The University of Hawaii at Manoa, Center on Disability Studies, in the College of Education, is accepting presentation proposals to be featured at the 35th Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity at the Hawaii Convention Center, March 2-3, 2020. Submissions are being accepted from June 1, 2019-December 1, 2019 at www.pacrim.hawaii.edu.

The AUCD Council for Community Education and Dissemination and Communications SIG are co-hosting a webinar on the impact of Social Media for UCEDDs with guests Matt Gianino from the Institute on Disability of University of New Hampshire and Mark Crenshaw from the Center for Leadership at Georgia State University. The will discuss how to use social media within the context of a UCEDD, why social media is important, how impact is made and how to measure use, especially for NIRS.

The goals of this presentation are to share the strategies the UCEDD uses to sustain the Interdisciplinary Training Program as an online model, and, encourage discussion among other training directors, coordinators, and staff about innovative strategies to recruit, engage, retain, and effectively train a diverse pool of trainees.

Hear from experts on steps to prevent COVID-19 for people across the lifespan who have a disability. Discussion will include staying safe and receiving community-based services and supports, as well as tips for wellness and what to do in case someone with a disability becomes ill.

Learn tips and strategies from caregivers and family members on how to organize daily life of caring for someone who has ID/DD and planning what to do if you get sick. Hear thoughts on balancing needs of taking care of children/adults with disability with caregiver's needs. Ideas on how to help address/relieve anxiety, stay calm and carry on will be shared.

Hear from self-advocates and allies on how to deal with COVID-19 as they share tips and strategies on hand washing, mental health, nutrition, and exercise. Steps on how to work with personal care attendants and direct support providers will be reviewed. Be safe in your relationships - what does social distancing mean in your friendships and relationships.

Join this webinar for an Open Question and Answer Session, with a panel of representatives from the medical field, self-advocates, caregivers and federal partners.

The START National Training Institute (SNTI) is an annual in-person training event that brings together hundreds of START team members, self advocates, families, and national & international leaders in the field of MH/IDD to share expertise, tools, and best practices. The training spans two and a half days and features keynote addresses, panel discussions, breakout sessions from four content-focused strands, a judged research poster session & professional networking event, the START Film premiere, and a Sunday evening coffee house.

The AUCD Emergency Preparedness SIG and the Community Education and Dissemination Council (CEDC) are hosting a network share of products, resources, programs, and services that UCEDDs have developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to support people with disabilities and disability-related organizations.

The vision of the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability is to expand the depth and breadth of theological inquiry and resources that address and include the gifts, needs, and contributions of people with disabilities and their families to theological learning and religious practice.

In this webinar, members of the FASD SIG will present resources for increasing your knowledge about FASD, training others, and supporting individuals with lived experience and their families. Attendees are encouraged to share resources they find helpful. Following the presentation and discussion, participants will have a general conversation about strategies for building a strong network of programs serving individuals with FASD.

Please consider joining a special presentation by Linda Alsop of Utah State University as we celebrate DEAFBLIND AWARENESS WEEK - June 21-27, 2020. Linda's presentation will be held Wednesday, June 24th, 2020 at 1:30 p.m. (CDST). All are invited to hear about the Cogswell-Macy Act, training of teachers of the deafblind and training of the deafblind interveners.

In 2020, over 35 million eligible voters will be people with disabilities, according to Rutgers University. That figure jumps to over 62 million eligible voters when you add in family members in the same household. Millions of others are connected to disability in work and community. AUCD is excited to join partners across the disability community working to increase the political power of people with disabilities by sharing resources and getting folks registered to vote. This National Disability Voter Registration Week is part of our plans to continuously share information and resources up to Election Day 2020.

This webinar will address the Product Development and Information Dissemination UCEDD core functions. This is the eighth installment of a multi-part series titled "Coffee and TA," addressing the UCEDD core functions as categorized in NIRS. This webinar features two UCEDDs (Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University & Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities at Kennedy Krieger Institute) highlighting innovative product development and information dissemination.

During this webinar, speakers from two large rural states will describe approaches they've used to stay connected and support families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their use of distance technology will be highlighted as a means of reducing exposure to COVID-19 and in maximizing the reach of their efforts. The programs featured are the University of Wyoming's ECHO for Families and the Autism Family Support Program at the University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities.