AUCD Central Office News

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AUCD Now Accepting Applications for 2013-2014 Virtual Trainee

With AUCD member programs in every US state and territory as well as internationally, our trainees exist all across the world. The AUCD Virtual Trainee works to build a virtual network among these trainees at AUCD member programs. Read more...

Call for Proposals: AUCD 2013 Promoting Inclusion in an Increasingly Diverse World

This year's Conference theme promotes our network values of inclusion of all persons with developmental and other disabilities in community life and engages the network in conversation and practices to ensure our work reflects the changing cultural and linguistic landscape in our Centers and States. The 2013 AUCD Conference  provides a special opportunity for you to share your interests, talents, and perspectives in the areas of promoting inclusion, increasing diversity, and a wide range of disability related topics with others in our network and our partners. Read more and submit your proposal by May 31, 2013.

AUCD Legislative Priorities: 113th Congress

Federal Funding and Fiscal Policy; Medicaid and Long Term Services and Supports; Health Care Reform; Combating Autism Act; Developmental Disabilities Act; Family Support; Research and Data Collection; Education; Employment; Rights; Transportation; Social Security; Tax Policy. AUCD calls upon Congress to work in a bipartisan fashion to address the pressing needs of our citizens with disabilities. Gridlock has serious consequences for these individuals. Read more....

New in NGSD's 'Research to Practice in Self-Determination' Series: Self-Determination and Aging

People who are self-determined know what they want and how to get it. They choose and set goals, then work to reach them. They advocate on their own behalf, and are involved in solving problems and making decisions about their lives. View Issue 5: Self-Determination and Aging. Read more....

Network News - Awards & Honors

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Dr. Mary O'Connor (CA Tarjan Center UCEDD) Nominated to NOFAS Hall of Fame

Dr. Mary O'Connor, Faculty, and Training Coordinator at the Tarjan Center at UCLA was nominated to the Hall of Fame of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). This award is given to those who have made major contributions in the field of prenatal alcohol exposure including clinical and research contributions. NOFAS is the leading voice and resource of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) community. The Tarjan Center is very proud of Dr. Mary O'Connor for such a great honor." Read more....

Katie Arnold, IL UCEDD, Receives Leadership Award

Katie Arnold received the National Leadership Award from The Arc of Illinois on April 24th at their annual convention. This award is given to a leader that has influenced positive change and whose contributions have significantly impacted the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. For over 10 years, Katie has worked at the Institute on Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois' University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities." Read more....

Dr. Carol Britton Laws Named University of Georgia (GA UCEDD) 2013-14 Service-Learning Fellow

Dr. Carol Britton Laws, Pre-Service Training Director for the Institute on Human Development and Disability (GA UCEDD) at the University of Georgia, was one of 13 UGA faculty members selected by the University's Office of Service-Learning as a Fellow for 2013-14. As a Service-Learning Fellow, Dr. Laws will receive a fellowship award and support for the development of new service-learning courses to enrich IHDD's Disability Studies Certificate program, and to benefit the Athens community. Read more...

Network News - People on the Move

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Illinois LEND Welcomes New Director

Illinois LEND is proud to welcome Kruti Acharya, MD, as its new director. Dr. Acharya earned her doctorate of medicine at Boston University. She is board certified in internal medicine, pediatrics and developmental and behavioral pediatrics. Read more...

Network News - Activities & Resources

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National Report on Employment Services and Outcomes from ICI (MA UCEDD & LEND)

This new report provides national and state-level statistics spanning a twenty-year period. Its sources include several data sets that address the status of employment and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with ID/DD. Read more...

Leading the Way in Postsecondary Education (NC CIDD UCEDD/LEND)

The report, "The Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) at the University of North Carolina, with support from the College Access Challenge Grant, presented the second annual capacity building summit for postsecondary education (pse) for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).  Read more...

Virginia LEND Research Poster Fair 2013

The Va-LEND hosted the annual Research Poster Fair on the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University. LEND trainees designed and presented posters as an assignment in the Spring 2013 Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Course. Each trainee had a faculty mentor who provided guidance and support during the development of the poster and an abstract." Read more...

AmeriCorps Youth Leaders (MS UCEDD) Recognized for Tornado Clean-Up Efforts

Service to the community is an important component of The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies' TRIAD Service AmeriCorps project.Project participants, who are Hattiesburg-area youth and young adults with developmental disabilities, routinely provide services to community organizations. But there was nothing routine about their service work on Feb. 13 and 14 just a few days after an F-4 tornado hit the Hattiesburg campus.TRIAD youth leaders and their project coordinator spent hours on campus filling large garbage bags with debris such as sticks, pieces of concrete, glass, sheet rock, and leaves. "I want to give back," said Rachel Barnes. "I can help, too." Read more...

