (Clark & Majewski, 2013). Read more...
Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) LEND Trainees present final projects to New York State Department of Health
 WIHD LEND trainees were in Albany, NY to present their research projects to the Department of Health and other stakeholders as part of their final project for the course "Seminar in Evidence-based Methods (SEBM)". In addition to 22 in-person trainees, two trainees from the University of Puerto Rico and two trainees from the U.S. Virgin Islands also participated via distance technology. Read more...
2017 Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps JD (MD UCEDD)
 Moyo Koya is a rising second-year law student at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, who has been accepted into the 2017 Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps JD Program to work 300 hours with Project HEAL (Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law) at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. Project HEAL is medical-legal partnership that provides advocacy and legal services to children with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are patients at Kennedy Krieger Institute. Read more...
KU Disability Researchers Edit Special Journal Issue (KS UCEDD)
 All people deserve the chance to thrive in a community - but for people with disabilities, there are often obstacles to participating. A new special issue of the Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community explores various aspects of this topic. Two researchers at the University of Kansas Research and Training Center on Independent Living (RTC/IL) edited the thematic issue, "People with Disabilities and Community Participation."Read more...
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After 20 years at the helm of the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD), David R. Johnson will step down as Director in September 2018. Far from slowing down, he will transition to full-time faculty within the University of Minnesota's Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD), where he currently holds a 50 percent appointment. "I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Director for the past 20 years," Johnson said in an internal announcement to his staff. "It has been my privilege to be a part of this organization and you should all be proud of what we have accomplished, and will continue to accomplish." 
This past March, Sonia Konialian Aller, Ph.D., CCC, was honored by the California Speech Language and Hearing Association (CSHA) with its Diversity award at its annual convention held in Pasadena, California. The award recognized her broad-ranging career contributions and excellence in service, teaching, mentoring, research, and community outreach. Dr. Aller holds a Ph.D. (Indiana U.) in psycholinguistics and is a licensed, multilingual, speech-language pathologist. 
Heather Coleman, who received her certificate of completion from Virginia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (Va-LEND), Program this past May also received a $2000 Research Grant from The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) to support her dissertation research. Coleman's was among 26 proposals submitted to OAR, a national non-profit organization formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism and Asperger Syndrome. 
The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire congratulates Melissa Mandrell, MSS, MLSP on her selection as the Social Worker of the Year by the New Hampshire Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. 
The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) is very proud to announce that Jessica Gallegos, Matthew O'Brien, PhD, BCBA-D and Caitlin Owens, MSW are the 2017 recipients of the Alfred Healy Leadership Award in Developmental Disabilities. The purpose of the Alfred Healy Leadership Award in Developmental Disabilities is to nurture in recipients a life-long commitment to leadership in developmental disabilities that will carry on Dr. Healy's legacy for future generations. 
Dr. Jennifer Wong, RTC:Rural Research Associate, has been awarded a Training Fellowship in Rehabilitation Policy Research with the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Healthy Aging & Physical Disability at the University of Washington (UW). The two-year fellowship consists of a year of rehabilitation research at UW, followed by a year of policy research in Washington, D.C. Wong will join one other postdoctoral researcher to make up the fellowship's second cohort. 
Diana Del Cid, a first year graduate student in the School Psychology, Educational Specialist program became the Institute for Human Development's first trainee to be offered a Diversity Fellowship. The Fellowship program recruits and prepare scholars from underrepresented groups to the field of developmental disabilities. The goal of the fellowship is to engage the fellow in experiences designed to teach them skills to become leaders in their chosen discipline for the benefit of individuals with developmental disabilities. 
rlson (Feb. 20 1978-May 25 2017), 39 of Louisville Colorado, formerly of Park River, ND, passed away of a brain aneurism, peacefully on Thursday May 25 surrounded by family. Born with a brittle bone disorder known as Ostiogenisis Imperfecta (OI), Priscilla was home schooled until age 12 when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. She graduated from Park River High School in 1995. After graduation, she worked at telemarketing and customer service, eventually becoming assistant sight supervisor and lead trainer. After meeting another individual with OI from Colorado, Priscilla moved out there to take advantage of the accessibility of the Denver Metro area. She attended college at Front Range Community College and the University of Colorado Boulder where she graduated with a B.A. in Broadcast News Journalism and a B.S. in political science. She met her husband in 2011, a year in which she suffered a serious fall from her power wheelchair, breaking 7 bones in her legs and then suffering a massive stroke on her left side. After re-learning how to speak, read, and write, she finished the two bachelor's degrees in December 2012. She and David were married on June 27, 2014. Prior to her passing, she held a job at the JFK Partners Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder Anschutz Medical campus and as an associate at Walgreens. 
