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AUCDigest

January 23, 2007 • Volume 7, Number 1


RESOURCES

Network Related Resources

General Maternal and Child Health Training Listserv.   If you are affiliated with an MCH Training Program, you are invited to join MCH's recently developed listserv.  Note: MCHB will receive a copy of your request and if you are affiliated with an MCH Training Program you will be added to the list.

Georgetown University Center for Child & Human Development (DC UCEDD) Provider Self-Assessment CME Model Incorporating Cultural and Linguistic Competence into the Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression:  One of the five essential elements of cultural competence is the capacity for self-assessment at both the organizational and individual levels.  Based on extensive experience with an existing web-based instrument, the Cultural Competence Health Practitioner Assessment (CCHPA), the NCCC proposes to develop and pilot test an approach that uses self-assessment as a learning tool for providers to: (a) heighten awareness, (b) influence attitudes toward practice and (c) motivate the development of knowledge and skills to incorporate cultural and linguistic competence into the diagnosis and treatment of depression.  For more information, contact Tawara Goode, Director of NCCC, at 202-687-5387. 

Next Chapter Book Club.  Originated by the Nisonger Center (UCEDD), and unlike any other book club, the Next Chapter Book Club (NCBC) provides adolescents and adults with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to read and learn to read, talk about books, and make friends in a fun, community setting.  NCBCs across the country meet weekly in local bookstores and cafés to read and discuss books of their choosing.  NCBC members range from those who read well to those who do not read at all.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD) Develops Adult Sibling Survey & Report.  A web-based adult sibling questionnaire supported by The Arc of the US recently helped researchers understand the relationships and needs of adult siblings of persons with disabilities.  The UCEDD received over 1,300 surveys completed by adult siblings of individuals with disabilities from across the United States.  The survey was able to uncover findings in four main areas: the general well-being of siblings, gender and gender-related differences between the sibling and the brother/sister with disabilities, differences related to the type of disability: Down syndrome, autism, and other disabilities, and closer vs. less close siblings.  Review the Adult Sibling Survey: Report to Respondents and contact [email protected]  or 800-123-4567 to learn more about the survey.

Tune Up Your Dissemination Plan: A Marketing Toolbox for UCEDDs, developed by the University of Southern California UCEDD.  Self-study modules based on the course are available through the USC UCEDD Webpage and include 7 modules:  Terminology & Strategy Tools, Market Research, Testing, Dissemination, Evaluation, Integrating Marketing into Grant Proposals, and Organization Internal Marketing. 

Disability/Employment Grant Maps.  This web based tool can be used to locate innovative projects that test new strategies to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities. The tool is maintained by the National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult, based at the Institute for Community Inclusion (MA UCEDD/LEND).

Current Issue of Developments Available from Rose F. Kennedy UCEDD (NY).  Developments is a journal of the Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center (CERC) and the UCEDD.

New Publications from the Rural Institute (MT UCEDD).  Rosemary B. Hughes, Senior Research Scientist with the Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities, authored or edited the following articles in the most recent issue of the Women's Health Issues: Official Publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health:

  • Introduction to the theme issue on women and disability.
  • Stress self-management: An intervention for women with physical disabilities.
  • Physical activity and nutritional behaviors of women with physical disabilities: Physical, psychological, social and environmental influences.
  • Improving the health and health behaviors of women aging with physical disabilities: A peer-led health promotion program.

New Products and Resources from Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (UCEDD)'s Victims of Crime with Disabilities Resource Guide. 

