Archived News
Archive: What's New
2/23/2024
Exploring the Intersectionality of Ability, Race, & Religion
Dr. Nicholas Wright and Maria Kemplin, staff at the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute, received a University of Kentucky Office for Institutional Diversity Award to support programs that are student-centric and foster collaboration through partnerships that address the important of diverse views and cultures. In partnership with the Martin Luther King Center and the Disability Resource Center, staff will explore the intersectionality of ability, and race.
2/23/2024
Video Podcast Series: Life After LEND
Meet Sharon Williams, LEND Class of 2019-2020
In this episode, meet Sharon Williams, LEND Class of 2019-2020. Sharon was a LEND trainee from the US Virgin Islands. She lives on the island of St. Croix with her husband and daughter Sharon joined the Virgin Islands UCEDD (University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities) in 2012 and is the Assistant Director of Assistive Technology.
2/22/2024
Higher Ed Grants Coming Soon
Aiming to boost college options for Minnesota students with intellectual disability, the Institute on Community Integration's new Inclusive Higher Education Technical Assistance (TA) Center is collaborating with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education as it implements a competitive grant process this spring.
2/22/2024
Support Work: Realizing Inclusion
The Direct Support Workforce Solutions group at the MN UCEDD works with employers, state officials, and related stakeholders to recruit and retain direct support professionals.
2/22/2024
To Survive, and to Laugh
Air-raid sirens interrupt classes and rip through other aspects of daily life in western Ukraine. For Sergiy Sydoriv, an education professor at Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, life outside the heavy bombardment area comes with blaring reminders that life is still far from normal.
2/22/2024
Transforming the Landscape of Behavioral Health Access for Geographically Dispersed and Military-Connected Children and Families across the Midwest
Accessing and navigating services for children with developmental, emotional, or behavioral health (D/E/B) concerns has greater complexity for military families, geographically-dispersed families, and families who are highly mobile or lack providers near their homes. University of Minnesota's Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) has received $3.5 million to lower these barriers as a partner in the Department of Defense Child Collaboration Study "A Research Collaboratory to Explore Best Practices for Expanding Access to Care Through Expansion and Support of Telehealth Care for Children and Families with Behavioral Health Needs."
2/20/2024
Announcement of AUCD-ASTHO Grant Awardees
The Association of University Centers on Disability (AUCD) through a partnership with The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) is pleased to announce the recipients of our 2024 grants for the Disability and Health Secondary or Existing Data Analysis funding opportunity. These grants will support three organizations to conduct timely analyses of existing data to answer targeted research or policy questions related to disability and health.
2/16/2024
AR UCEDD, Partners for Inclusive Communities, Receives $10M from AR Department of Human Services
The University of Arkansas - Partners for Inclusive Communities team was awarded over $10 million from the AR Department of Human Services to expand home and community-based services for children and families! Three new projects, Prevrntion, Stabilization, and Support; Families in Transition Teams; and a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Pilot, will be led by Director Karan Burnette and Associate Director Dr. Elizabeth Cleveland. These projects will help further its mission of facilitating the inclusion of people with disabilities in community life.
2/16/2024
Episode 24 of BoggsCast Now Available: Person-Centered Supervision with Gina Brelesky
The Boggs Center is excited to share the latest episode of 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. In this episode, Gina Brelesky, MPA, Founder and Lead Coach at Experience Human, discusses person-centered supervision of Direct Support Professionals.
2/16/2024
PATHS Graduate, Daylan Bachik Shares his Transition Experiences on the TEA Website
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) video series captures real-life examples and recommendations for transition planning. In this video, Daylan Bachik shares his story of his successful transition to a career in education. Daylan is a 2023 PATHS graduate, graduating Magna Cum Laude. His chosen track of study was as a Direct Support Professional - Paraprofessional.
2/16/2024
The Vermont UCEDD Releases Episode 21 of "Green Mountain Disability Stories" Podcast, Featuring Michele Streeter, A Mom to a Child with Disabilities and Family Resource Consultant (VM UCEDD)
Green Mountain Disability Stories is a series of conversations about disability and inclusion, by and with Vermonters with disabilities, and their family members, educators, and medical professionals. Michele Streeter is mom to Ocean and April Streeter, two siblings you met in Episode 20.
2/16/2024
West Virginia UCEDD Launches New West Virginia Autism Resource Directory (WV UCEDD)
This directory contains information on autism services and resources available to West Virginia residents. The list can be filtered by checking different boxes below. Resources are organized into three main categories: Therapy, Evaluations and Other.
