KU Center on Developmental Disabilities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence (KS UCEDD)

October 24, 2019

Kansas University Center of Developmental Disabilities (KUCDD) celebrated their 50th Anniversary as a federally funded disability research, training and service center at their annual meeting on September 6th.

This year's theme was building collaboration among the University of Kansas Life Span Institute centers who also focus on IDD/ASD research, they include Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (KCART) and Juniper Gardens. Karrie Shogren, KUCDD Director led the meeting along with Matt Mosconi, Director of KCART and Brian Boyd, Director of Juniper Gardens.

Breakout sessions covered critical topics for building collaborative research and training opportunities, including: Supporting Participant Recruitment, Improving Cross-Unit/Center Support for IDD and ASD Research and Supporting Graduate Students and Postdoc Trainees. The directors are excited about the opportunities across the University of Kansas and are committed to working together to prioritize the suggestions that came from these sessions to enhance communication and collaboration with the centers as well as our community partners across the state of Kansas and the nation.

In attendance were key partners from Kansas LEND, KU Research and Training Center on Independent Living, Assistive Technology of Kansas, the Self Advocate Coalition of Kansas, and the Kansas Council on Developmental Disabilities.