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| AUCD Central Office News |
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FAST Projects Help Training Programs Make Strides toward Greater Diversity and Inclusion, Resulting Resources Now Available Online
In November 2014, AUCD's Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center on Autism and Developmental Disabilities (ITAC) encouraged project proposal from LEND and DBP programs that wished to receive targeted assistance and funding support of up to $7,000 to address one of several priority areas of need. After carefully reviewing each proposal, ITAC staff selected five programs to participate in this initial cohort of Focused Assistance to Support Training (FAST) projects. The hope was that these projects would not only lead to measurable improvements for the programs involved, but that their efforts could serve as innovative and resourceful models for others to address similar areas of need. Read more...
Racial and Ethnic Disparities among Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
This study investigated the extent of racial and ethnic disparities in the health of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Analyzing data from the 2002-2011 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the 2000-2010 National Health Interview Survey, we found that Black and Latino adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities have markedly worse health in contrast to their white peers with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Included in the document is an analysis of policy opportunities around health disparities, including obesity prevalence, among adults with intellectual disabilities. Read more...
The True Meaning of Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
We live in a society that purports to value hiring diverse candidates in the workplace as the right thing to do. Companies garner praise and gain awards left and right for their commitment to inclusive employment. "Inclusion" and "diversity" are buzzwords used liberally in hiring strategies and frequently tossed around in boardrooms and staff meetings. And yet, according the December nTIDE Jobs Report, the rate of unemployment for people with disabilities in the United States continues to rise. While this certainly points to the need for more businesses to adopt hiring policies that focus on inclusion that actually includes people with disabilities, it also raises an important question: are the companies that have already claimed commitment to inclusion trying to look good, or are they truly doing all they can to make full inclusion a priority? Read more...
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| Network Awards & Honors |
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Indiana University Professor Receives National Award for Work in Aging (IN UCEDD)
 Indiana University Professor Philip B. Stafford was the recipient of the Ageless America Award in a ceremony held in Washington D.C. presented by Partners for Livable CommunitiesThe Ageless America Award celebrates those who provide leadership on the need for rethinking communities to remove barriers that inhibit older Americans from being active in all aspects of civic, economic, political, and cultural life. Read more...
IU's Indiana Resource Center for Autism Director Appointed to Indiana Bicentennial Legacy Project Working Group (IN UCEDD))
 Cathy Pratt, director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, has been appointed by Lt. Governor Sue Ellspermann to participate in an Indiana Bicentennial Legacy Project to develop a long-term vision for the future of Indiana around youth and educationThe project is an activity of Indiana's Bicentennial Commission, co-chaired by former Lt. Governor Becky Skillman and former Congressman Lee Hamilton. Its outcomes will be to produce a number of "big ideas" for the state of Indiana's future which may drive positive change in Indiana's third century.. Read more...
Shelley Dumas named the National Association of Social Workers Texas Public Citizen of the Year (TX UCEDD)
 Dr. Shelley Dumas, Director of Community Education at the Texas Center for Disability Studies, was named the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Texas 2015 Public Citizen of the Year. The Public Citizen of the Year Award honors an outstanding member of the community whose accomplishments exemplify the values and mission of the profession of social work and who has acted with courage to make significant contribution to an area or population of concern to the social work profession such as: at-risk or vulnerable populations, quality of life in communities, or social issues. Shelley was honored for her work providing training and conducting research in the areas of self-determination and self-advocacy, person-centered practices, and family support. Read more...
The Einstein College of Medicine NY UCEDD Welcomes New Co-Director
 Karen Bonuck, PhD was named Co-Director of the Einstein College of Medicine UCEDD, as of January 1, 2016. Dr. Bonuck conducts research on child health at Einstein, where she is a Professor in the Department of Family and Social Medicine. Her work spans clinical trials of parent-child dyadic interventions in the areas of sleep, feeding, oral health, and maltreatment, as well as epidemiologic analyses. Dr. Bonuck's research includes surveillance of sleep problems in children with disabilities. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Maternal Child Health Bureau, and the US Department of Agriculture, and has appeared in more than 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Read more...
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Network News
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Education for All: An Evening with AUCD
 Wednesday, March 2, 2016 at 6:00 p.m., The Carnegie Library, Washington DC
Education for All: An Evening with AUCD will be the first of what will be an annual celebration honoring the AUCD network's accomplishments and, more importantly, the millions of people with disabilities who benefit from them. On March 2nd, we will shine the spotlight on our impact promoting inclusive disability policies and improving education outcomes for children and youth with disabilities. Read more...
UMass Boston Honors Local and Global Leaders in Inclusion (MA UCEDD/LEND)
On December 3, the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development at the University of Massachusetts Boston, hosted its second annual Beacon for Global Inclusion Awards, which honors an individual and an organization making notable contributions to the field of inclusion. Read more...