Nisonger Center (OH UCEDD/LEND) Hosts Second Annual Ohio MCH Training Programs Joint Poster Symposium

On April 2, 2013, the Nisonger Center (OH UCEDD-LEND) hosted the Ohio MCH Training Programs Joint Poster Symposium and panel discussion at The Ohio State University. Trainees and faculty from the LEND program at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (OH UCEDD-LEND) and the University of Cincinnati, the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics program at Case Western University, and the LEND program at Nisonger Center at The Ohio State University gathered to share and discuss their ideas and projects. Read more...

Iowa Fragile X Clinic (CDD IA UCEDD) Open House Offers Training While Fostering Peer Support

On April 13, the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), Iowa's UCEDD, hosted an open house for families of children with fragile X syndrome. According to Dianne McBrien, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and medical director of the University of Iowa Children's Hospital Fragile X clinic, approximately 70 people, including many extended family members, attended. Read more...

Georgetown University (DC UCEDD) Certificate in Early Intervention Program Accepting Applications

The UCEDD at Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development has partnered with the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies, Center for Continuing & Professional Education to offer a graduate certificate program in comprehensive, evidenced-based early intervention practices. The Certificate in Early Intervention Program (CEIP) prepares early intervention providers across disciplines to be leaders advocating for infants, toddlers, and young children, providing community based services, and developing policy in the area of early childhood intervention. The CEIP is an eight-course hybrid program utilizing distance education in combination with students meeting as a cohort at Georgetown University for 2 days prior to the beginning of the program and for two days at the conclusion.  Read more...

REACH for the Future: A Workshop on Transition to Adulthood for Youth with ASD and Their Parents (PA CHOP LEND)

LEND fellows at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offered a free workshop entitled REACH for the Future to provide information on transition services for students with ASD (seventh grade and above) and their parents. This program is part of a variety of "REACH" programs provided by CHOP LEND faculty and fellows which offer recommendations and resources on transitioning to adulthood. Specific programs are targeted to various populations of individuals with special health care needs and disabilities. Read more...

Participants Needed for CDS (HI UCEDD) Employable Project Pilot Study

The University of Hawaii at Manoa Center on Disability Studies (HI UCEDD) is seeking pilot study participants for "EmployAble: A World without Barriers," a model virtual employment center for people with disabilities. Read more...

Center for Innovation and Leadership in Special Education Fellowship Program at Kennedy Krieger Institute (MD UCEDD)

Kennedy Krieger Institute is an award-winning and nationally recognized leader in speical education, providing innovative models of education for children with a wide range of learning, emotional, physical, neurological, and developmental disabilities. Kennedy Krieger is now bringing together its expertise in special education, neuroscience, behavioral science, and neurodevelopmental disabilities to offer the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Special Education fellowship program. The fellowship program will mentor and train future leaders in special education who have an advanced understanding of learning in children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and expertise in applying this knowledge to school and classroom settings. Read more...

Submissions

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News items may be submitted for consideration via the
AUCDigest Submission page.

ACM Lifting Lives Series begins at Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD) 

ACM Lifting Lives has partnered once again with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD) to launch an innovative vocational experience for young adults with developmental disabilities. On a monthly basis, for the next eight months, the new "ACM Lifting Lives Series at Vanderbilt" will help participants learn vocational and social skills aimed at improving the potential for gaining employment in the entertainment industry." Read more...

Upcoming AUCD Webinars

Nicotine and Cortical Development
May 14 | 12:00pm - 1:00pm EST

This webinar is Part IV of The Amazing Brain Webinar Series: Select Topics in Neuroscience and Child Development for the Clinician.

The President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities Report and Recommendations for Managed Long-Terms Services and Supports
May 29 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm EST

This webinar will provide an overview of managed long-term services and supports, explain key issues for individuals with ID/DD, and highlight recommendations contained in the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities 2012 Report to the President.

Read more about our webinars and register.

WebAIM Training 

May 21-22, 2013
Logan, UT

Join WebAIM's accessibility experts for two days of hands-on web accessibility training. This training session will teach everything from basic web accessibility principles to advanced accessibility techniques.  Read more...

June 3-6, 2013
Pittsburgh, PA

This year's theme Race to Success: Employment Comes in First!  At the conference, there will be several presentations focused on chapter work and members are encouraged to participate and learn how to work with your chapter. Read more...

June 10-11, 2013
Flagstaff, AZ

The purpose of the EBP Conference conference is to supply professionals who work with individuals with disabilities of all ages with the resources they need to effectively implement evidence-based practice in their respective disciplines. Read more...

June 27-28, 2013
Seattle, WA

The Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington will host the symposium, Disability, Technology and Rehabilitation in Low and Middle Income Countries, at the University of Washington.  Read more...

July 15-19, 2013
Toronto, ON

The theme of the 2013 Summer Institute is "In God There Is Diversity, But No Division: Building Interfaith Dialogue and Collaboration through Theology and Disability." As the title suggests, with the diverse city of Toronto as backdrop, the focus will be on exploring disability and theology from a variety of religious perspectives and traditions. Read more...