This exhibit features AbleVoices photographs that have won ribbons during the past four summers at the Williamson County Fair Cultural Arts Photography Competition. AbleVoices Photography Club is a year-round program for teens (14+) and adults with and without disabilities led by Jen Vogus. Works are for sale and will be displayed through December 2024 at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center.
Children with autism are more likely than children without autism to engage in challenging behavior, which can lead to injury, lower rates of social inclusion, and adverse effects on learning. To support these children, special education professionals in schools need training on functional analysis —the methods used to identify factors that influence challenging behavior. Joseph Lambert, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) researcher and assistant professor of special education at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, plans to develop this training using virtual-reality-based simulations.
Read More >The Center on Disability and Development Announces Interim Associate Director, Dr. Sarah Nagro
Dr. Sarah A. Nagro is joining Texas A&M University as an Associate Professor of Special Education and previous Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Research and Development in Teacher Education (RITE) and the Principal Investigator of the Virginia Department of Education’s Region Four Training and Technical Assistance Center at George Mason University.
Read More >Launching Call for Host Application for Spring 2025 Professional Fellowship Exchange
Is your UCEDD or LEND eager to drive global change in disability inclusion? Host a Fellow from the prestigious Professional Fellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagement (PFP)!
Read More >Expanding Access for Rural, Highly Mobile, and Military-Connected Families
Wait times for intervention services to help military families and those living in geographically dispersed areas who have developmental, emotional, or behavioral health concerns can stretch up to three years, and in large states with dispersed populations, long distances to care create more barriers. Researchers and clinicians from the Institute on Community Integration (MN UCEDD) and elsewhere are connecting with providers across Minnesota through a telehealth and tele-mentoring series for practitioners working with these groups.
Read More >Iowa’s UCEDD Makes Care for Kids Happen
The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD), Iowa’s UCEDD, manages the state’s Early and Periodic, Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) Health Provider Information and Training Program.
Read More >New Issue Brief on Model Direct Services from Wisconsin’s UCEDD
The Waisman Center UCEDD has released an issue brief that describes its experience in leveraging model direct services to meet the UCEDD mission. The brief reviews how UCEDD model direct services are different from other community-based services and provides historic and current examples of how all UCEDD core functions can be integrated into model direct services
Read More >AUCD 2024 Awards Nominations - Deadline Extended!
AUCD invites you to nominate someone who inspires you in the spirit of this year’s theme, Stronger Together: Creating a More Inclusive World. Please note that AUCD has made some changes to the awards nomination process this year. Learn more about the changes and requirements.
Submit an AUCD Awards Nomination by August 16.
Read More >Following an intensive national search, Dr. Erin Vinoski Thomas was selected to lead the Center for Leadership in Disability (CLD) at Georgia State University. The CLD is one of 68 University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) in the U.S., funded by the Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The CLD is situated in the Mark Chaffin Center for Healthy Development, a University Research Center housed in the School of Public Health.
Read More >Let’s Send a Message: DSPs Do More
Direct support professionals (DSPs) help make it possible for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to live full lives in the community. Let’s send a message that we value this work by telling regulators to make “direct support professional” the official title used by the government to recognize and categorize the profession of supporting individuals with IDD.
What you can do now: Before Aug. 12, submit comments to the Office of Management and Budget that explain why you support the creation of a distinct Standard Occupational Classification for DSPs.
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