  • Sign Up for a Free Copy of the 2007 NCVRW Resource Guide and Poster.   The Office for Victims of Crime sponsors the annual National Crime Victims' Rights Week (NCVRW) and is developing a distribution list of professionals interested in receiving NCVRW materials.  Sign up now to receive a copy of the NCVRW Resource Guide and poster free of charge to be mailed in early 2007.
  • A National Protocol for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examinations.  This resource provides details on the roles of responders to sexual assault as part of a coordinated community response.  National Training Standards for Sexual Assault Medical Forensic Examiners is a companion to the protocol and includes recommendations for training objectives and topics that will enable an examiner to carry out the recommendations.  The protocol and standards both take a victim-centered approach to sexual assault forensic examinations and also emphasize offender accountability. 
  • We're All Little John Waynes: A Study of Disabled Men's Experience of Abuse by Personal Assistants.  This study investigated how men with disabilities define and describe abuses that may arise in provision of personal assistance (PAS), their perception of personal and social barriers to handling abuse, their responses to abusive situations, and strategies they recommend to ameliorate abuse.  This research follows a similar study of disabled women and PAS abuse (Saxton, et al, 2001). The findings suggest that men with disabilities experience various forms of abuse, and face significant barriers in addressing abuse related to gender identity, lack of societal recognition and support, and restrictions in choosing and directing their personal assistance providers.  Full Citation: Saxton, Marsha, [et al.]. We're All Little John Waynes: A Study of Disabled Men's Experience of Abuse by Personal Assistants.  Journal of Rehabilitation 72.4 (2006): 3-13.
  • Cases from the Headlines.  To bear witness and most importantly to bring attention to the serious issue of crimes against people with disabilities, the Resource Guide has begun developing an online collection of news stories involving victims with disabilities.  Selected from newspaper and news channel web sites, articles have been abstracted and posted in the Online Discussion section of the Resource Guide website.
  • Recent Products Added to the Search Resources Database
    • Caregiver Abuse and Domestic Violence in the Lives of Women with Disabilities
    • In the Name of Treatment: A Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Child From the Use of Restraint, Aversive Interventions, and Seclusion
    • Working with Vulnerable Adults

Resources from the Partners of the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD)

  • Programs and Practices for Special Education Students in Alternative Education Settings (Brief).  This brief shares some findings from the University of Oregon's descriptive study, What Do They Do There? Examination of Alternative Education Schools, Programs, and Practices for Special Education Students, published by the Institute's National Center on Secondary Education and Transition (NCSET).
  • Models of Collaboration and Cost Sharing in Transition Programming (Information Brief).  A brief describing two funding tools that are increasingly used in collaborative relationships. Both tools blended funding and braided funding pool financial resources to maximize outcomes. These tools can help maintain and sustain effective relationships in transition programming. Published by NCSET.
  • Math Strategy Instruction for Students with Disabilities Who Are Learning English (Report).  This report is describing a series of single-subject studies conducted to examine the effect of a teacher-directed "think-aloud" mathematics instructional strategy on the standards-based academic achievement of Latino and Hmong ELLs with disabilities attending middle or junior high school.  The study targeted students with disabilities participating in mainstream content classes using standards-based curriculum and is published by the Institute's National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO).

Research to Know

Do Integrated Medical Groups Provide Higher-Quality Medical Care than Individual Practice Associations?  Researchers report that integrated medical group (IMG) practices provided higher-quality care compared with individual practice associations (IPAs).  Organizational structure is an important characteristic of physician groups.  At one end of the spectrum are the IMGs-centralized organizations which employ physicians in partnership arrangements, with facilities owned and managed by the group.  In contrast, physicians in IPAs work under non-exclusive contracts and typically manage their own offices.  The authors also suggest that the use of centralized decision-making and close collaboration in IMGs may be a factor in their provision of higher-quality care.  Citation: A. Mehrotra, A. M. Epstein and M. B. Rosenthal, Do Integrated Medical Groups Provide Higher-Quality Medical Care Than Individual Practice Associations?, Annals of Internal Medicine, December 5, 2006 145(11):826-33.

Other Resources

National Council on Disability (NCD) Resources

Medicare Part D.  The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) has issued several resources related to the current Medicare Part D open enrollment period for 2007 (which began November 15, 2006 and will last until the end of this year).

Resources from the Community Living Exchange Collaborative

  • Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) Demonstration Grant Initiative Interim Outcomes Report.  Forty-three states and territories have received three-year competitive grants since the ADRC program was launched.  This report provides findings at the overall ADRC level and the pilot level on the outcomes, accomplishments, and contributions of the ADRC program over the grant period, including more immediate results related to key consumer and program outcomes.
  • Real Choice Systems Change Grant Functional Assessment Report.  Creating a single assessment tool to be used across age and disability has been an interest of states, policy makers, and providers for years.  An interest also exists to develop a consumer-driven participatory assessment where consumers take a more active role. Following review and input from a diverse work group, this tool was piloted for 16 months and a qualitative evaluation was conducted to determine its utility.
  • Self-Determination: Is a Rose by Any Other Name Still a Rose?  Does self-determination refer to a curriculum that teaches students with disabilities to be self-directed problem solvers, a technique for redirecting funding streams to control the dollars allocated for their supports and services, or a philosophy grounded in democratic values and constitutional principles of autonomy and liberty?  Or is it two or three of these?  TASH invites you to read this Exchange focusing on the need to have more coherence and consistency in terminology/descriptions.
  • Developing a Stigma Reduction Initiative Resource Kit.  Certainly, stigma is one of the more formidable obstacles to a transformed mental health system. This resource kit is intended to raise awareness of mental health and help counter the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental illnesses.  Users are invited to use the kit with event planning, partnership development, outreach to schools and businesses, mental health resources, marketing to the general public, and grassroots outreach. 

