AUCD360 - November 2021

AUCD2021: THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who participated, sponsored, exhibited, and presented at #AUCD2021! We are so glad you joined us for Learning Together: Connecting Research and Lived Experience. Here's a look at our impact. Read more...

Coordinated and Integrated Data System for the Early Identification (CIDSEI) of Young Children with Developmental Delays or Disabilities

The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) has expanded its National Center on Disability in Public Health efforts with a one-year project to identify states or territories with coordinated and integrated data systems for the early identification (CIDSEI) of young children with developmental delays or disabilities and to use this information to develop and pilot tools, materials, and resources to support additional states and territories in the development of a CIDSEI. Read more...

Welcome Newly 2021 Elected Board Members

On behalf of AUCD Nominating Committee Chair, Martin Blair, and Board President, Tawara Goode, AUCD is pleased to announce the newly elected members of the AUCD Board of Directors. These new members will begin their three-year term in November 2021. Congratulations! Read more...

AUCD and ecoAmerica Partner to Bring Disability Perspective to Climate Justice

"As we move into the fall and winter, we'll see our friends and families on special occasions. Our "Friends and Family" Campaign shares tools on how to keep encouraging vaccine confidence in non-judgmental ways. Ask a friend or a family member that you may have who is in a local community or civic group and reach out together to listen to any questions or concerns and share information in a kind way. This campaign has community organizing tips, ready to use sample presentations and newsletter articles, and plain language information on vaccinations and boosters.Learn more...

Friends and Family Campaign

As we move into the fall and winter, we'll see our friends and families on special occasions. Our "Friends and Family" Campaign shares tools on how to keep encouraging vaccine confidence in non-judgmental ways. Ask a friend or a family member that you may have who is in a local community or civic group and reach out together to listen to any questions or concerns and share information in a kind way. This campaign has community organizing tips, ready to use sample presentations and newsletter articles, and plain language information on vaccinations and boosters.. Learn more...

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Virginia UCEDD announces new Executive Director

Dr. Parthenia "Parthy" Dinora has been named the new Executive Director of the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Dinora has spent her career in the disability field administering direct service projects focused on community participation for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, conducting research and evaluation studies focused on disability services and supporting families, and generating new focus areas at the UCEDD. Read more...

CAC Chair Receives Wisconsin Diehard Award

Maria Nogueron, the Waisman Center's Constituent Advisory Committee (CAC) Chair from 2015-2021, was awarded the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities Diehard Award in October. The Diehard award is presented to a grassroots advocate or self-advocate who has made a significant contribution to advocacy work in Wisconsin. Read more...

Mailman Center Associate Director Dr. Jeffrey Brosco to Lead Population Health Initiative

Jeffrey P. Brosco, M.D., Ph.D., professor and associate director of the Mailman Center for Child Development in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has been appointed the department's inaugural associate chair of population health. Read more...

GAIPSEC Receives 'Access to Education' Award

The Georgia Inclusive Postsecondary Education Consortium (GAIPSEC), a project of the Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) at Georgia State University, was honored at the National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) Soiree of Stars Gala on October 21, with the Access to Education award. Read more...

Michael Baca Named Administrator of Iowa's Center for Disabilities and Development

Michael Baca was recently named administrator of the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital. CDD is home to Iowa's UCEDD and it's the state's tertiary level diagnosis and evaluation center for people with disabilities. Baca serves as a member of the core faculty for Iowa's LEND program, also based at CDD, and as administrator of its newly awarded IDDRC. Read more...

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The Ohio State University Nisonger Center's Behavior Support Services provides training to OSU East

The Ohio State University Nisonger Center's Behavior Support Services is now working with OSU East to provide training to nursing staff on working with individuals with developmental disabilities and challenging behavior while they are hospitalized. They will also be available to provide case specific consultation as needed. Read more...


Partners in Maine DD Network Collaborate on COVID-19 Vaccination Video PSAs

Partners in the Maine Developmental Disabilities Network (the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, Disability Rights Maine, Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, and Speaking Up for Us) collaborated with Gray Media Group (WAGM-TV) to design, produce and broadcast seven video public service announcements (PSAs) to help increase COVID-19 vaccinations among people with disabilities and direct support professionals; the individuals who support people with disabilities where they live and work. Read more...

WVU Expands Options for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

This fall six new West Virginia University students with intellectual and developmental disabilities are paving the way for future students to be able to go to college, live on campus and gain academic and career preparation. Read more...

The NCED Family Navigation Network: Mapping the Maze

Located with the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities, the Family Navigation Network offers family-led healthcare system navigation. Staffed by family members of children and youth with a variety of health conditions, we support other families in their own leadership and advocacy journey, and we promote family-centered care and family/professional partnerships. Read more...

A Community-Based Health and Nutrition Initiative for Families of Children with Developmental Delays and Disabilities

The PATHS Program application is now open and available for applicants to apply for the 2022-2024 cohort!!

The Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) Certificate Program prepares individuals for jobs as Direct Support Professionals and Child Care Professionals. Upon completing the two-year program at the Center on Disability and Development, participants earn a certificate that combines classroom instruction with hands-on career building experiences. Read more...

Introducing BoggsCast: A Podcast by The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities (NJ UCEDD/LEND)

Introducing BoggsCast: A Podcast by The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities (NJ UCEDD/LEND) The Boggs Center is excited to introduce BoggsCast, a podcast where faculty and staff explore best practice, showcase success stories, and help listeners envision possibilities for innovation through interviews with state and national experts. Read more...

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

The first video in a series of the Worth The Shot Campaign by the Mississippi Developmental Disabilities Network is now available to view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWORTVZdfyA. The video is available in long format and a 30-second format that will air on local television stations. The Mississippi Developmental Disabilities Network includes the Institute for Disability Studies, Disability Rights Mississippi and the Mississippi Council on Developmental Disabilities. Read more...

