COUNCIL ON RESEARCH AND EVALUATION (CORE)
7/6/2021
New COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence Tools and Videos for People with Disabilities
AUCD's National Center on Disability in Public Health is excited to share new COVID-19 Vaccine Resources to promote vaccine confidence for people with disabilities, their families, and Direct Support Professionals. The new resources include Vaccine Confidence Plain Language Talking Points to support and promote conversations around the COVID-19 vaccine for people with disabilities; Social Media Graphics featuring plain language text and a diverse array of characters; and short Videos of Vaccine Stories from individuals with disabilities and their family members from across the country. New videos and messaging tools are added continuously, and all are available for your use!
6/7/2021
Funded Through NSF Grant, Researchers Strive to Increase Neurodiversity in STEM Fields
There is wide agreement that the United States needs to grow our STEM workforce to remain globally competitive, but how can we ensure the workforce reflects the neurodiversity of our population? Importantly, do our higher education institutions serve as facilitators or barriers to neurodiversity in STEM?
6/7/2021
MI-DDI to Promote COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute is excited to #VaccinateByADA! Follow us on Facebook (@MIDDIatWSU) and Twitter (@DDIatWSU) to learn more about the COVID-19 vaccines and why they are important for people with disabilities and their caretakers, family, and friends. Help spread the word by reposting and sharing our content to help reduce access barriers and promote vaccine confidence.
6/7/2021
National Vaccine Month of Action
Beginning June 4, Made to Save is launching a month-long mobilization effort in support of the Department of Health & Human Services' We Can Do This campaign to ensure as many people as possible get vaccinated by July 4th. From June 5th through July 4th, we're hosting community-level events across the country and online to encourage people-especially those in communities hit the hardest by the pandemic-to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their loved ones, and their community.
6/2/2021
Center Director Dr. Daniel Crimmins to Retire After 12 Years of "Leadership in Disability"
Dr. Daniel Crimmins celebrated his retirement from the Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) on May 28, 2021 - after an illustrious 12 years at the helm of the organization, which was established at Georgia State University in 2008. Through multiple virtual celebrations, Dr. Crimmins was joined by friends and colleagues alike to mark the occasion.
6/2/2021
Invited lecture at the Boggs Center at Rutgers University
On May 21st, Andrea Witwer, Director of Training for the Nisonger Center and LEND Co-Associate Director, was invited to give a Lecture for the Boggs Center Developmental Disability Lecture Series sponsored by the Boggs Center at Rutgers University. "Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities".
6/2/2021
OSU TOPS Program Celebrates 2021 Graduating Class
The TOPS Program celebrated its seventh graduating class yesterday in an intimate, socially-distanced ceremony. The four graduates of the Class of 2021 were recognized for their hard work and effort, especially the ability to navigate their college experiences during a global pandemic. The TOPS Program staff are incredibly proud of these students, Congratulatons!
6/2/2021
Providing Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Direct Support Professionals Survey, 12-Month Follow Up
Over the past 12 months, direct support professionals have experienced high risks of infection, financial hardship, and exhaustion. Many have become ill and lost loved ones. The voices of DSPs matter, now more than ever. Show them you care about their wellbeing by passing along this confidential survey. The University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration, in partnership with the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, developed this survey to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on direct support professionals and identify the most effective ways to protect DSPs and the people they support.
6/2/2021
The Boggs Center Celebrates the Graduation of the 2020-2021 NJLEND Fellows at the 5th Annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Symposium
The Boggs Center celebrated the graduation of the 2020-2021 NJLEND Fellows at the New Jersey Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NJLEND) program's 5th annual Maternal and Child Health Leadership Symposium. Held virtually this year in response to COVID-19, the event featured a keynote address, "The Meaning of Resilience: Building Self-Healing Communities," by Dave Ellis, Founding Executive Director The Office of Resilience New Jersey Department of Children and Families, and was attended by those from the Rutgers community, New Jersey's Department of Children and Families and Department of Health, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and other state and community organizations. There were brief video presentations by each of the 20 graduating NJLEND Fellows sharing their personal definitions of leadership, the culmination of the year-long Defining Leadership: Charting Your Trajectory Learning Exercise.
6/2/2021
The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities Hosted a Virtual Graduation Ceremony to Celebrate the Accomplishments of the New Jersey Partners in Policymaking Class of 2020-2021
New Jersey Partners in Policymaking is a leadership development and advocacy education program for adults with developmental disabilities and family members available through The Boggs Center with funding from the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities. This year's graduates included 11 self-advocates and 14 parents prepared to work toward meaningful change in our state.
6/2/2021
The Experts in the Room: Sonoran UCEDD students train Reid Park Zoo staff on accessibility, inclusion
Kayla was one of three other students who helped create and deliver a training focused on accessibility and inclusion at a local Tucson zoo. Kayla and her colleagues agree that the experience to apply what they learned and help make a difference in the community was a fulfilling experience.
6/1/2021
Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities Community and Professional Development Training Program Hosts its 2021 Summer Learning Series Virtually
The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute is hosting its 2021 Summer Learning Series, consisting of 15 virtual workshops with interdisciplinary topics focused on working with children, youth, and adults with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities, and their families. The workshops will run from June 1 through July 29 to help disseminate critical information to providers, parents and caregivers, and people with disabilities across a wide range of topics.
6/1/2021
MN LEND Fellows Help Faith-based Organizations with Inclusion
Plenty of mission statements for faith-based organizations talk about welcoming everyone. When it comes to people with disabilities, however, it takes more than words and a wheelchair ramp to achieve true inclusion. MN LEND fellows, along with the MN UCEDD, are working with a Twin Cities-area church and mosque to think differently about how they serve worshippers with disabilities. MN LEND is an interdisciplinary leadership development program, funded by the U.S. Maternal & Child Health Bureau, that spans more than 16 disciplines across the University of Minnesota.
6/1/2021
New Tech Opens up Physical Therapy Opportunities
The new Munroe-Meyer Institute building was created to be on the cutting edge of clinical care and therapy for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and one improved technology already is in use and garnering a positive response from therapists and clients. The ZeroG Gait and Balance System includes a safety harness that runs along an 80-foot-long track in the mobility lab in the department of physical therapy, but it is far from a traditional body weight harness, said Sandra Willett, PhD, director of the MMI Department of Physical Therapy.
6/1/2021
NH-ME LEND Trainees Display Scholarship and Leadership in 2021 Capstone Poster Session
On May 7, 2021, twenty-four trainees from the 2020-2021 New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (NH-ME LEND) Program shared their scholarship and leadership development during the annual Capstone Poster Session and Celebration. In keeping with federal and state Centers for Disease Control (CDC) health and safety guidance, the event was held online. For the second year in a row, the trainees remotely collaborated with faculty mentors and leadership partners to complete their capstone projects throughout Maine and New Hampshire.