AUCD Central Office News

Highlights from the AUCD 2012 Annual Conference

AUCD 2012 Awards Presented to Outstanding Individuals
18 awards were presented to network members and friends at the 2012 AUCD Conference. We are incredibly proud to recognize those who have made exceptional contributions to the lives of people with disabilities and their families.

• Distinguished Achievement Award: David Mank, PhD
• Outstanding Achievement Award: Royal Walker Jr., JD
• Special Recognition Award: Steven M. Eidelman, MBA, MSW
• Meritorious Service Award: Rose Ann Parrish, MSN
• Leadership in Advocacy Award: Angela Martin, MSW
• Young Professional Award: Erik Carter, PhD
• Young Professional Award: Ilka Riddle, PhD
• Anne Rudigier Award: Jody M. Pirtle, PhD
• International Award: Tamar Heller, PhD
• Multicultural Council Award for Leadership in Diversity: William Gaventa, MDiv, and the NJ Cultural Competence Collaborative
• Council on Community Advocacy Award: Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington
• Gold Star Award: Andrew J. Imparato
• Service to the Organization Award:Tawara Goode, MA
• Service to the Organization Award: Tamar Heller, PhD
• Service to the Organization Award: Margaretha Izzo, PhD
• Service to the Organization Award: Barbara Wheeler, PhD
• President's Award: A. Anthony Antosh, EdD

Artwork Showcase

Thank you to all artists and centers for the pictures submitted in response to our Call for Art by People with Disabilities! View photos of over 400 submitted works of art here on Flickr. Watch the video and audio guided presentation highlighted at kiosks throughout the AUCD 2012 Conference here through Adobe Connect or on our YouTube channel (captioned video).

Thank you to all who attended and participated in the 2012 AUCD Conference! We had a great time learning and sharing the newest in promising practices and innovations that shape the lives of people with disabilities and their families through research, policy, education, and service. We continue to post additional session materials, photos, and wrap up items on the conference website and in the app, so check back often, and save the date for Nov 16-20, 2013.

Megan Kovac is AUCD's Early Career Professionals' January Guest Blogger

AUCD is pleased to announce the Early Career Professionals' January guest blogger - Megan Kovac. Megan is a LEND trainee from the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities in Chapel Hill, NC. Please take a moment to read Visiting Scholar Protocol (VSP): Piloting a Guide for Trainee Exchange within the AUCD Network.

AUCD Trainee Welcome Guide Available

This Trainee Welcome Guide is intended to welcome new trainees to the AUCD network, help them understand the depth and breadth of the network they are a part of, and outline some of the many benefits and resources available to them so they can maximize their time as a trainee in one of AUCD's member programs. A membership card is included to solidify trainee identification as a "card-carrying member" of AUCD. Read more....

Network News - Activities & Resources

Iowa's Used Equipment Referral Service, a Program of the IA UCEDD/LEND, Saves Persons with Disabilities and their Families over $1 Million in 2012 While Facilitating Community Inclusion

Iowa's Used Equipment Referral Service (UERS) is an online listing service which allows users to post free ads for adaptive equipment which they wish to buy or sell. It is maintained by Iowa COMPASS, Iowa's statewide information and referral service for disability-related programs. Funds to support UERS come from the Iowa Program for Assistive Technology (IPAT) housed at the University of Iowa Center for Disabilities and Development, Iowa's UCEDD. For the third year in succession, UERS was ranked number one among adaptive technology exchange programs in the US in products sold and consumer cost savings. Read more...

UCEDD Self-Determination Self-Assessment Checklist

The UCEDD Self-Determination Self-Assessment Checklist provides the UCEDD with a straightforward tool and process to determine the degree to which its policies, practices, and personnel, at a given point in time, are promoting self-determination for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families. The result will be a profile of the organization's performance that can be used to identify areas to strengthen, and to suggest resources and strategies for desired improvements. Read more...

Self-Advocacy Organizational Development Grantees Announced

AUCD received a total of 41 applications from self-advocacy groups representing a significant number of states and territories across the country. Applications were received from 24 self-advocacy groups interested in obtaining 501(c)3 status (Group A), and 17 self-advocacy groups interested in providing peer-to-peer technical assistance (Group B). Congratulations the following Self-Advocacy Organizational Development Grantees!

Grant "A" Grantees: Arkansas People First - North Little Rock, AR;Self-Advocates United as 1 - Greenville, PA;Voices of Virginia - Richmond, VA; Autistic Self-Advocacy Network-Portland Chapter - Portland, OR; andNew Mexico Allies for Advocacy - Albuquerque, NM.

Grant "B" Grantees: Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered - Phoenix, AZ; Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition - Denver, CO; and Peer Action Disability Support - Iowa City, IA.

Baltimore MCHB Training Programs Join to Discuss Cultural Competence

As an ongoing activity of the 2011 Maryland MCHB Diversity Learning Collaborative, the Kennedy Krieger Institute LEND program co-sponsored a day-long conference and faculty workshop on December 11, Room to Grow: Journey to Cultural Competency with the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities and the Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions. Tarawa Goode of the National for Cultural Competence at the Georgetown University was the keynote speaker and workshop leader. Read more...

