Prevention & Wellness

News

• AUCD Launches Children's Mental Health Champions

  The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) expands its National Center on Disability in Public Health efforts with the launch of a new pilot program, Children's Mental Health Champions, made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Six Champions were selected, representing California, Colorado, Kentucky, New Mexico, Virginia, and Washington D.C., to serve as liaisons to the CDC's Children's Mental Health program.

• Funding Opportunity: Children's Mental Health Champions

  Deadline: July 24, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. ET

  Through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) will support an additional cohort of Children's Mental Health Champions. This funding opportunity is limited to AUCD network members in any state or territory. These Champions will: serve as state/territorial liaisons to the CDC's Children's Mental Health program and positive parenting resources; act as community champion change agents to increase awareness activities and improvement of positive parenting practices; develop and test strategies for building partnerships to promote identification, screening, referral, and intervention; and implement effective strategies for mental health promotion, prevention supports, and creation of networks (e.g., school, healthcare, and community) and better connections between these systems.

• Journey to Full Citizenship

  Indiana's Disability History: A Video Overview

  Journey to Full Citizenship, a video overview of Indiana's disability history, is a new free educational resource. The short documentary looks at 200 years of change in the lives of Hoosiers with disabilities. It's a story of citizens who were placed behind walls and have struggled for their civil rights, a story of advocacy and continually evolving public attitudes, legislation, and policy.

• University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities (SD UCEDD/LEND) Goes Virtual

  Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the need to practice physical distancing, the University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities (SD UCEDD/LEND) quickly adapted and innovated to stay connected. After an unexpected extended spring break caused by the rapidly spreading coronavirus, classes at the University of South Dakota were moved online beginning March 16, 2020. This meant that didactic and clinical activities of the SD LEND Program would also need to shift gears. From March through May, SD LEND trainees met virtually via Zoom video conferencing for presentations and discussions on Native American Culture, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Developmental Trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences, and Leadership. Utilizing an online platform enabled SD LEND trainees to maintain engagement, stay connected, and complete all of their LEND requirements.

• New fact sheet: How will the COVID-19 recession impact people with disabilities in rural America?

  While many Americans will suffer in the coming recession, people with disabilities in rural areas are especially vulnerable because they are less likely to have an emergency savings fund, have access to paid leave, or be able to work from home. RTC:Rural's recent fact sheet analyzes data from the 2015 and 2016 Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED) and the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) 2017-18 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module.

• Dr. Stough and a Group of Scholars and Practitioners have been Selected as a Disability and COVID-19 Working Group by the Natural Hazards Center

  The group includes 14 members from 9 universities and centers representing the 8 disciplines of: Communication, Disability Studies, Education, Educational Psychology, Psychology, Public Health, Special Education, and Social Work. The group includes 3 members representing minority groups, a student researcher, and all of our members themselves have or have family members with disabilities or special health care needs. The primary positions are similarly diverse and include researchers, teachers, practitioners, support personnel, and project directors. As each member of the group already have existing research agendas, teaching positions, or oversee projects aligned with this topic, they will bring knowledge from these experiences to the working group.

• Faith, Disability, and Mental Health: Faith Leaders Forum

  The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute hosted its first Faith Leader Forum virtually on May 7, 2020. Over thirty faith-based community leaders from across the state of Maryland engaged in a live, interactive, virtual learning collaborative to increase their awareness of the challenges faced by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and mental illness, and to understand how they can help address those challenges and the stigma associated with mental illness and disability.

• Faith, Disability, and Mental Health: Faith Leaders Forum

  The Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities (MCDD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute hosted its first Faith Leader Forum virtually on May 7, 2020. Over thirty faith-based community leaders from across the state of Maryland engaged in a live, interactive, virtual learning collaborative to increase their awareness of the challenges faced by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and mental illness, and to understand how they can help address those challenges and the stigma associated with mental illness and disability.

• Iowa Launches COVID Recovery Iowa

  The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) is one of five contractors hired by the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) to participate in COVID Recovery Iowa, an innovative program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). DHS received nearly $1 million in funding from FEMA to offer free virtual counseling and referral services to any Iowan affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency. CDD, Iowa's UCEDD, will focus on getting much needed supports and services to Iowans with developmental disabilities through this program.

• MMI Psychology Department to Offer Free Consultative Clinics

  The Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) Psychology Department at UNMC is offering free behavioral telehealth consultative clinics. Families of children age 18 or younger can access two free consultative appointments via the teleconferencing platform Zoom or by phone. Providing the services via telehealth also means they will be available to people across the entire state.

• Inclusive National Service Programs Goes Virtual During COVID-19

  The Training, Resources and Information for the Advancement of Disability (TRIAD) Service AmeriCorps members from The Institute for Disability Studies' (IDS) Hattiesburg and Long Beach campuses continue to serve their communities, just serving now in a more creative and virtual means. As COVID-19 has kept this AmeriCorps Program from having members meet in-person, the need for virtual service became a priority.

• Now Available: 2020 NH Disability & Public Health Infographic Report

  The New Hampshire (NH) Disability & Public Health project's 2020 infographic report shows that adults with disabilities need better access to health care.

