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AUCDigest

September 28, 2007 • Volume 7, Number 9


RESOURCES

Network Related Resources

Maternal and Child Health Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) Online Training Course. The National MCH OHRC presents Special Care: An Oral Health Professional’s Guide to Serving Young Children with Special Health Care Needs, a series of five self-contained online modules is designed to provide oral health professionals with information to help ensure that young children with special health care needs have access to health promotion and disease prevention services that address their unique oral health needs in a comprehensive, family-centered, and community-based manner. Users may access the modules as a non-credit course, or register to earn CEUs.

citized prepared logo

Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (UCEDD) Emergency Planning and Disaster Publication for People with Disabilities. I Am Citizen Prepared, written by Maribeth Mooney, Research Associate, with the Indiana Institute’s Center on Aging and Community, is designed to provide information that does not focus on the scary aspect of disasters and emergencies. It offers the reader suggestions on how to prepare oneself in the event that an emergency does arise. The reader is encouraged to think of emergency preparedness as a project rather than a reaction to an unexpected and frightening event. I am Citizen Prepared is 49 pages and opens with Adobe Acrobat. For further information, feel free to contact Maribeth Mooney at (812) 855-6508.

 

University of Iowa R.E.A.C.H PROGRAM: Postsecondary Education Opportunity for Youth with Cognitive Disabilities. The R.E.A.C.H Program (Realizing Educational and Career Hopes) is a unique two-year certificate program for young adults with multiple learning and cognitive disabilities. The R.E.A.C.H Program combines academic instruction, career experiences, community involvement, and campus and residential life to create a dynamic collegiate experience. Enrollment will begin in fall 2008 and applications are now being accepted. The application deadline is March 1, 2008; however, campus interviews will be held beginning Fall 2007. The R.E.A.C.H Program is associated with the Center for Disabilities and Development (IA UCEDD/LEND).

Center on Disability Studies (HI UCEDD) Releases Fall Issue of Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal. The Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal (RDS) is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary, international journal. Some topics reviewed in this issue include curriculum development, diversity, policy, employment, and natural disasters.

Fall 2007 Beach Center on Disability Newsletter. The Beach Center is in association with the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). Whether you're a family member of a person with a disability, a researcher in developmental disabilities, a practitioner, a policy leader, a student, or a general-interest web surfer, we hope you'll find our website and newsletter useful sources of information and inspiration.

Rural Institute (MT UCEDD): PASS Plan Form with Help Keys Resource. This document allows a user to easily tab through the PASS Plan application and to access numerous "help" boxes that will guide her/him through the questions and provide examples of responses. For more information about PASS Plans (Social Security Plans for Achieving Self-Support), a valuable and vastly underutilized resource for certain SSI-eligible youth and adults, please visit the following websites:

Resources from the Institute for Community Inclusion (MA UCEDD)

  • New Publication: Going to Work A Guide to Social Security Benefits and Employment for Young People with Disabilities. This booklet, a product of MI-CEO, explains how earned income affects a young person’s Social Security disability benefits (SSI and SSDI). It provides an overview of how work incentives can help plan for a future that includes work, tips for managing benefits, and information about where to get individual help. The publication is geared for parents and professionals working with young people with and without disabilities. For more information contact Melanie Jordan at 617-287-4327.
  • Understanding Disability Legislation for National Service Programs (Online Course). National service programs are obligated under federal law to ensure nondiscriminatory environments, practices, and procedures for qualified persons with disabilities. This free online course from the Corporation for National & Community Service provides an overview of several pieces of key legislation: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, the National and Community Service Act of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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

  • Higher Ground: The Role of Direct Support Professionals During and After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (Video). Produced for Volunteers of America by the Research and Training Center on Community Living. When Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, hundreds of people with developmental disabilities were displaced. Many didn’t know where their family members were. And yet direct support professionals stayed with those they supported and made sure everyone evacuated to higher ground. For months, these dedicated women and men, working long hours for low pay, put others before themselves, providing care and support with improvised resources.
  • Impact: Feature Issue on Disaster Preparedness and People with Disabilities. In this issue, the editors seek to address that need for greater inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts by providing strategies, stories, and resources that we hope will be of use to disability service providers, advocates, individuals with disabilities, families, and policymakers.
  • Reading First and Special Education: Examples of State-Level Collaboration (Policy Analysis). This In-Brief Policy Analysis from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education introduces the Reading First provisions in Title I of the No Child Left Behind Act and presents examples of state-level collaboration between Reading First and special education. The background and elements of these collaborative efforts are described, including local-level collaboration, fiscal and human resources, outcomes, lessons learned, and next steps.
  • Standards-Based Individualized Education Program Examples (Document). This document from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education presents a seven-step process for developing a standards-based IEP. Each step is followed by guiding questions for the IEP team to consider in making data-based decisions. The companion document, “A Seven-Step Process to Creating Standards-based IEPs” provides the steps and guiding questions in a brief two-page document.
  • State Definitions of Significant Disproportionality (Policy Analysis). This In-Brief Policy Analysis from the National Association of State Directors of Special Education describes states’ definitions of significant disproportionality as described in Section 618 of IDEA 2004. Results indicate that although some states’ definitions are not complete, most states have developed procedures to analyze significant disproportionality with respect to identification, but fewer states have procedures in place to analyze it with respect to placement and discipline.