Center Update: Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities Develops NDEAM Employment Videos Promoting Inclusive Hiring (NY UCEDD)
 Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities (SCDD) in partnership with the Golisano Foundation, ACCES-VR, RochesterWorks!, Heritage Christian Services, Lifetime Assistance and the Arc of Monroe developed a series of short employment videos which feature individuals with IDD working in various roles with local employers in Rochester, NY. Read more...
"Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, LEND, IDDRC) Offers Online Trainings to Improve Health Care for Adults with IDD"
 The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, LEND, IDDRC) is now offering two free, short online training series focused on improving health care for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The trainings have been created by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC), in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) and TennCare. Read more...
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, IDDRC, LEND) Videos Document 50 Years of History
 The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, IDDRC, LEND) has created two videos documenting the Center's rich history and promise. With a view to the future as well as to the past, the two videos can be viewed online and shared through social media-Creating Hope, a documentary, and a short video Opening Doors, Transforming Lives. Read more...
Indiana LEND Family Leader Rylin Rodgers Opens National Symposium on Children with Complex Health Care Needs
 Rylin Rodgers, a nationally recognized family leader and the Training Director and with the Riley Child Development Center/Indiana LEND, was the opening keynote speaker at December 2015 Designing Systems That Work for Children with Complex Health Care Needs, a national symposium sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health held in Washington, DC. Her inspirational presentation, "Stage Setting: Families of Children with Health Complexity," prepared the symposium participants to keep families first as they explored various aspects of complex health care needs and the systems that serve them. Read more...
Aggies on the spectrum (TX UCEDD)
 A new student organization is paving the way for students with autism to have their voices represented on campus. Several Texas A&M students and Aimee Day, program coordinator for the Center on Disability and Development, have teamed up to form a student organization for adults with autism. The group hopes the organization will one day be run by students with autism as a way to give them an organization where they can both make connections and learn leadership lessons. Read more...
The Autism Clinic Awarded Autism Program Grant from the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (TX UCEDD)
 The Autism Clinic, a project of the Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University, was opened in the summer of 2010. Dr. Jennifer Ganz from Texas A&M University (TAMU) and Cheryl Allen (CEO of Easter Seals East Texas) worked together to open the clinic. The Dansbury Grant was awarded to remodel the BVRC facility and change the medical records and administrative offices into a working clinic. The clinic ran under the leadership of Dr. Jennifer Ganz, BCBA-D and Dr. Mandy Rispoli, BCBA-D, for the first two years of operation.In May of 2012 Dr. Amy Heath, BCBA-D was hired to take over the director position and find ways to expand services to more children. The clinic now serves individuals of all ages and offers both group and private ABA therapy. Read more...
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| Community Updates |
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Empowering Individuals to Influence Accessible Transportation
 People with intellectual and developmental disabilities can influence the nature of accessible transportation in their communities. Through model demonstration grants, the Strengthening Inclusive Transportation Partnerships, funded by the US Administration for Community Living (ACL), Easter Seals and its colleagues from the Community Transportation Association of America and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (N4A) learned about the strategies that organizations, agencies, and individuals can use to facilitate active participation in transportation planning. Empowering people with disabilities to be decision-makers in transportation planning over time, can lead to improved accessible and coordinated service. Read more...
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Webinars and Events
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Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015: What it Means for Students with Disabilities
 Wednesday, January 13, 2016, 3:3 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET
President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, P.L. 114-95) on December 10, 2015. This bill reauthorizes and amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (otherwise known as the No Child Left Behind Act). While AUCD, NDRN, and NACDD had advocated for a stronger federal role in the accountability system, the DD Act partners supported the compromise measure and believe the final bill is stronger than the outdated No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the current waivers that are in effect today in most states. Indeed, using data and new knowledge about how to most effectively teach students with disabilities, the newly reauthorized law goes farther than the original 2002 NCLB to provide assistance to these students with disabilities to successfully graduate and become college and/or career-ready.Read more...
The Seventh Summer Institute on Theology and Disability
 May 23-26, 2016, Holland MI
The Summer Institute on Theology and Disability is a four day intensive institute that brings together leading scholars and writers in the areas of theology and disability with clergy, religious leaders, practitioners, laity and others who are interested and involved in inclusive ministries and faith supports. Read more...
International Society on Early Intervention Conference
 June 8-10, 2016, Stockholm, Sweden
Ulf Janson, to whom this conference is dedicated, devoted much of his professional life to promoting the rights of young children with disabilities, understanding the nature of social inclusion, and advocating for the full inclusion of all children and their families. In this conference, early intervention is proposed as a basic right of all vulnerable children, and will be explored from many perspectives Read more...
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AUCD | 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910
This newsletter is in part supported by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD) through a technical assistance contract for the URC, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) through a technical assistance contract for the ITAC, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a National Professional Organization for Persons with Developmental Disabilities. The content of this material does not necessarily reflect the views and policies of any federal agency. No official support or endorsement by federal agencies is intended nor should be inferred.
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