A collage of  photographs. Text: AbleVoices Hall of PHame

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Announces AbleVoices Hall of PHame Art Display to Support Artists with Disabilities

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.

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Headshot of Dr. Joseph Lambert, a white man, mid- to late thirties of medium build. Lambert smiles with brown eyes, light brown hair, and beard stubble, wearing a light pink button-down shirt.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Researcher Leads Efforts to Design VR Training for Educators of Students with Autism

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.

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Dr. Sarah A. Nagro, A white women with long brown hair. She is wearing a blouse and jacket.

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.

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A group of four people (left to right): an African man, an African American woman, a white American woman, and an African man posing for a group photo at the airport, smiling into the camera. Text on the image reads: Spring 2025 Professional Fellow Hosting Opportunities! Apply by January 31, 2025 http://pfpinclusion.org/hosting/

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)!

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Project ECHO® professionals meet regularly in person and virtually. Pictured from left to right, the in-person staff members are Jessica Simacek—who led the Department of Defense study and directs ICI’s TeleOutreach Center—and researchers Adele Dimian and Andrea Castillo.

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.

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Iowa EPSDT Care for Kids newsletter photo, provider looking into child's ear with a medical instrument.

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.

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Young boy using ACC with their provider.

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

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Group photo of award recipents at the AUCD Awards ceremony.

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.

Submit Nomination

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Hedshot of Erin Thomas, a white woman with blonde shoulder lenghth hair wearing a sweater.

Dr. Erin Vinoski Thomas Announced as Director of the Georgia State University Center for Leadership in Disability

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.

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DSP provider and client standing arm in-arm in a park.

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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