2/15/2024
The Coach to Communicate Program at Texas A&M University Continues to Offer Training at No Cost to Texas Parents and Caregivers
The Coach to Communicate program at Texas A&M University continues to offer training at no cost to Texas parents and caregivers of children up to age 22 with core features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Parents and caregivers will learn how to improve their child's communication skills. The Coach to Communicate (C2C) program is provided by a research grant sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Enrollment is open year-round, so parents are welcome to register and begin at any time that is convenient for them.
2/12/2024
Missouri UCEDD Launches New Website
The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Institute for Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the state of Missouri, has just launched its new website at ihd.umkc.edu. The site showcases the breadth and depth of programs and resources that IHD offers to individuals with disabilities, their family members, service providers, and other professionals.
2/12/2024
Shelly Baer Recognized as Exceptional Leader within the Community
Rochelle 'Shelly' Baer, LCSW of the University of Miami Mailman Center for Child Development, has been awarded the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's 2023 Community Partner Award. The Department of Public Health Sciences recognizes Shelly's exceptional leadership. Numerous public health students have benefited from collaborating with her in co-facilitating SALT and SELP initiatives.
2/6/2024
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Researcher Beth Malow Receives Grant to Mount Sleep Program for Children with Autism
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) member Beth Malow, MD, MS, has received a three-year, $249,660 grant from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to mount a community-based educational program for improving sleep in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
2/5/2024
APA 2024 Convention - Division 33 (ID/ASD) Conference Activities/Awards and Sponsor Opportunities
UCEDD/LEND/IDDRC directors are invited to become an official sponsor/co-sponsor of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 33 (ID/ASD) 2024 convention activities. The APA Division 33 and UCEDD/LEND/IDDRC directors have much in common. In fact, several past and current APA Division 33 Presidents and members of our leadership have been/are UCEDD/LEND/IDDRC directors. For example, our current APA Division 33 Executive Committee members include: Marc J. Tasse, Elizabeth A. Laugeson, Karrie A Shogren, and Micah Mazurek.
2/1/2024
Medical and Dental Curricula on IDD: Training Inclusive Providers
A Study on How Medical and Dental Schools Teach Students about IDD
Past research has shown that many medical and dental students do not learn about IDD in school. The WITH Foundation, AUCD, and UC-LEND, led by Dr. Kashia Rosenau, collaborated to learn more about how medical and dental schools are teaching students about intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The study found that most of the schools had self-advocates to help them teach their medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD. The study also found that medical and dental students want to learn more about caring for their patients with disabilities. Overall, the study highlights the importance of teaching medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD and including more self-advocates in this training.
1/30/2024
Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute and Michigan Vaccination Partners accomplishments Highlighted in APHA's Thought Leadership Film Series
The American Public Health Association (APHA) selected the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Institute (MI-DDI) at Wayne State University and the Michigan Vaccination Partners project to be featured in the APHA 2023 Thought Leadership Film Series. The series profiles cutting-edge efforts to address public health issues being led by researchers, advocates and organizations across the country.
1/30/2024
New Issue Released of Review of Disability Studies: Extended Volume on Disability and China (Vol 18, No.4 & Vol 19 No. 1)
The Center on Disability Studies, College of Education, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, is pleased to announce the release of the Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal Special Issue on China and Disability. The 595-page issue (Volume 18, Issue 4 & Volume 19, Issue 1) was guest-edited by Drs. Luanjiao Hu, The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy, Brandeis University, and Fengming Cui, Harvard University.
1/29/2024
Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities: Removing barriers to vaccine access with rural Spanish speakers with disabilities
The Administration on Community Living (ACL) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are funding local trusted disability and aging partners to build vaccine confidence. In Montana, ACL/CDC funding supports the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, the Montana Developmental Disabilities Council, Disability Rights Montana, Montana Centers for Independent Living, Area Agencies on Aging, and Aging and Disability Resource Centers. These funded partners are coordinating activities to connect people with disabilities and older adults to vaccination resources.
1/26/2024
Apply Today: AUCD Leadership Academy
The deadline to apply is March 1st at 5:00 PM EST
The AUCD Leadership Academy is a week-long intensive experience, paired with a year of pre and post interactions designed to enhance the skills of current and emerging leaders from disability networks to build coalitions to improve systems of supports and services. The Leadership Academy engages participants from UCEDDs, LENDs, and the wider community of disability partners to come together to immerse themselves for a week of study, shared experiences, self-evaluation, and skill development.
1/23/2024
A National Partnership to Advance Peer-Support Models for People Who Need Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is pleased to announce that the University Center of Excellence in Development Disabilities Education, Research, and Service (UCEDD) at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), in partnership with CommunicationFIRST, has been selected as the recipient of a subaward to create a national partnership to develop an approach and plan to advance peer-support models for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users.
