AUCD 360 - March 2020

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

Each March, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) partners with Association for University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and National Disabilities Rights Network (NDRN) to create a social media campaign that highlights the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities. The campaign seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all areas of community life, as well as awareness to the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live. Read more... 

AUCD Celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

As we begin 2020, we as a nation, including the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This landmark civil rights legislation impacts the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities and protects against discrimination and ensures and improves access to opportunities afforded to all. Read more... 

2020 Trainee Council Representatives Selected!

We are pleased to announce our 2020 Council Trainee Representatives. Over the past month our trainees have begun their work, and we are excited about how they will support their councils for the remainder of 2020. Council Trainee Representatives will provide their respective councils support in the areas of planning, development, and implementation of council-wide activities. Read more... 

Moving Ahead with PROMISE: Lessons Learned from Six Model Demonstration Projects Through the Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income Project

"Moving Ahead with PROMISE: Lessons Learned from Six Model Demonstration Projects Through the Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income Project" is a new report from the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD/LEND) and partners documents employment and wage gains among teens receiving federal disability benefits who had access to better social service coordination, job training, and educational opportunities under the Promoting Readiness of Minors In Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE) project. The report was developed by ICI with the Association of University Centers on Disability as part of the PROMISE Technical Assistance Center. Read more... 

AUCD Policy Fellowship

The purpose of the Fellowship is to provide significant experiences in national level activities related to policy and legislative development, advocacy, program development, technical assistance, and AUCD administration. The Fellowship in Disability Policy is envisioned as a mutually beneficial arrangement between the Fellow, the Fellows community, and the AUCD central office. The Fellow will benefit from the experiences and contacts developed during the Fellowship period as well as participation in national level activities and subsequently informing their base community of activities and knowledge gained. Read more... 

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In Memoriam: Duane Alexander, M.D.

Duane Alexander, M.D., a former director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), died on February 16, 2020, from Alzheimer's disease. He was 79 years old. Dr. Alexander was a champion for the health and wellbeing of women, children, and people with intellectual and physical disabilities. He spent most of his career at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with much of this time at NICHD. He was NICHD Director from 1986 to 2009, during which time he oversaw multiple achievements, including the demonstration of the safety and efficacy of amniocentesis for prenatal genetic diagnosis; the prevention of acquired intellectual and developmental disability caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis, phenylketonuria, and other conditions; the establishment of effective newborn screening programs; the reduction of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) rates in the United States; and the launch of the Back to Sleep campaign (now called Safe to Sleep®) to educate families about reducing SIDS risk. Read more...

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Project SCOPE National Training Initiative Launches Initial Cohort

Eight University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities from nine states have been accepted into the initial cohort of a new national training initiative entitled Project SCOPE: Supporting Children of the OPioid Epidemic. Project SCOPE addresses neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). The Project SCOPE pilot was developed in 2018 by the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities, in partnership with the Nisonger Center at The Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Read More...

IU Research and Training Institute in Disability and Community Expands to Include Eppley Institute

Indiana University Bloomington has announced that the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands will become a seventh Indiana Institute on Disability and Community research center this summer. As Indiana's federally designated University Center for Excellence in Disabilities, the IIDC is known across the state and nation as a leader in research, education, and service to advance inclusive and equitable communities for all people, including those with significant disabilities since 1970. Read More...

Family is at the Heart of Va-LEND

For over 20 years Family Mentorship Experience (FME) has been an integral part of Va-LEND. The goal of FME is for the mentoring families to teach the students about their life as a parent of a child with special healthcare needs. Trainees schedule at least five face-to- face visits during the academic year with their family and maintain an activity log. Mentoring families often participate over a period of years, and can choose to be part of Va-LEND for many reasons. "I chose to be part of this discipline at Va-LEND to raise awareness and advocate for people with disabilities. 
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Research Snapshot: Expanding the Availability and Quality of Rural Data 

In order to create policies and programs that serve the needs of people with disabilities in rural communities, it is important to know things about them, such as demographic information and location. The federal government maintains several large data sets that collect this information. However, it can be difficult to access rural disability data from these data sets (see Data Limitations in the American Community Survey: The Impact on Rural Disability Research).
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Next Steps at Vanderbilt (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) celebrates 10 years as TN's first inclusive higher ed program for students with intellectual disability 

For the past decade, students with intellectual disability have found an inclusive postsecondary education experience through Next Steps at Vanderbilt (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND). The program, housed in Peabody College of education and human development's Department of Special Education, is marking its 10th anniversary with events and commemorations throughout 2020. Read more...