SC Assistive Technology Program at the Unversity of South Carolina School of Medicine (SC UCEDD/LEND) Solves Problems and Changes Lives

The S.C. Assistive Technology Program, which Carol Page, PhD, directs through the School of Medicine, provides help to any person in South Carolina with a disability by finding technology solutions for many obstacles. In the program's resource center there are toys to help children with literacy problems, books with sponges on the corners to help individuals who cannot turn pages, forks and spoons with modifications for individuals with motor control problems and of course, computers and software for a variety of disabilities. Read more...

Bill Kiernan, PhD, MA ICI UCEDD/LEND, Cited in an Article about the Pending Disabled Employees Amendment

A recent article by Fast Company discssed a proposed rule that would force businesses to hire disabled workers. Dr. Kiernan was quoted saying: "Concerns about excessive costs for implementation and data collection are overshadowed by the economic costs to American society when we allow this untapped work-force to remain marginalized and nonproductive." Read more...

Nisonger Center (OH UCEDD/LEND) Literacy Programs for Adults with IDD Focus on Social Engagement and Community Inclusion

For the last 10 years Tom Fish, PhD, LISW, and his colleagues at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center (OH UCEDD/LEND) have been developing literacy programs with and for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Rather than being didactic in nature, these efforts have focused on literacy within the context of social engagement and community inclusion. For example, the Next Chapter Book Clubs (NCBC) meet only in bookstores, coffee shops and cafés so that members can feel like part of the community and enjoy a cup of coffee while they read out loud with their friends every week for an hour.  Read more...

The Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii (HI UCEDD/LEND) Moves to New Location

As a highlight of this past year, the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaii, after more than two decades in trailers and widely-dispersed temporary facilities, was able to acquire a “core” office. Although the new location is not large enough to house all staff, the location allows the Center the first-ever ability to have a centralized coffice with accessible facilities. Read more...

TN Vanderbilt UCEDD Educates Legislators on Experiences of Families on the Waiting List for Waiver Services

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN-UCEDD), through its Tennessee Kindred Stories of Disability project, has compiled a booklet for legislators to share the experiences of families who are on the waiting list for home and community-based waiver services. An annual collaboration with The Arc Tennessee, the special edition booklet was developed with the hope of increasing the likelihood that new funding would be allocated to the waiting list. The booklet breaks down that number of individuals by county to give legislators a better idea about the needs in their own districts. Read more...

New Research Project on Vocational Rehabilitation at the MA ICI UCEDD/LEND

The Institute for Community Inclusion is proud to announce a new grant-funded project: the Vocational Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (VR-RRTC) On Demand-Side Strategies. The project is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). The ICI's project partners are the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation, the Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and the New England Council (NEC). Read more...

Submissions

News items may be submitted for consideration via the
AUCDigest Submission page.

Housing Program Celebration at the MS UCEDD Honors 500 Mississippians with Disabilities

Many Mississippians with disabilities once thought owning their own home was just a dream. In the past 15 years, 500 individuals with disabilities and their families have realized their dream of becoming homeowners through The University of Southern Mississippi Institute for Disability Studies' Home of Your Own (HOYO) program. "In 1997, the Home of Your Own program began as the dream of advocates who knew that individuals with disabilities could be successful homeowners," says Royal Walker, Jr., JD, executive director of the Institute. "That year four families were assisted. Now, as we complete our 15th year of service, the HOYO program has assisted 500 Mississippians. Read more...

Multi-Modal Communication and Learning Strategies for Children with Significant Challenges

April 4-5, 2013
Honolulu, HI

Are you working with children who face severe and multiple challenges such as Cerebral Palsy, Rett Syndrome, cortical visual impairment, deaf-blindness, Autism, intellectual disabilities, and/or Traumatic Brain Injury? Do these children also have complex communication needs? Where do teachers and therapists begin to find the most effective resources and strategies to teach them? Then you might find this training helpful. Read more and register.

Health Disparities Research at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity, and Disability: A National Conference

April 25-26, 2013
Washington, DC

The conference is intended to bring together researchers, advocates, and policy makers in racial and ethnic disparities and disability-related disparities to:

- Learn about barriers to health care and health promotion for people with disabilities in underserved racial and ethnic groups
- Share your own work on health disparities at this intersection
- Discuss priorities for future research and action

Read more and submit your proposal by January 14, 2013.

Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity
Call for Papers

April 29-30, 2013
Honolulu, HI

The 2013 Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity is seeking papers--or performances--related to "Disability Studies as a Performative Act." The 2013 Disability Studies & Culture topic area will focus on the complexity of identities and how such identities are performed, represented and negotiated. Submissions will be considered for poster presentations, interactive roundtables, 30-minute topical presentations, 60-minute breakout presentations, 90-minute seminar/colloquium, and 120-minute interactive workshops. Read more and submit your proposal by January 22, 2013.