• WIHD Conducts Virtual Training with First-year Medical School Students

  Karen Millman, LEND Family Partnership Training Coordinator/LEND Family Faculty, at the Westchester Institute for Human Development, in partnership with Jeanne Wilson, M.D. Course Director, "Foundations of Clinical Medicine", at New York Medical College held a 'virtual' joint training session on 4/22, for first-year medical school students. The session is typically held every year in-person, in the Spring, on the campus of NYMC, but due to COVID-19, this year the session was held via Zoom.

• Communication is Vital: Learn how the WI UCEDD is helping pave the way for intubated COVID-19 patients

  At the Waisman Center, home of Wisconsin's LEND, IDDRC, and UCEDD, clinicians in the Communication Aids and Systems Clinic (CASC) join a new international task force designed to help patients on ventilators communicate while intubated. CASC is one of 10 different specialty clinics within the Waisman Center and offers specialized services for those who benefit from augmentative and alternative communication aids (AAC). One clinician in CASC, Sarah Marshall, a speech-language pathologist (SLP), has been working with the international task force to develop free communication supports and tools for patients on ventilators due to COVID-19. For patient's suffering from this potentially life-threatening illness, communication with providers and loved ones can be vital. Due to restrictions placed on visitors and the nature of intubation, patients needing intubation and placed on ventilators often find themselves alone and unable to communicate their needs.

• COVID-19 Information for People with Disabilities, Older Adults, and Others with Functional or Access Needs

  Project REDD under the leadership of Dr. Laura Stough has begun to provide resources online for people with disabilities, older adults, and others with functional or access needs. We are updating the site daily and we are working on the REDDy Directory to update and list sources who can also help provide services during this crisis. You can also submit information on the REDDy Site to be included - it's changed slightly since it was hacked into recently and you may submit entries and we will post them.

Upcoming Events

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: People of Color, Disabilities, and Mental Health  

Register for the upcoming Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center webinar! This webinar will explore the unique intersection of disability, mental health, and people of color. People of color experience higher rates of disability and mental health conditions, but often face decreased access to care and other co-occurring health disparities. This presentation will highlight these inequities and discuss how we can work towards eliminating these disparities and becoming stronger allies for people of color. Presenterd by Morenike Giwa Onaiwu.

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Supporting Families in the Post-COVID World: Using Technology to Maximize Reach and Remain Connected  

During this webinar, speakers from two large rural states will describe approaches they've used to stay connected and support families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their use of distance technology will be highlighted as a means of reducing exposure to COVID-19 and in maximizing the reach of their efforts. The programs featured are the University of Wyoming's ECHO for Families and the Autism Family Support Program at the University of South Dakota Center for Disabilities.

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Past Events

Resources for Building and Strengthening FASD Initiatives  

In this webinar, members of the FASD SIG will present resources for increasing your knowledge about FASD, training others, and supporting individuals with lived experience and their families. Attendees are encouraged to share resources they find helpful. Following the presentation and discussion, participants will have a general conversation about strategies for building a strong network of programs serving individuals with FASD.

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Family Leaders: What They are Saying, and how UCEDDs and LENDs can help  

As a follow up to the webinar: Families: What They are Saying, and how UCEDDs and LENDs can help. We have invited 3 family leaders from the ECPC/DEC Family Cohort to bring their perspectives to the conversation. Disparities, access to technology, food, housing, job security and appropriate bi-lingual services including adequate support to teach at home have been identified as barriers. This panel of family members will join Ann and Rud Turnbull to discuss their perspectives on these challenges and how the UCEDDs can help.

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AUCD Disability in Public Health COVID-19 Town Hall  

Join AUCD's Town Hall on Disability Integration with Public Health and Emergency Response as a space for sharing health related programs and projects across the Network. With our small group breakout time, we'll also stigma towards disability during COVID-19 response and the need for more social awareness that 1 in 4 Americans has a disability. Strategies for addressing barriers in reaching out to public health, medical care, and emergency management to be a resource on disability inclusion will be explored.

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Advice from People who have a Disability on Dealing with COVID-19  

Hear from self-advocates and allies on how to deal with COVID-19 as they share tips and strategies on hand washing, mental health, nutrition, and exercise. Steps on how to work with personal care attendants and direct support providers will be reviewed. Be safe in your relationships - what does social distancing mean in your friendships and relationships.

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Advice from Medical Providers  

Hear from experts on steps to prevent COVID-19 for people across the lifespan who have a disability. Discussion will include staying safe and receiving community-based services and supports, as well as tips for wellness and what to do in case someone with a disability becomes ill.

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Resources

• Joint Statement from Members of the Disability Community and Allies on Gun Violence Prevention Policy and Mental Health Disabilities

  All Americans, including people with disabilities, have a civil right to live in their communities and not be segregated or imprisoned simply because they have a disability. Building more institutions, as the Administration proposes, unjustly threatens the civil rights and freedom of people with mental health disabilities while doing nothing to reduce gun violence in this country.

  Joint Statement [download]
• 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.