SCREENING, ASSESSMENT AND DIAGNOSIS
9/22/2023
WVU CED Expands Efforts to Improve Outcomes for Babies Born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Incidence rates of newborns diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome have rapidly increased in rural states as West Virginia continues to see a rise in opioid use and addiction, including pregnant women. For the past five years, the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities (WVU CED) has tested and implemented models of care to strengthen services for West Virginia families with infants born exposed to substances in utero or diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
4/14/2023
ME UCEDD Receives Nearly $500K Maine DHHS Grant to Help Adults with Disabilities
With a $499,970 grant from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services Office of Aging and Disability Services, the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (ME UCEDD), will conduct a model demonstration project of intensive evidence-based behavioral intervention to help adults with disabilities who are currently subject to restrictive behavior management plans.
4/14/2023
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Researcher Works to Enhance Therapy Processes with and for Autistic People
Autistic people are more likely to experience mental health distress than the general population. Unfortunately, therapy services for this community are limited and rarely designed with and for autistic people. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC)(TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) researcher Jessica Schwartzman, Ph.D., recently co-authored a paper* in the journal Autism which outlines the development and testing of an autism-adapted, measurement-based care** system (MBC-AUT) to enhance therapy processes for autistic people and their families.
3/22/2023
Project ECHO Opportunities for UCEDDs and LENDs
Join the Project ECHO Orientation on May 9 to learn more about the ECHO model and how to incorporate it into your work as a UCEDD or LEND program. If you are already an ECHO partner, join the newly formed monthly UCEDD LEND ECHO Collaborative starting April 24.
1/12/2023
JFK Partners Approved for $2,780,297 Million for a Study Comparing Approaches of Two School-Based Interventions to Manage Anxiety in Autistic Students
Funds awarded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
A research team at University of Colorado School of Medicine, JFK Partners, led by Judy Reaven, Ph.D. has been approved for a $2,780,297 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study A Comparison of Two School-Based Interventions to Manage Anxiety in Autistic Students.
6/17/2022
Four Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) TRIAD Practices Accepted into AMCHP Innovations Hub; One selected as award-winner
Four best practices emerging from the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (VKC TRIAD) were accepted into the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Innovations Hub Database. The Hub is an online platform that provides maternal and child health professionals and advocates with a variety of resources, including a searchable repository of "what's working" in the maternal and child health field.
6/17/2022
Herron Named Interim Director of the Early Childhood Center at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
Katie Herron, research scientist with the Institute's Early Childhood Center, has been appointed as interim director of the center. Herron is replacing Michael Conn-Powers, who has retired after serving as the center's director for 28 years. Herron has been with the institute for nearly a decade and brings her extensive background in psychology and belief in the center's research-to-practice mission to the role.
6/17/2022
Inclusive Pre-K Classrooms: Unlocking Potential
Ms. Diane Appel, Dr. Rebecca Landa, Ms. Shay Roemmich and Ms. Carrie Zetlmeisl were awarded funding from the Maryland State Department of Education for the Prekindergarten Expansion Grant Program at Kennedy Krieger Institute's Center for Autism and Related Disorders. This was one of only 50 grants awarded in a pool of 150 applicants for the 2022-2023 school year and we are thrilled that it enables us to further our mission of equity, diversity and inclusion at CARD
6/17/2022
The Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute Kicks off Meaningful Conversations with Autistic Self-Advocates
The Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute kicked off monthly Meaningful Conversations with autistic self-advocates on June 8, 2022. In the inaugural session, our guest was Ms. Katelyn Szymanski. Ms. Szymanski is a Behavior Associate at Itineris in Baltimore, MD, and has just completed undergraduate training in social work.
2/9/2022
Alaska LEND Program Update
The University of Alaska in Anchorage-Center for Human Development LEND program started its second semester with didactics on Policy and Advocacy. This is in preparation for the 2022 Key Campaign and Legislative Priorities to be held in Juneau. We tracked down the movement of legislation of interest to the Alaska Mental Health Trust and partner advisory boards.
12/20/2021
HRSA Awardees Study Impact of COVID-19 on Receipt of Services and Parent Mental Health in Children with ASD
University of Delaware�s Dr. Anjana Bhat, associate professor in physical therapy, and JP Laurenceau, professor in psychological and brain sciences, have been awarded a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for a new study to analyze the impacts of COVID-19 on receipt of behavioral, speech, occupational and physical therapy services and parent mental health in 9,000 children with autism from the SPARK cohort and to determine value derived from these services in an online capacity.
12/20/2021
Kennedy Krieger Faculty Receive Grant to Build Capacity to Deliver Evidence Based Mental Health Intervention
Dr. Deepa Menon, of the Kennedy Krieger LEND Program and co-PIs Kathryn Van Eck, PhD and Nikeea Copeland Linder, PhD, MPH were recently awarded a Jesse DuPont Bell grant to address mental health and COVID-induced trauma in patients with autism and other special health care needs. By utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS) training, Social Work trainees from collaborating HBCU�s will receive mentoring and training to deliver an evidence-based validated program through telemedicine to address student stress and anxiety, and to build coping skills and resilience.
12/13/2021
Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) Updates
Autistic Researcher Review Board (ARRB) member Mornik Giwa Onaiwu was featured on AUCD's podcast, AUCD Network Narratives: Real Stories from Our Members. The episode is titled "Using Storytelling to Connect Research and Lived Experience". The episode covers an important discussion on the need for respectful, affirming, and accurate language as well as the difference between person-first language versus identity-first language.
12/9/2021
AUCD's National Center on Disability in Public Health Funds Pilot Studies using Administrative Data to Evaluate "Child Find" Early Identification Systems in Indiana and Minnesota
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) has expanded its National Center on Disability in Public Health efforts with the funding of two, one-year pilot studies using administrative data to evaluate "child find" early identification systems in Indiana and Minnesota. This "child find" pilot is made possible by a cooperative agreement with the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
10/15/2021
Human Development Center Supports Developmental Screening for Over 600 Young Children
HDC reaches milestone in developmental screening through new collaborative partnerships while simultaneously providing training and consultation in 25 early learning centers.