Disabled Parenting in an Ableist World| Kara Ayers | TEDxCincinnatiWomen

Kara Ayers, Associate Director of the University of Cincinnati UCEDD recently gave at talk at TEDx Cincinnati on Disabled Parenting in an Ableist World. Kara's interests include disability identity/culture, bioethics, community inclusion, and the use of media to teach, empower, and reduce stigma. She serves on multiple task forces and national and state coalitions related to improving outcomes for people with disabilities. Her mantra, "Nothing about us without us," guides her in her personal and professional life. Read more...

UToledo Offers New Graduate Certificate Focused on Working Professionals

The Disability Studies Program at the University of Toledo has launched a new online graduate certificate focused on working professionals. The graduate certificate in disability studies was developed in conjunction with The Ability Center of Great Toledo, the region's independent living center, and is ideal for working professionals and graduate students seeking advancement in a wide range of areas, including policy, education, advocacy, compliance, medical and allied health, and many others. Read more...

Spanish Language Additions to MI-DDI Possibilities Video Series

In 2017, the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute (MI-DDI) participated in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) International Inclusion Fellowship offered by the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD). The fellowship featured both "inbound" and "outbound" visits, where professionals from the United States and Peru traveled to their colleague's respective countries. During her inbound visit, Fiorella Guerrero who works with WarmaKuna Hope in Lima spent five weeks collaborating with MI-DDI staff and other disability professionals from across Michigan. Read more...

OHSU UCEDD to host Complex Access and Communication Webinar Series

The UCEDD at Oregon Health & Science University Institute on Development and Disability is partnering with the Assistive Technology lab at Community Vision to present a webinar series, "Complex Access and Communication: A 3-Part Approach for Emerging Communicators." This webinar series will provide continuing education for professionals and caregivers to strengthen their skill set in utilizing augmentative and alternative communication methods. Webinar attendees will learn new techniques for supporting communication skills for individuals with complex communication needs. Read more...

Indiana Pilot Program Combatting Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Shows Early Promise

Every 15 minutes a baby in the United States is born diagnoses with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). However, a new Indiana program targeted at improving outcomes for mothers struggling with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and their newborns is showing strong, early results. The program, named CHOICES, which assists mothers and is attempting to combat (NAS) has been showing promise since its inception in 2016. In December of 2019 Indiana's effort was supported by a $5.2 million dollar grant from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).
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How Proposed SSDI Changes May Impact Rural People with Disabilities

Project Director Lillie Greiman and RTC:Rural Director Dr. Catherine Ipsen recently co-authored an article in The Conversation about proposed changes to disability benefits and how those could make it harder for people with disabilities, especially those in rural communities, to maintain federal benefits. Read more...

MCDD's Summer Learning Series

The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute hosts a Summer Learning Series from early June through July. The series consist of full-day and half-day workshops with interdisciplinary topics focused on working with individuals with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities and their families. Our training mission is to increase awareness, knowledge and competency in a wide range of settings and across a number of categories of content. Read more...

How can colleges best help students with learning disabilities?

The need for support for learning disabilities doesn't just stop because a student has graduated from high school. In fact, roughly 60% of students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) go on to college but only 34% graduate. And while interventions for school-aged children with SLDs is well-documented, research of college-aged students is sparse. Seeing the need for more research at the college level, a recent study asks a very important question. Read more...

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Mississippi LEND's Delta Initiative

The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies' LEND programmay be a program with a little "p", but that does not stop our LEND group from doing big things. After traveling to Dumas, Arkansas last year to observe the Arkansas LEND's Developmental Outreach Clinic which provides comprehensive interdisciplinary assessment of medical, health, social and educational needs of preschool and school-age children, Mississippi's LEND directors were inspired to explore potential opportunities in the Mississippi Delta. Read more... 

