Prevention & Wellness

News

• AUCD Celebrates the Anniversary of the Olmstead Decision

  "Olmstead sent a clear message that people with disabilities have a right to thrive in their own homes, and that self-determination and community integration are not just aspirational goals, but a fundamental human right," said Andrew Imparato, Executive Director of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.

• New Factsheet on Survivor Justice Is Disability Justice

  Schools Must Protect Students with Disabilities from Sexual Harassment.

  The National Women's Law Center (NWLC), National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD), Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), and National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) are excited to release our joint fact sheet in honor of the 47th anniversary of Title IX.

• Parent Advocacy Training for Somali Parents of Children with Autism (ME UCEDD and NH-ME LEND)

  Over the past two decades, Maine has experienced rapid growth of racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse populations. Although Maine's population is largely White (95%), children in Maine are disproportionately from minority populations; currently 9% of children in Maine are from a race other than White.

• 54 Learn the Signs.Act Early. Ambassadors Complete Annual Training at NCBDDD/CDC

  42 new Learn the Signs. Act Early. Ambassadors joined forces with a veteran cohort of 12 Ambassadors representing 48 states, 3 territories and the District of Columbia on the campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the Annual Act Early Ambassador Training April 30-May 1, 2019 hosted by the Learn the Signs. Act Early.

• Meet Ellie Jarvie

  Former Disability Advocacy LEND fellow in 2017-2018

  While Tourette Syndrome was once classified as a rare disorder, studies now show that 1 in 160 school aged children will have Tourette Syndrome or a tic disorder. Six in seven youth with Tourette will have another mental, behavioral or developmental disorder.

• Vanderbilt Kennedy Center's (IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) LEND Self-advocate Trainees Learn from and Demonstrate the Benefits of Inclusive Environments

  Author: Courtney Taylor

  The definition and purpose of disability inclusion is to be sure that everyone has the same opportunities to participate in every aspect of life to the best of their abilities and desires. In the 2018-19 academic year, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Consortium LEND (VCL) Training Program through the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center welcomed two self-advocates to their cohort of trainees for the first time.

• One Boy's 'life-changing' Therapy at MMI (NE UCEDD/LEND)

  Wyatt Fisher is in the mood to jump. The 6-year-old first-grader is wearing a safety harness with an extremely springy cord attached to the ceiling of the Munroe-Meyer Institute's Sensorimotor Learning Lab. Wyatt and his mom have come all the way from Ravenna, Neb. -- 152 miles west of Omaha -- for an intense episode of care from the physical therapists on staff at MMI.

Upcoming Events

AAIDD 143 Annual Meeting  

Monday, June 24, 2019 - Thursday, June 27, 2019
Location: Twin Cities, MN

The 143rd AAIDD Annual Meeting will provide a forum for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, students and advocates to learn about innovations in our field that are being translated and implemented on a grander scale. Through knowledge translation we can change practices and policies through effectively communicating our research and creating change at all levels. In a political climate that is complex and dynamic, it is important to remain relevant through the thoughtful translation of our knowledge.

View Schedule    Read More >

Past Events

AAIDD 143 Annual Meeting  

Monday, June 24, 2019 - Thursday, June 27, 2019
Location: Twin Cities, MN

The 143rd AAIDD Annual Meeting will provide a forum for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, students and advocates to learn about innovations in our field that are being translated and implemented on a grander scale. Through knowledge translation we can change practices and policies through effectively communicating our research and creating change at all levels. In a political climate that is complex and dynamic, it is important to remain relevant through the thoughtful translation of our knowledge.

View Schedule    Read More >

@AUCDNews Twitter chat #HealthyTeeth4all  

Wednesday, June 12, 2019
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Twitter Chat

This Twitter chat will engage the overall disability community in a conversation on oral health and encourage sharing of helpful resources. Based on what is shared, AUCD's National Center on Disability in Public Health will create a brief, which will be available by the ADA Anniversary at the end of July.

View Schedule    Read More >

Taking Charge of My Health Care  

Tuesday, June 11, 2019
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. PM
Location: Webinar

The Oregon Self-Advocacy Coalition, the Oregon Office on Disability and Health and the University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities is excited to share their newly released, free on-line toolkit, called "Taking Charge of My Health Care".

