News
9/18/2018
Tuesday with Liz: Disability Policy for All - We ALL Belong
This week, Liz interviews Amy Hewitt about AUCD's 2018 Conference. Amy discusses the conference theme, the importance of inclusion, and exciting conference events.
9/17/2018
Article published by international fellow hosted by VT UCEDD
After spending five weeks in the US in an intensive fellowship program for inclusive disability employment, Victoria Lihiru returned home to Tanzania ready to make changes. She recently published an article in The Guardian newspaper in Tanzania, reflecting on her fellowship experiences and progress needed for people with disabilities. Her article is titled "Disability inclusive employment: My two cents from Green Mountain state" and can be read online: https://www.ippmedia.com/en/features/abilityinclusive-employment-my-two-cents-green-mountain-stat This article followed her participation in the Professional Fellows Program for Inclusive Disability Employment. This fellowship program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, and administered by AUCD in partnership with the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Humanity and Inclusion.
9/17/2018
Institute on Disability and Human Development (IL UCEDD) Employee Participates in Public Art Display
Over the summer, the Chicago Lighthouse, a social service organization serving people with blindness, visual impairments, disabilities, and Veterans, in partnership with Huber Financial Advisors, sponsored a public art display in Chicago entitled, "Lighthouses on the Mag Mile". Over 100 artists, more than half who had disabilities, from the community painted 6-foot-tall fiberglass lighthouse sculptures and they were subsequently displayed on Chicago's famous Michigan Ave.
9/17/2018
MNLEND Fellow Develops Sensory Friendly Sunday at Museum
Fellows from the Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program (MNLEND) at the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD) have been instrumental in creating Sensory Friendly Sunday, a free monthly event at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis for children, teenagers, and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder or sensory sensitivities, and their families. This first-of-its-kind program in a Twin Cities museum, Sensory Friendly Sunday, which launched in May, offers the opportunity for families to make art together, explore galleries, watch a short film, or just relax in a setting with accommodations that make it more comfortable.
9/17/2018
Social Skills Groups Adapted from Seeking Safety Model for Adolescents and Young adults with Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health Diagnoses (CA UCEDD)
Authors: Lina Rodas, Bridgid Mariko Conn, Caitlin S. Sayegh, Sari Glassgold, and Sara Sherer
Mental health providers from the University of Southern California University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (USC UCEDD) and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine (DAYAM) have adapted Seeking Safety to promote social skills development among adolescents and young adults with developmental disabilities (DD) and co-morbid mental health diagnoses.
9/17/2018
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN UCEDD, LEND, IDDRC) Investigator Explores Motivations of Peer Mentors in Inclusive Higher Education Programs
Research conducted across five universities in Tennessee1 explored why college students become peer mentors, what they hope to gain from the experience, and how their expectations might encourage opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) both during and beyond their college programs.
9/12/2018
Maximizing Leadership Potential in Racial and Ethnic Minority LEND Trainees
The LEND programs of the PacWest region have worked together and consistently sought ways to strengthen interdisciplinary leadership training and achieve a diverse MCH workforce over the past four years. We began the process by identifying barriers and gaps in supporting and mentoring racially and ethnically diverse LEND trainees.
9/11/2018
Tuesdays with Liz: Alexander Santana Talks Immigration and Family Separation
This week, Liz asks Alexander Santana to explain some of the work he does around immigration as part of the Vanderbilt Kennedy UCEDD in Tennessee and the Tennessee Disability Pathfinder. He talks what leads someone to leave their home country, the implications of family separation at the border, and multilingual resources available to immigrants and refugees with disabilities.
9/10/2018
MN UCEDD Partners with MN DHS to Produce Multi-Cultural Films on Autism
The Institute on Community Integration (ICI) at the University of Minnesota (MN UCEDD), in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), has produced, "On the Autism Spectrum: Families Find Help and Hope," a series of five short films that raise awareness and understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and of services available to Minnesota families within the African American, Hmong, Latino, Native American, and Somali communities. The new films were created for and are distributed by DHS to provide support, encouragement, and direction for families in diverse communities who experience ASD, inspiring them to use available resources.
9/9/2018
Briefing for Maryland Advisory Committee (MD UCEDD)
The Maryland Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights hosted a briefing on disproportionate discipline in Maryland Public Schools. The purpose of the all-day event was to hold a public meeting to examine the discipline, suspension, and expulsion rates for students of color students with disabilities. The Maryland data indicate that disproportionality remains a serious concern in Maryland schools.
9/9/2018
Training the Next Generation of Self-Advocate Leaders in Florida (FL UCEDD)
By Jairo Arana
It was President John F. Kennedy who said "when written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity." With this in mind, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council with its sister agencies, the UM Mailman Center UCEDD, USF Florida Center for Inclusive Communities UCEDD, and Disability Rights of Florida contracted with the University of Delaware to develop the Florida DD Network Collaborative Leadership Program. Its purpose is to prepare the next generation of leaders. Some sobering facts, stated in a study by the University of Delaware: "over 50% of the CEOs surveyed did not have a succession plan for their organizations. Almost without exception, the leadership crisis has been a major topic of focus at recent conferences for developmental disability professionals."
9/7/2018
Interim Director Appointed at UMKC Institute for Human Development (MO UCEDD)
George Gotto, IV, Ph.D., has been appointed interim director of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Institute for Human Development (IHD) (MO UCEDD). His appointment began on August 6. Gotto joined IHD in 2009 and was named Associate Director of Research in 2016. He holds a joint appointment as Research Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, UMKC School of Medicine. He also serves as director of the Interdisciplinary Leadership in Disability Studies certificate at UMKC.
9/6/2018
Bill Beechler, MD FAAP, Authors Essay Included in Book on Media Representations of Disability (IN LEND)
Bill Beechler, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at the Riley Child Development Center, recently pursued his passions for comic books and popular culture by writing an essay that was included in a new publication. Dr. Beechler's Essay is titled "Superheroes in a Silent World - Hawkeye and El Deafo" and was included in the book "The Image of Disability: Essays on Media Representation".
9/6/2018
Leader in Disabilities Education Jared Schultz, PhD, Joins UA College of Education and UA Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities (AZ Sonoran UCEDD)
Jared Schultz, PhD, a noted leader in disabilities education and research, has joined the UA College of Education as a professor in the Department of Disability and Psychoeducational Studies and the UA Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities as the director of research. The Sonoran Center is housed within the UA Department of Family and Community Medicine, where Dr. Schultz also will have a joint appointment.
9/4/2018
AUCD Emerging Leaders Community
A community of emerging AUCD leaders making a difference for people with disabilities around the world. Learn, connect, get involved, and grow with us!
9/4/2018
Dr. Jennifer Ganz awarded grant from the National Center for Special Education Research (TX UCEDD)
Dr. Jennifer Ganz awarded grant from the National Center for Special Education Research Please join us in congratulating Dr. Jennifer Ganz, a CDD Affiliated Faculty Member, Dr. Kimberly Vannest also from TAMU and Dr. Pustejovsky from UT. They were recently awarded a $600,000 grant from the National Center for Special Education Research. Meta-Analyses of Variables Related to Instruction in Augmentative and Alternative Communication Implementation.