Putting Faith to Work: How Faith Communities Can Support Employment for People with Disabilities

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) researcher and VKC UCEDD co-director Erik Carter, Ph.D., collaborated with Bill Gaventa, M.Div., for a guest blog post on the Administration for Community Living (ACL). How do most of us get our job? It is often through personal relationships and networking that we find out about openings or others connect us to a job of interest. Or, in other words, social capital is often the pathway to work. Read more...

Grants to Help Parents/Future Parents with Disabilities

The University of Cincinnati UCEDD's Associate Director, Kara Ayers, is the co-investigator for two research centers that will help improve the experience of parenting and pregnancy for people with disabilities. These grants will fund research that address gaps in support and challenges that parents with disabilities may face. The funding of these research is made possible by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. Read more...

Charting the LifeCourse Nexus Ambassador Badge Academy

In the summer of 2021, Charting the LifeCourse Nexus piloted the Ambassador Badge Academy courses with a select group of LifeCourse Nexus Coaches. And, after a successful pilot run, the Ambassador Badge Academy courses are now available to all certified Charting the LifeCourse Ambassadors. Read more...

MHDD EDI Webinar on Intersectionality of Mental Health, Disabilities, and American Indian Culture

The MHDD EDI webinar from October 2021 highlights what AUCD is working on during November - Native American Heritage Month. It is a great way to learn more about these intersections and improve your cultural competency. Read more...

The Indigenous Communities Workgroup

The Indigenous Communities Workgroup will be meeting December 8 4-5pm ET. This meeting provides a space for programs to collaborate on effective and culturally competent indigenous engagement. Read more...

Iowa's Center for Disabilities and Development Publishes Its Post-COVID Annual Report

At the end of 2019, while working on the new strategic plan for the Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD, Iowa's UCEDD), we had no idea what lay ahead. We began 2020, challenged by tightening resources, and the ongoing need to build capacity to meet the demand for clinical services and community supports. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we responded with even more dedication to that mission, working together so that people with disabilities and their families enjoy healthy, independent lives in the community. Read more...

PATHS Virtual Open House

The PATHS Certificate Program at Texas A&M University will be hosing a virtual open house on Thursday, December 9, 2021 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. PATHS stands for Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services. The PATHS Certificate Program is an inclusive program that will prepare graduates to be Direct Support Professionals, Child Care Professionals or Para-Professionals.  Read more...

Hitting New Strides

Tonya Hinrichs was just cold-calling, really. Her 3-year-old son, Bentley, has pachygyria, a rare genetic brain disorder, and she was looking for intensive therapy options when she dialed the Munroe-Meyer Institute and left a message for Sandy Willett, PhD, director of the physical therapy department. Read more...

Think College Awarded Us Dept. of Education Grant to Increase Access to and Visibility of Inclusive Post-Secondary Education Programs Nationwide

Congratulations to ICI's Think College and partners for accepting a $5.9 million three-year award from the US Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education to expand their remarkable work of translating and disseminating research and best practices on inclusive post-secondary education for colleges and universities across the US. Read more...

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Alumni Update: Deeqaifrah Hussein (MN LEND, 2017-18)

Deeqaifrah Hussein is the interim executive director of special education and health services for Minneapolis Public Schools, the district recently announced. Hussein (MN LEND, 2017-18) was named a special education director in 2019 and serves on the board of the Autism Society of Minnesota. She chairs the Somali Parents Autism Network, among other community roles, and is the mother of two sons with autism. Read more...

LEND Representation in the Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Elizabeth Cleveland, PhD, CCC-SLP, Director of Training for the AR LEND, has been elected as the Arkansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association President-Elect for the 2022 calendar year. Dr. Cleveland was also recognized earlier this year as a Distinguished Early Career Professional through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Center. Read more...

Congratulations to Mrs. Melina Cavazos on her passing dissertation Defense on a topic about school psychologists' involvement in transition planning

Mrs. Melina Cavazos will be graduating with her doctoral degree in school psychology from Texas A&M University in December 2021. She has just defended for dissertation titled Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) Involvement in the Assessment and Planning of Postsecondary Transition in Texas. Mrs. Cavazos first joined the team as a Diversity Fellow funded by the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AIDD).   Read more...

AT3 Issue Brief: Assistive Technology and Long COVID

A new issue brief from the National Assistive Technology Act Technical Assistance and Training (AT3) Center describes how AT Act programs are helping individuals experiencing long-term effects from COVID-19 and provides examples of common assistive technology solutions. Use this tool to find the AT Act program in your state or territory. Read more

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2021 TASH Conference

From December 1 - 5, the 2021 TASH Conference - Virtual Edition will bring together individuals with significant disabilities and their allies to share resources and success stories, learn about field-driven best practices, and network within a community engaged in shared values. This year's theme, Celebrating Community and Connections, reminds us of the value of gathering together, as a diverse community to advance equity, opportunity and inclusion for all!  Read more...

2022 Texas Transition Conference

This year, we are offering the option to attend a live conference or online. We will be limiting the number of people who attend live to 360. This will allow for social distancing. TTC 2022 will be held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Denton Convention Center. Read more...

The National Training Institute on Effective Practices: Addressing Challenging Behavior 2022 is now open!

April 19-22, 2022 - Virtual

The National Training Institute provides an in-depth learning experience built around the #PyramidModel. The Institute, sponsored by Florida Center for Inclusive Communities and the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (OSEP) brings together experts from around the country who skillfully present three-hour workshops and 1-hour toolkit sessions offering practical, ready-to-use information on systems and practices to promote social-emotional development in young children. Read more...

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