View Schedule    Read More >

Sex Talk for Self-Advocates Webinar #5  

Thursday, May 16, 2019
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Webinar

Join us for Sex Talk for Self-Advocates Webinar #5. This webinar focuses on birth control and contraception for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This webinar is part of an on-going series that addresses self-advocate questions about relationships and sexuality. This series is a great learning opportunity for self-advocates, and professionals and paraprofessionals working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to better understand sexual health needs.

View Schedule    Read More >

Careers in the Arts: Promoting Access and Inclusion for People with Disabilities  

Thursday, May 16, 2019
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Webinar

Join the National Endowment for the Arts and Art Beyond Sight on May 16, 2019, from 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET, for the first in a series of six webinars promoting careers in the arts for people with disabilities. This webinar series is part of a toolkit designed to help expand employment and career development opportunities for disabled people as artists and cultural workers, which will be launched later this year.

View Schedule    Read More >

Importance of Sexual Health for Individuals with IDD  

Tuesday, April 30, 2019
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Webinar

Sexual health is an important topic for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Unfortunately, conversations related to sexual health are often not fully addressed or are pushed aside because of fear, lack of comfort with the topic, or lack of information. Join us for a webinar on the importance of sexual health for individuals with IDD. Participants will hear from Joe Shapiro from NPR and Barbara Thomas from the Tall Institute as they discuss why this sensitive topic needs to be addressed.

View Schedule    Read More >

Resources

• New Materials on the Opioid Crisis and People with Disabilities for Consumers, Providers, and Community Organizations

  Three new issue briefs on medication treatment, peer support, and traumatic brain injury from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research grantee Brandeis University provide information for people with disabilities and their families, substance use treatment providers, and community organizations looking for resources on how the opioid crisis may be impacting people with disabilities.

• Public Health Surveillance of Prenatal Opioid Exposure in Mothers and Infants

  The US opioid crisis is the public health emergency of our time and requires urgent public health action to monitor and protect the most vulnerable Americans. We have witnessed a startling death toll in 2017 with 70 237 drug overdose deaths in the United States, of which two-thirds involved opioids. The devastating consequences of this epidemic for mothers and infants have received less attention. Increases in opioid use and misuse in pregnancy have paralleled the increases in the general population; at delivery hospitalization, there were 4 times as many women with an opioid use disorder in 2014 compared with 1999. One of the most immediate and visible impacts of the opioid crisis on infants is the drug withdrawal in the newborn period, termed neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). On the basis of 2014 data, 1 newborn was diagnosed with NAS every 15 minutes in the United States, totaling about 32 000 infants annually with associated hospital costs estimated at $563 million.

  PrenatalOpioidExposure.pdf [download]
• HRSA Issues Hurricane Resources for Children with Special Health Care Needs

  In collaboration with the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, HRSA has developed a collection of resources informing hurricane response and recovery for families, organizations, and clinicians caring for children with special health care needs.

• Integrating Infectious Disease Prevention and Treatment into the Opioid Response

  The opioid crisis in the United States is devastating the lives of millions of Americans. Perhaps overshadowed by the alarming rise in overdoses and deaths is the accompanying numbers of injection-related infectious diseases. Opioid overdose deaths increased fivefold from 1999 to 2016, and new hepatitis C infections more than tripled from 2010 to 2016.

• Healthy Weight Research Network (HWRN) Update

  The Healthy Weight Research Network for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities (HWRN) was established in July 2013 with Autism CARES funding via the Maternal Child Health Bureau�s (MCHB). The HWRN is led by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center at UMass Medical School, in collaboration with Tufts University School of Medicine. The HWRN�s mission is to advance the understanding of obesity risk factors in children with ASD and other developmental disabilities, to promote the development of evidence-based solutions to achieve healthy weight in this population, and to disseminate research findings to broad and diverse audiences.

• At-Risk Populations and Pandemic Influenza: Planning Guidance for State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Health Departments
    from http://www.astho.org
• Center for Health Promotion Research for People with Disabilities
    from http://uic-chp.org
• Center on Health Promotion Research for Persons with Disabilities
    from http://uic-chp.org
• Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities
    from http://www.hesperian.org
• The AUCD Network: Promoting Wellness for Persons with Disabilities

  An abridged sampling for download and printing of wellness promotion activities

• Senator Harkin Reintroduces Promoting Wellness for Individuals with Disabilities Act

  Senator Harkin's floor statement.