NJLEND Fellows Visit Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers University

The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities 2019-2020 NJ-LEND cohort visited the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center (DDDC) * at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, NJ. As part of The Boggs Center's NJLEND curriculum, there were many didactic seminar sessions on the topic of autism, such as part of the introduction to developmental disabilities, screening, autism research, autism registries, genetics, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2), and ABA. Visiting DDDC and getting a tour of many of the classrooms at the Douglass School on two campuses at Ryders Lane and Gibbons Circle gave the fellows a glimpse of ABA.  Read more... 

MMI, Special Olympics Nebraska Team on Program

Sitting on the gym floor at Birchcrest Elementary School in Bellevue, Arya is using a plastic ball to knock down a row of plastic bowling pins. Around her, volunteers from the Munroe-Meyer Institute and Special Olympics Nebraska applaud and cheer when she scatters the pins, drawing a smile from the 6-year-old. Arya, who has Down syndrome, is one of 35 children, ages 2-7, taking part in the Young Athletes Program, a collaboration between Special Olympics Nebraska and MMI LEND students that introduces children, with and without disabilities, to the building blocks of sports. Read more... 

International Service Learning and its Implications for Healthcare Practice

One of the twelve Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Leadership Competencies includes cultural competency. As stated in the handbook, cultural competence is "a developmental process that occurs along a continuum and evolves over an extended period" (Maternal Health & Child Bureau, 2018). What better way to engage in this developmental process than to participate in international service learning? Read more... 

From Village to Village

Gomba's organization, Shirati for Active Rehabilitation and Development Organization, or SARDO, aims to promote inclusion for people with disabilities in all aspects of life. As an adult with a physical disability, Archy grew up understanding how disability can create barriers to getting an education, getting a job, or being accepted in the community. His organization focuses on supportive interventions, because he knows even simple supports can make a big difference. Like school supplies for students with disabilities who often face discrimination and exclusion in his country. Read More...

NIH Seeks Input for New Directions for Health-Related Behavioral and Social Sciences Research

The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks broad input on important new directions for health-related behavioral and social sciences research (BSSR) that will support the achievement of the scientific priorities in the OBSSR Strategic Plan 2022-2026 and that will advance or transform the broader health impact of BSSR. OBSSR is interested in research directions that are trans-disease and cross-cutting in nature and that address critical gaps in the field. Read more...

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AUCD Offers 3 Virtual Policy Events

Are you an Emerging Leader or new to policy advocacy and education? Are you interested in talking more about what's happening in federal policy? Are you ready to connect with your Members of Congress? AUCD is offering 3 virtual policy events, register today!  Read more...

Step Up Assistive Technoclogy to Promote Early Literacy

Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET

Join Michelle Schladant, PhD, ATP for a discussion on the importance of assistive technology (AT) for early literacy development. Dr. Schladant will provide an overview of the use of AT in early childhood, the current best practices as well as where we are headed in the field. She will explain the current IDEA policies related to AT at the level of state programs and school districts and highlight the tools and resources available to families. 
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The Impact of Social Media

Thursday, March 26, 2020, 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET

The AUCD Council for Community Education and Dissemination and Communications SIG are co-hosting a webinar on the impact of Social Media for UCEDDs with guests Matt Gianino from the Institute on Disability of University of New Hampshire and Mark Crenshaw from the Center for Leadership at Georgia State University. The will discuss how to use social media within the context of a UCEDD, why social media isimportant, how impact is made and how to measure use, especially for NIRS. Read more...

Research by UCEDDs

Tuesday, April 14, 2020, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET

This webinar will address the Research UCEDD core function. This is the seventh installment of a multi-part series titled "Coffee and TA," addressing the UCEDD core functions as categorized in NIRS. This webinar features three UCEDDs (Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities, and the Waisman Center) conducting innovative research work. Read more...

Institute on Theology & Disability

May 18-21, 2020, Holland, MI

The vision of the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability is to expand the depth and breadth of theological inquiry and resources that address and include the gifts, needs, and contributions of people with disabilities and their families to theological learning and religious practice.  Read more...

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