COMMUNITY EDUCN & DISSEM COUNCIL (CEDC)
4/15/2024
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Researchers Awarded $2.48M in Special Education Training Grants
Two Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) researchers have received two training grants totaling $2.48 million in funding from the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. The new grants address the need to train culturally conscientious special education teachers of students with high intensity needs. One of the grants will support training for teachers of students with limited or no functional speech. The other grant will support training for teachers of students with visual impairments. Both grants seek to recruit candidates from historically underrepresented groups or with a unique interest in supporting students from culturally and linguistic diverse backgrounds.
4/2/2024
Missouri UCEDD Launches Third Season of Accessible: The Podcast
It's BAAAAACK! The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Institute for Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the state of Missouri (UCEDD), has just launched a new season of Accessible: The Podcast. Accessible is the podcast that opens the door to disability leaders and their ideas. Featuring UMKC-IHD Director George Gotto and Senior Research Assistant Amelia Reighard. The podcast hosts leaders in the disability field with new insights and developments that you can channel into your own career and development. Or you can share these ideas to help others learn from you. Listen to the Accessible Podcast.
3/21/2024
Missouri UCEDD Launches New Training on Traumatic Brain Injuries
Brain injury is more common than you might think. Every brain injury is different in terms of symptoms, affected areas of the brain and the outcome. The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Institute for Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the state of Missouri, has just launched a new free training to raise awareness of traumatic brain injuries - or TBIs. It highlights symptoms, treatments and provides prevention strategies.
3/21/2024
Oklahoma LEND Graduate's Non-Profit Nationally Recognized
Jeanette O'Hara is an OK LEND 2022 graduate and Founder/Executive Director of the nonprofit, Will's House, located just outside Tulsa in Jenks, Oklahoma. Will's House serves as a specialized respite option that supports full time caregivers of children and young adults with medical needs or intellectual/developmental disabilities. Jeanette's approach is simple yet profound: "What do you need? How can we help you?" This philosophy reflects a commitment to addressing the diverse and often overlooked gaps in services for caregivers and families.
2/22/2024
Transforming the Landscape of Behavioral Health Access for Geographically Dispersed and Military-Connected Children and Families across the Midwest
Accessing and navigating services for children with developmental, emotional, or behavioral health (D/E/B) concerns has greater complexity for military families, geographically-dispersed families, and families who are highly mobile or lack providers near their homes. University of Minnesota's Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) has received $3.5 million to lower these barriers as a partner in the Department of Defense Child Collaboration Study "A Research Collaboratory to Explore Best Practices for Expanding Access to Care Through Expansion and Support of Telehealth Care for Children and Families with Behavioral Health Needs."
2/15/2024
The Coach to Communicate Program at Texas A&M University Continues to Offer Training at No Cost to Texas Parents and Caregivers
The Coach to Communicate program at Texas A&M University continues to offer training at no cost to Texas parents and caregivers of children up to age 22 with core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parents and caregivers will learn how to improve their child's communication skills. The Coach to Communicate (C2C) program is provided by a research grant sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Enrollment is open year-round, so parents are welcome to register and begin at any time that is convenient for them.
2/12/2024
Missouri UCEDD Launches New Website
The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Institute for Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the state of Missouri, has just launched its new website at ihd.umkc.edu. The site showcases the breadth and depth of programs and resources that IHD offers to individuals with disabilities, their family members, service providers, and other professionals.
2/1/2024
Medical and Dental Curricula on IDD: Training Inclusive Providers
A Study on How Medical and Dental Schools Teach Students about IDD
Past research has shown that many medical and dental students do not learn about IDD in school. The WITH Foundation, AUCD, and UC-LEND, led by Dr. Kashia Rosenau, collaborated to learn more about how medical and dental schools are teaching students about intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The study found that most of the schools had self-advocates to help them teach their medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD. The study also found that medical and dental students want to learn more about caring for their patients with disabilities. Overall, the study highlights the importance of teaching medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD and including more self-advocates in this training.
1/30/2024
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute and Michigan Vaccination Partners accomplishments Highlighted in APHA's Thought Leadership Film Series
The American Public Health Association (APHA) selected the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute (MI-DDI) at Wayne State University and the Michigan Vaccination Partners project to be featured in the APHA 2023 Thought Leadership Film Series. The series profiles cutting-edge efforts to address public health issues being led by researchers, advocates and organizations across the country.
1/26/2024
Apply Today: AUCD Leadership Academy
The deadline to apply is March 1st at 5:00 PM EST
The AUCD Leadership Academy is a week-long intensive experience, paired with a year of pre and post interactions designed to enhance the skills of current and emerging leaders from disability networks to build coalitions to improve systems of supports and services. The Leadership Academy engages participants from UCEDDs, LENDs, and the wider community of disability partners to come together to immerse themselves for a week of study, shared experiences, self-evaluation, and skill development.
1/18/2024
ICI, UM Extension Partner For 4-H Youth
The MN UCEDD has created accommodation kits containing tools to better accommodate Minnesota 4-H members with and without disabilities. The training also shared tips about more fully including youth with disabilities.
1/17/2024
Student Spotlight - Blake Jackson
Meet Blake Jackson, a resilient second-year student in the Direct Support Professional - General (DSP-G) track. As a proud member of the PATHS class 2024 in the fightin' Texas Aggie community, Blake is enrolled in the Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) Program, where he finds inspiration in Andrey Hepburn's timeless words: "Nothing is impossible, the Word itself says "I'm possible'!".
1/16/2024
Five-year Grant to Support KU Project's Goal to Make Disability Data Accessible and Inclusive for Broad Audiences
Numbers alone can't tell a story. That's the foundation of a project now based at the University of Kansas that takes volumes of raw federal and state expenditure data and distills that information for everyone - including policymakers, service providers and individuals with developmental disabilities and their families - to help them make the most informed decisions.
1/16/2024
Missouri's UCEDD Develops "After Abuse: Resources for Missourians with Disabilities"
The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Institute for Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the state of Missouri, in cooperation with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council, has published a new online resource called After Abuse: Resources for Missourians with Disabilities to help people with disabilities learn about abuse and what happens when it is reported.
1/3/2024
Call for Applications: Healthy Weight Research Network 2024 Pilot and Feasibility Program
Deadline: February 16, 2024 (midnight)
Applications for the Healthy Weight Research Network 2024 Pilot and Feasibility Program are being accepted until February 16, 2024 (midnight). The goal of the Pilot & Feasibility Program is to advance the research agenda of the Healthy Weight Research Network (HWRN) by funding small pilot projects that foster the development of significant and innovative research by members of the Network and their collaborators.