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LEND Project Looks at Developmental Surveillance and Screening in Early Childcare settings (OH-Nisonger Center UCEDD/LEND)
Nisonger LEND trainees and faculty Andrea Witwer, PhD and Jennifer Walton, MD, MPH, are involved in a multi-year project examining developmental screening and surveillance of Ohio children in early childhood settings. The goal of the project is to improve early identification of children with developmental delays. As more very young children spend time in childcare, providing training on evidence based screening to childcare providers can potentially provide an additional safety net to help identify children with delays early. Now in its third year this leadership project has completed a needs assessment of childcare providers and childcare center directors with regard to developmental surveillance and screening of children with developmental delays. Read more...
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, LEND, IDDRC) Member Developing App to Help Children with Disabilities Who Have Challenging Behaviors
 A Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, LEND, IDDRC) special education researcher has been awarded a $1.5 million grant by The Institute of Education Sciences to develop an app for use by parents who have young children with disabilities who also exhibit challenging behaviors. When complete, the free software application for mobile devices will generate a list of strategies that families can use to prevent and also reduce the challenging behavior over time. Families will be able to control what information the professional team can access, but it will also allow families to communicate with everyone working with their children. Read more...
IU Report Provides Employment and Inclusion Data About Hoosiers with Disabilities (IN UCEDD)
 Indiana residents who receive employment services and other support from disability service providers have made few gains in the past year, according to a new report from Indiana University's Center on Community Living and Careers. Findings about how people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are interacting with their communities are included in the 2016 "Day & Employment Services Outcomes Systems Report." The report is published annually by the center, a division of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at Indiana University Bloomington. Read more...
Student "Draft IEP" Interactive Tool Enables Students in New York State to be More Active in their IEP Development (NY UCEDD/LEND)
 Through collaboration with the Lower Hudson Regional Special Education Technical Assistance and Support Center, WIHD has worked with 30 school districts over the past three years to support student engagement and self-determination in IEP development and implementation through a student directed IEP process. WIHD has developed several resources aimed at promoting more active student and family involvement. The Student "Draft IEP" Interactive Tool was created by Naomi Brickel, Director of the Hudson Valley Special Education Parent Center at WIHD. Read more...
The Illinois UCEDD Director and Distinguished Professor, Tamar Heller, is featured in a documentary titled, "Going Home: A Full Life in the Community" (IL UCEDD/LEND)
 The Illinois UCEDD director and distinguished professor, Tamar Heller, is featured in a documentary titled, "Going Home: A Full Life in the Community" . It makes the case for community living and for closure of large state institutions in Illinois. The film cites research conducted at the UCEDD and is partially filmed in its building. The research cited is from "State of the States" (University of Colorado and University of Illinois at Chicago) and from the Illinois UCEDD evaluation of the Jacksonville Developmental Center closure. Read more...
Linking Latino Parents to Autism Resources (IL UCEDD/LEND)
 For parents who have a child with autism, navigating the service system to find ways to help their child can be overwhelming.Within the Latino community, promotoras - community health workers who are indigenous to the community - help educate parents on autism and appropriate services. Two UIC researchers are going global by expanding a parent educational intervention designed for Latino parents in the U.S. to Colombia. "There are disparities between Latino and white children in terms of access to services and treatments," said Sandra Magaña, professor of disability and human development. "We want to bridge those disparities and use the community health worker to deliver the intervention and empower the parents." Read more...
Oklahoma's New Portal Seeks to Help Thousands on Medicaid Waiver Waiting List (OK UCEDD/LEND)
 Following the recommendation of a Blue Ribbon Panel and an Executive Order from Gov. Mary Fallin, Oklahoma officials are developing a Web portal that could speed up service delivery for thousands who may have waited years to learn whether they qualify for a medical waiver. One of many issues addressed in April 2015 by the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel for Developmental Disabilities was how to better serve thousands of Oklahomans seeking community services from the state Developmental Disabilities Services Division (DDSD) of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. Read more...
Iowa UCEDD Capitalizes on Partnerships to Promote Employment First
 Recent production of a two-part television series highlighting National Disability Employment Awareness Month combines the Iowa UCEDD's emphasis on promoting Employment First with its commitment to information dissemination. Entitled "The Power of Employment," the series aired on "Hello, It's Us!", a weekly Public Access Television program produced by the UCEDD dedicated to educating viewership about a variety of disability-related topics through the lens of community inclusion. Read more...
