Family

Current policies in health and education promote, and at times mandate, collaboration and partnership between professionals and family members. The Family "Discipline" can be defined as "...that body of knowledge about the child/family member with a disability, that is inherent to the family, acquired by life experience and affected by culture and community." (Center for Learning and Leadership, 2006).

Over the past decade there has been an emerging role in LEND programs for a Family faculty member to provide interdisciplinary teams with an invaluable perspective in the scope of their training: the perspective of the family. This role is unique in that the experience of being a family member or parent of an individual with a developmental disability cannot be learned in any university course.

More information on activities of LEND Family Faculty and Family Discipline trainees can be found below.  If you have questions about the Family discipline or LEND, contact Meaghan McHugh at AUCD.

Family Competencies

Competencies for LEND Family trainees, created in 2006.

Promising Practices in Family Mentorship

Created by Family Faculty in 2006, this Guidebook describes Family Mentorship activities in MCHB LEND programs.

Lifespan Respite Task Force Appropriations Alert

The Lifespan Respite Care Program provides competitive grants to state agencies working in concert with Aging and Disability Resource Centers and non-profit state respite coalitions or organizations to make quality respite available and accessible to family caregivers regardless of age or disability through the establishment of State Lifespan Respite Systems. This alert gives the history of Lifespan Respite funding asks for further support for this program.

Transition to Adulthood for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

"Transition to Adulthood" is a complex and ongoing process that starts as soon as a child is born and continues as the child becomes an adolescent, to early adult life and then through the stages of adulthood. Transition to Adulthood are guides and will assist the individual with ASD and his or her team in reviewing the issues of adulthood related to employment, postsecondary education and adult living.

Autism Speaks Launches "Visual Supports" Tool Kit

Autism Speaks, North America's largest autism science and advocacy organization released the Visual Supports and Autism Spectrum Disorder tool kit providing valuable guidance to parents, families and providers about how to utilize pictures, photographs and other visual supports to improve communication for children, adolescents and adults who struggle with understanding or using language.

Disability Across the Life Course

New Book by Tamar Heller and Sarah Parker Harris, Institute on Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago

In addition to providing an overall theoretical and historical background, this book addresses disability across the life course through delineation of various age phases from prenatal periods to death. Cross-cutting issues highlighted are: family; health; policy, legislation, and service; and self-determination and participation.

A New Beginning for Ana and her Family

A Radio Novela

The Waisman Center's Family Support 360 project produced a radio novela designed to increase awareness and understanding about people with disabilities in the Latino community. The novela includes the story scripts in both English and Spanish and a compact disc of the story performed in Spanish.

Ready and Able: Addressing Labor Market Needs and Building Productive Careers for People with Disabilities Through Collaborative Approaches

People with disabilities can work and want to work. Increasing the employment of people with disabilities produces significant benefits to the economy, the nation, and people with disabilities themselves. This resource is the product of research with the goal to identify successful elements of strategies and offer lessons that can be learned by employers and employer organizations, workforce development and disability service organizations, and federal, state, and local policymakers.

Shouldn't School Be Safe?

A guide for parents on prevention, detection and response to restraint, seclusion or other aversive interventions.