1/19/2024
3rd Round of the ProFellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagemen Launched
ProFellows Derrick Willis, Director of the University of Iowa's Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) and AUCD President, and Bakar Hamad, Executive Director of the Organization of Women with Disabilities in Zanzibar (JUWAUZA), joined esteemed dignitaries to celebrate 15 years of JUWAUZA's dedicated service to women with disabilities in Zanzibar! Dignitaries included the second Vice President of Zanzibar, the Hon. Hemed Suleiman Abdulla.
1/19/2024
Intern Perspectives: Reflections on OHSU UCEDD's Summer Internship Program Shaping Disability Advocacy
Each summer, the OHSU University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) offers internship opportunities to high school or early college students interested in pursuing a career in health care, with an emphasis on disability. It is a delight to watch these students progress and grow during the 8-week program which places students in different centers, clinic groups, and research labs across the Institute on Development and Disability. Every now and then, we receive updates on some of their ongoing academic and professional adventures.
1/18/2024
ICI, UM Extension Partner For 4-H Youth
The MN UCEDD has created accommodation kits containing tools to better accommodate Minnesota 4-H members with and without disabilities. The training also shared tips about more fully including youth with disabilities.
1/17/2024
Student Spotlight - Blake Jackson
Meet Blake Jackson, a resilient second-year student in the Direct Support Professional - General (DSP-G) track. As a proud member of the PATHS class 2024 in the fightin' Texas Aggie community, Blake is enrolled in the Postsecondary Access and Training in Human Services (PATHS) Program, where he finds inspiration in Andrey Hepburn's timeless words: "Nothing is impossible, the Word itself says "I'm possible'!".
1/16/2024
Five-year Grant to Support KU Project's Goal to Make Disability Data Accessible and Inclusive for Broad Audiences
Numbers alone can't tell a story. That's the foundation of a project now based at the University of Kansas that takes volumes of raw federal and state expenditure data and distills that information for everyone - including policymakers, service providers and individuals with developmental disabilities and their families - to help them make the most informed decisions.
1/16/2024
Missouri's UCEDD Develops "After Abuse: Resources for Missourians with Disabilities"
The University of Missouri-Kansas City's Institute for Human Development, the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the state of Missouri, in cooperation with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council, has published a new online resource called After Abuse: Resources for Missourians with Disabilities to help people with disabilities learn about abuse and what happens when it is reported.
1/12/2024
Indiana LEND's Dr. McNally Keehn Awarded the Rising Trailblazer Award
Indiana LEND's Rebecca McNally Keehn, PhD was the winner of the Indiana University School of Medicine's 2023 Rising Trailblazer Award. The award recognizes outstanding early career faculty who are emerging trailblazers in the Department of Pediatrics.
1/12/2024
RFP: Disability and Health Secondary or Existing Data Analysis
Deadline: January 30, 2024
There is an exciting opportunity for our stakeholders to receive funding for Disability and Health work. ASTHO and AUCD are seeking the services of highly qualified subrecipients that specialize in disability inclusion, disability measurement, health equity, and/or emergency preparedness and have expertise in health disparities among people with disabilities and data analysis methods.
1/10/2024
University of Massachusetts Boston Institute for Community Inclusion Partners with the International Disability Alliance and the African Disability Forum on International Fellowship Program
The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Boston, in collaboration with the International Disability Alliance (IDA) and the African Disability Forum (ADF), has been awarded a grant from the US Department of State to launch the third round (FY 2023) of the Professional Fellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagement. This program, designed for emerging leaders in East Africa, aims to facilitate exchange and implementation of best practices for disability-inclusive civic engagement.
1/9/2024
Researchers Find Possible Neuromarker for 'Juvenile-onset' Batten Disease
New research from the University of Rochester Medical Center, an AUCD IDDRC Network site, suggests an easy-to-measure brain process may be a target or biomarker in measuring treatment outcomes in clinical trials for patients with Batten disease.
1/5/2024
Dr. Marcia Montague selected as the 2023-2024 Provost Academic Professional Track (APT) Faculty Teaching Excellence Awardee
Established in 2019 with a gift from the Marie M. and James H. Galloway Foundation, the Provost Academic Professional Track (APT) Faculty Teaching Excellence Award encourages, recognizes and rewards faculty recipients for exceptional teaching practices that create meaningful learning experiences for students.
1/5/2024
PATHS Graduate Highlight: Averie Lane Class of 2019
Since 2019, PATHS graduate, Averie Lane, has been very busy! Upon graduation, Averie has completely immersed herself in caring for children both at the daycare where she works and as a traveling nanny. Averie now has her own babysitting business that has really taken off. The word has spread throughout the community about the amazing level of care that she provides for each child that she is responsible for.