New Products and Resources from National Center on Physical Activity and Disability, in association with Institute on Disability and Human Development (IL UCEDD)

 

  • October 25, 2007: Promoting Wellness and Healthy Lifestyles for Adults with DD (Audio Conference). Time: 1-4:00 pm central. Presented by Dr. James Rimmer, NCPAD Director; this session will present information related to People with DD as a group who are facing a health crisis. They experience a higher rate of obesity and related health problems, have sedentary lifestyles, and are at an increased risk of premature death. Learn how to assist people to adopt healthy lifestyles and wellness routines.
  • Secondary Conditions: Inadequate Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women with Physical Disabilities. Surveys were conducted with 100 women with physical disabilities and 50 women without disabilities to determine the risk of CVD based on their knowledge of CVD risk factors, possession of specific CVD risk factors, and experience with CVD preventive screening procedures. Compared to women without disabilities, women with physical disabilities were less knowledgeable about CVD risk factors and received far less preventive screening for CVD. Overall, the study reported CVD risk is under-recognized and under-assessed in women with physical disabilities in this sample. For more information about CVD risk factors, refer to the NCPAD fact sheets on hypertension and congestive heart failure.
  • NCPAD Video Corner: Physical Activity, Leisure and Recreation for Youth with Disabilities: A Primer for Parents. This video-enabled factsheet stresses the importance and value of physical activity for young people with disabilities. Additionally, this guide will provide strategies for parents to identify physical activity, recreation, and leisure opportunities for their children. Furthermore, this guide will encourage parents to take on an active role in the lives of their children and encourage and support their involvement in physical activity and recreation.
  • Adapted PE and Inclusive Programming Resources:

Research to Know

Half of Children with Autism Can Be Accurately Diagnosed at Close to One Year of Age, New Study Shows. Researchers at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (MD DDRC) have found that autism can be diagnosed at close to one year of age, which is the earliest the disorder has ever been diagnosed. The study evaluated social and communication development in autism spectrum disorders in children 14 to 36 months of age and revealed that approximately half of all children with autism can be diagnosed around the first birthday. Early diagnosis of the disorder allows for early intervention, which can make a major difference in helping children with autism reach their full potential. The study, titled "Social and Communication Development in Toddlers With Early and Later Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders" by Dr. Rebecca J. Landa et al. is published in the July 2007 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Other Resources

Government Accountability Office Report: Modernizing Federal Disability Policy. According to the recent GAO report, federal disability programs have not kept up with the societal changes in the United States. Some of the steps identified to enhance federal programs include talking with people receiving disability services to find out what additional services they need to succeed; developing a definition of disability and standard language that could be used across programs; and providing services to youth.

Department of Justice Civil Rights Division: Disability Rights Online News. This newsletter is a bi-monthly update about the Civil Rights Division’s activities in the area of disability rights. The Division enforces laws prohibiting discrimination based on disability in employment, housing, access to businesses serving the public, access to government programs and services including voting and public transportation, and unconstitutional conditions in institutions of confinement.

“Music Within” in Theaters October 26. You might expect a weep-fest from an inspirational movie called “Music Within” about two men with disabilities in the 1970s trying to make the world more accessible. But what if the characters were smart-aleck, tough-guy troublemakers? That's the approach of the comedy/drama with Ron Livingston (Office Space) and Michael Sheen (The Queen), inspired by the true story of the men who helped create the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA) which required wheelchair ramps and other public accommodations. Livingston plays Richard Pimentel, who lost his hearing in the Vietnam War. Sheen plays his friend, Art Honeyman, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. They use humor to provoke those ignoring the needs of people with disabilities.

HEATH Resource Center Summer/Fall 2007 Newsletter. We are pleased to announce this edition's articles (Postsecondary emphasis):

  • “The Picture of College Freshmen in Greater Focus: An Analysis of Selected Characteristics by Types of Disabilities” which expands upon an earlier publication, “College Freshman with Disabilities: Highlights and Profiles”
  • “Planning for Post School Outcomes and Emerging into Adulthood”
  • Information on three wonderful books in our Book Bag
  • Our Guest Article from the Urban Special Education Leadership, "Planning for Successful Transition for All Students"
  • Our Internet Onramp featuring four articles on transition from the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD)