Various Resources

  • Free Access to AIDD Academic Journals.  All 2005 issues of (a) American Journal on Mental Retardation and (b) Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Formerly Mental Retardation) are now available.
  • Transportation and Emergency Preparedness Checklist.  The National Consortium on Human Service Transportation Coordination (NCHSTC) has released a checklist and strategy paper on emergency preparedness for individuals with disabilities and older adults.
  • Proactive Culturally Responsive Discipline Exemplar.  This Exemplar from the National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems discusses several problems with the ways that schools tend to intervene with students' challenging behavior.
  • Research-to-Practice Books from Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT): Creating an E-Mentoring Community, and Creating a Transition Program for Youth.  These research-to-practice books provide guidelines for (a) the creation of an e-mentoring community, with sample messages and materials to train and support mentors and protégés, and (b) designing and implementing a transition program for teens that includes technology access, summer study, mentoring, peer and neer-peer support, college preparation activities, and work-based learning. National Science Foundation funds support the free distribution of a limited number of these books to interested individuals and programs. To request a set, e-mail Sheryl Burgstahler and describe how you expect to use them.
  • Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America.  Catholic Charities USA is pleased to announce the launch of its new campaign against poverty and the release of our 2006 policy paper Poverty in America: A Threat to the Common Good.
  • Reuse of Assistive Technology Program.   For many people with disabilities, assistive technologies are helping to defeat dependence, frustration and isolation: text telephones for those with hearing impairments; computer monitors for those with visual impairments; lighter wheelchairs.  These modern technologies make the world more accessible, yet they are often unattainable to the people who need them but cannot afford them. The Reuse of AT program can help.  The program provides devices to people who need them, saves resources, benefits taxpayers, prevents waste, decreases health risks, helps people maintain their level of care and builds confidence in the system.
  • KU Online TransCert Program for Secondary Special Education Professionals. The University of Kansas  TransCert is a project providing online graduate training for secondary special education professionals through a 12-hour block of online graduate courses plus a 3-hour culminating experience. The program provides a comprehensive approach to pre-service transition training and an opportunity for current special education professionals to increase their instructional strategies in transition service and delivery.  Applicants for Fall 2007 are now being sought.  Student stipends are available.  Application deadline: March 16, 2007.
  • Without Apology: a documentary film by Susan Hamovitch and Summer Woman Productions (formerly One-eyed Cat Productions).  The documentary is about the filmmaker's lifelong relationship with her brother.  The documentary also deals with the past fifty years in the history of mental retardation from a very personal perspective.  Issues of "blaming the mother" and sibling disaffection-and sibling devotion-as well as the institutional debacle are all brought home through the story of this all too "typical" family.

New Websites

Genetics Home Reference: Your Guide to Understanding Genetic Conditions.  This website from the National Institutes of Health includes extensive information on genetic conditions, genes, and chromosomes, as well as tools including a handbook, glossary, and information on how to find a genetics professional in your area.

National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information. This is a new website developed by the US Department of Health and Human Services to provide information and resources to help you and your family plan for future long-term care (LTC) needs.

Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior.  Funded by the US Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, the website is designed to raise the awareness and implementation of positive, evidence-based practices and to build an enhanced and more accessible database to support those practices.

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning.  The Center will develop and disseminate evidence-based, user-friendly information to help early childhood educators meet the needs of the growing number of children with challenging behaviors and mental health challenges in child care and Head Start programs.

American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD).  AAID has official unveiled its new logo and tagline for the association to match its new name. In addition to a new logo and new colors, the organization has a 3 word tag line: Knowledge /Support/ Empowerment.  A video clip explaining the new name is now available on the website.

Google Accessible Web Search for People with Visual Impairments.  Accessible Search is a Google Labs product designed to identify and prioritize Web search results that are more easily usable by blind and visually impaired users.  Accessible Search allows users to find the most accessible pages in that result set.  Google Accessible Search examines the HTML markup on a Web page and favors pages that degrade gracefully-pages with few visual distractions and pages that are likely to render well with images turned off.

Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT).  DO-IT serves to increase the participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It promotes the use of computer and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment.  Developed by the University of Washington.

 

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