1/3/2024
Call for Applications: Healthy Weight Research Network 2024 Pilot and Feasibility Program
Deadline: February 16, 2024 (midnight)
Applications for the Healthy Weight Research Network 2024 Pilot and Feasibility Program are being accepted until February 16, 2024 (midnight). The goal of the Pilot & Feasibility Program is to advance the research agenda of the Healthy Weight Research Network (HWRN) by funding small pilot projects that foster the development of significant and innovative research by members of the Network and their collaborators.
1/3/2024
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Receives DOD Grant to Study Telehealth Deployment Across Rural Areas of Tennessee
The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) has received a $3.1 million grant from the Department of Defense (DOD) to study telehealth deployment across rural areas of Tennessee. The grant builds on a recent study that showed autism profiles can be identified early with the TELE-ASD-PEDS (TAP) tele-assessment tool created by the VKC and Monroe Carrell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt's Division of Developmental Medicine.
12/19/2023
Enlarged Spaces in Infant Brains Linked to Higher Risk of Autism, Sleep Problems
For the first time, researchers at the UNC School of Medicine's UNC Psychiatry, an AUCD IDDRC Network site, discovered that infants with abnormally enlarged perivascular spaces have a 2.2 times greater chance of developing autism, compared to infants with the same genetic risk. Their research also indicated that enlarged perivascular spaces in infancy are associated with sleep problems seven to 10 years after diagnosis.
12/19/2023
MCDD Hosts Project SEARCH Intern
The Maryland Center for Development Disabilities (MCDD) recently hosted an intern from Project SEARCH at Kennedy Krieger Institute. Project SEARCH at Kennedy Krieger Institute is a 10-month transition program for individuals 18 through 24 years of age that provides hands-on job training through integrated worksite rotations, career exploration, innovative adaptations and mentoring from experienced staff. Its goal is for interns to use their internships skills to gain competitive employment.
12/14/2023
Center for Transition to Adult Health Care for Youth with Disabilities Launches New Website
The Center for Transition to Adult Health Care for Youth with Disabilities, a national resource center funded by ACL's Administration on Disabilities (AoD), has launched a new website to help young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) direct their own transition to the adult health care system. The site also includes resources developed by Center partners, including Family Voices, Got Transition, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, and two AoD-funded University Centers of Excellence in Development Disabilities (UCEDDs): the Institute for Human Development at University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Both of these UCEDDs have done extensive work in the field of health care transitions for youth with I/DD.
12/14/2023
Inaugural Meeting of AUCD's Migration & Disability Special Interest Group
AUCD is happy to announce that during this year's AUCD Conference: "Emerging Leader Shaping The Future."The network's newest special interest group(SIG), the Migration and Disability SIG, held its inaugural meeting on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 7th. Convened and chaired by Eva Weiss of Temple University, the group aims to address a gap in knowledge and expertise at the crossroads of migration and disability.
12/14/2023
Now Available: The UNH Institute on Disability 2024 Calendar
The Institute on Disability's annual outreach calendar features original artwork from 13 talented artists connected to our mission. This year's calendar continues our tradition of coupling each work with an inspirational quote reflecting the values of the IOD. Calendars are printed in full color; 11.75" x 11.75".
12/14/2023
UI REACH Virtual Classes
UI REACH, a program for young adults with disabilities at the University of Iowa, is excited to announce two virtual courses that will be offered for the spring 2024 semester. The two courses that will be offered are "Social Skills in the Workplace" and "Healthier You." Classes will be held weekly with an instructor using an online platform. Students will be able to work collaboratively with their peers to achieve the class goals.
12/14/2023
Vaccine Outreach Toolkit Update
AUCD has added new resources for winter COVID-19 and flu vaccine recommendations. Resources include graphics, drafted captions, and alt text. These resources are supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)) through USAging as part of a financial assistance award to USAging totaling $74,999,835 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official view of, nor an endorsement, by USAging, ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
12/14/2023
Youth Equity Ambassador Program
New Leadership Opportunity for Youth with Disabilities - The National Center for Disability, Equity, and Intersectionality is currently accepting recommendations for Youth Equity Ambassadors. The National Center for Disability, Equity, and Intersectionality is part of the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCCEDD).
12/13/2023
Now Enrolling: Inclusive Education Pre-K-12 Micro-Credential
The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (ME UCEDD) was part of a collaborative team of faculty and staff with expertise in inclusive education that has developed an Inclusive Education Pre-K-12 Micro-Credential with funding from a competitive 2022-2023 mini-grant awarded by the University of Maine System Micro-Credential Initiative.
12/12/2023
UCCEDD Associate Director, Dr. Kara Ayers, featured in Women of Cincinnati Blog
The UCCEDD's Associate Director, Dr. Kara Ayers, was featured in the Women of Cincy blog. Dr. Ayers touches on disability, connection, and empathy, as well as highlighting the importance of how we can better care for one another.