HCBS Resources

  • Medicaid Long-Term Care Expenditures in FY 2006 (Memo). This memorandum from Thomson Healthcare presents data on Medicaid long-term care expenditures in Federal Fiscal Year 2006 (October 2005-September 2006), including national data on Medicaid expenditures for Long-Term Care from 1994-2006 and state-by-state data for Nursing Homes, ICF/MR, Personal Care, HCBS Waivers, Home Health, Home Care, Inpatient Hospital Care, Inpatient DSH, Inpatient Mental Health, Mental Health DSH, Medicaid Managed-Care, Prescribed Drugs, Targeted Case Management, and PACE.
  • Supplemental Guide for Developmental Disabilities. This guide to developmental disabilities lists the specific conditions that are considered developmental disabilities, defines them, and describes the criteria for prevention and screening.
  • Promising Practices in Home and Community-Based Services: Pilot Program for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Connecticut (Report). This report from Thomson Healthcare describes a state-funded home and community based services (HCBS) pilot program in Connecticut to help adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) gain the skills they need to become contributing members of the workforce.
  • Disability Benefits 101 Website and Benefits Planning Calculators. This website for workers and job seekers includes easy-to-read descriptions of state, federal, and private benefit programs, paginas en Español, life situation articles, a glossary and bulletin board. There is also an interactive tool that helps users predict what would happen to benefits, in a number of what if scenarios. Calculators included: the benefits to work, job to job, school and work, and Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS).
  • Peer Mentor’s/Mentoree Training & Resource Manuals. The Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities contracted with Valek & Co. to design and provide services relating to the recruiting, training and matching of mentors/mentorees for those interested in sharing their experience about rejoining the workforce. They received 23 mentor applications and 19 mentoree applications. Review the extensive training materials, exit surveys, and final reports.

Guides & Reports

  • Sources of Income of People Age 50 to 64 with Work Disabilities (AARP Policy and Research Data Report). This AARP Public Policy Institute Data Digest analyzes income sources for people age 50 to 64 with work disabilities, highlighting the distribution of these individuals and the distribution of their major income sources by gender and race/ethnic group.
  • Engaging Parents in Education: Lessons from Five Parental Information and Resource Centers (Guide). This guide from the U.S. Department of Education explains the strategies that the Parent Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) use to improve or expand their parental involvement programs in public schools, including the PIRCs’ role in building understanding of NCLB and other education-related issues, and the PIRCs’ role in preparing and supporting parents and educators to take action for student learning.
  • Perceptions and Expectations of Youth with Disabilities: A Special Topic Report of Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2. This report from the National Center for Special Education Research provides a picture of the self-representations and expectations of youth with disabilities, how they differ across disability categories and demographic groups, and how they compare to those of youth in the general population.
  • Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards (Guide). The National Center on Educational Outcomes has produced a new guide to help parents of students with disabilities understand a new state alternate assessment allowable under No Child Left Behind.
  • New Research Synthesis from the Center for Early Literacy Learning (Report). The Center for Early Literacy Learning (CELL) has recently released a new research synthesis entitled Predictors of and Interventions Associated with Later Literacy Learning.

Various Resources

  • Use of Family History Information in Pediatric Primary Care and Public Health. A supplement to the September issue of Pediatrics contains findings of a 2006 Workgroup Meeting in Atlanta, GA The meeting was sponsored by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The supplement includes information on such topics as: Linking family history in obstetric and pediatric care; Assessing risk for genetic diseases and birth defects in pediatric primary care; Utility of family history reports of major birth defects as a public health strategy, and; Using family history to help detect children at risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
  • AAIDD Student and Young Professionals Newsletter (Inaugural Issue). This newsletter is created to highlight student research, provides a forum for students and young professionals to ask questions and learn more about AAIDD, and shares information about ongoing activities within AAIDD that provide opportunities for students and young professionals to get involved, network, and learn from their colleagues.
  • Utilizing Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to Create Affordable, Accessible Rental Housing for People with Disabilities (Equity Article). Ann O'Hara, Technical Assistance Collaborative, explains Low Income Housing Tax Credits and provides examples of collaboratives working to make housing developments affordable for very low income people with disabilities.
  • Matrix of Research on Early Childhood Education Outcomes. The Public Policy Forum recently created a matrix of research on early childhood education comparing outcomes across studies. Overall, it shows that existing research supports the connection between higher quality early childhood programs and long-term benefits in a number of areas.
  • APR/SPP Dispute Resolution Data Summaries. The Annual Performance Reports and State Performance Plans required under IDEA ‘04 include data on dispute resolution activity in states. These state summary reports include three years of dispute resolution data (2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06), several calculated values based on reported numbers, and rates per 10,000 special education students for all data elements.

New Websites

National Center for Learning Disabilities Parent Center. The goal of the Parent Center is to empower, educate and equip parents with the information and tools they need to become effective advocates for their children, both at home and at school.

Access Living Youth Center. On this website from Chicago’s Access Living center, youth with disabilities can find information including friendship, bullying, dating and disability, online dating, your body, sexuality, living on your own, dealing with VR, getting a job, going to college, dealing with parents/guardians, advocacy, news, disability pride, disability history, and disability rights.

ThinkCollege.net. Youth with intellectual disabilities have not had many chances to go to college. This is changing as more postsecondary education opportunities are available to this particular community. This website will provide information and links to anyone interested in finding out more about the possibilities.

 

October is
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
and
Child Health Month
(Celebrate Child Health Day with HRSA/MCHB on 10/1/2007)

 

 

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