Martha Thurlow (MN UCEDD) Speaks at White House Convening on Education
 Martha Thurlow, Director of the National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) at the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD), participated in the White House Convening on Better, Fairer, and Fewer Assessments in Washington, DC. The Convening brought together about 100 representatives from states, districts, and schools, as well as researchers and assessment developers. The purpose was to discuss how to improve assessments and reduce the burden of redundant assessments, consistent with the Obama Testing Action Plan released in October 2015. Read more...
FA Olmstead Session (GA and IA UCEDD)
 Earlier this fall Sue Jamieson, prominent civil rights lawyer and lead attorney in Olmstead v. L.C., travelled to Iowa to speak at the HousingIowa Conference about the history of the landmark Supreme Court decision and the importance of housing in community integration. The session also featured Iowa's Money Follows the Person coordinator Brooke Lovelace and program participant Monnie Hall, and was moderated by Caitlin Owens, who along with Brooke works for Iowa's UCEDD at the Center for Disabilities and Development. Sue is the Disability Law Project Co-Director at the University of Georgia's Institute on Human Development and Disability (one of Georgia's two UCEDDs). Read more...
Rose F Kennedy UCEDD at Montefiore Partners with Bronx Developmental Disabilities Council for 13 Annual Health Services Conference
 The Rose F Kennedy UCEDD (NY) at Montefiore partnered with the Bronx Developmental Disabilities Council for its 13th Annual Health Services Conference on November 18, 2016, entitled Physical and Behavioral Health Care for Persons with Developmental Disabilities. For years the RFK UCEDD has worked collaboratively with the Council, an association of parents, advocates and professionals that is advisory to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. Read more...
Institute on Disability Receives Grant for National Disability Employer Practices Survey (NH UCEDD/LEND)
 The IOD and UNH Survey Center will conduct a survey of 1,500 senior executives in the U.S. Senior executives will be asked three sequential questions related to experience with a past and/or present barrier, success in overcoming the barrier, and practice approaches attempted (successfully and unsuccessfully) to overcome the barrier. Read more...
2017 START National Training Institute (NH UCEDD/LEND)
 The Center for START Services, a national initiative based at UNH's Institute on Disability/UCED, works to address the service gap for people with IDD and Mental Health issues in communities across the country. The annual START National Training Institute (SNTI) provides an interactive forum aimed at the sharing of best practices, engaging in experiential learning opportunities, and "feeling the strength of START". Read more...
Addressing Barriers to Accessing Reproductive Health Care for Women with Cerebral Palsy" Presented at APHA (CA UCEDD/LEND)
 The Tarjan Center in partnership with the Center for Cerebral Palsy and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA is one of four sites working to transform healthcare for women with disabilities. The focus at UCLA is to improve access to reproductive health care and pregnancy experiences of women with cerebral palsy.
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_web300w.jpg "Harkin International Disability Employment Summit")
The emergence of accessible health promotion initiatives for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) over the past 20 years demonstrates great promise for improving their health status. However, people with IDD continue to experience numerous age-related health issues and often lack control over environments and practices that impact their health. Just as in the general U.S. population, a great challenge remains to lower obesity levels, increase physical activity, and improve diets among people with IDD. 
Thank you to the sponsors at the AUCD 2016 Conference, our theme "ga_300w.jpg "Congratulations to the AUCD 2016 Awardees")
_small1.jpg "Photos from the AUCD 2016 Confernece")
Led by Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Investigator Sarika Peters, Ph.D., and Cary Fu, M.D., Vanderbilt's clinic is one of only 14 sites nationwide to receive this designation. The award acknowledges that these clinics not only provide treatment for patients but work collaboratively to provide support for families, as well as with specialists in a range of studies, including developmental and behavioral pediatrics, neurology, sleep disorders, gastroenterology and more 
Dr. Stephen Sulkes of Rochester, New York received the 2016-17 Golisano Health Leadership Award. The Golisano Health Leadership Award was established in 2016 in partnership with Special Olympics International and the Golisano Foundation, and is given to one of only 32 individuals or organizations in the world who are dedicated to improving the health of people with intellectual disabilities and advancing the health work of Special Olympics. "Special Olympics New York is delighted to be able to present Dr. Stephen Sulkes with the Golisano Health Leadership Award. 
March 4-7,2017, Kansas City, MO
March 8-10,2017, San Antonio, TX
