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    AUCD Community Inclusion

    AUCD’s Community Inclusion Team supports the University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) Network in partnership with the Administration for Community Living.

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    AUCD Maternal and Child Health Engagement

    AUCD’s Maternal and Child Health Engagement supports the Autism CARES Programs, including LEND and DBP Programs.

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    AUCD Public Health

    AUCD’s Public Health Team works to create health promotion and public health efforts that include people with disabilities.

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    AUCD Emerging Leaders Community

    AUCD Emerging Leaders are a part of a community that includes trainees, early career professionals, self-advocates, and family members from AUCD member Centers and Programs.  

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Our Mission

adult and child forehead to nose together holding hands on a matt in a therapy room.A mission statement describes what a group does and why it exists.

The Association of University Centers on Disabilities' (AUCD) mission is to support and share the work of the AUCD Network. This includes improving inclusion and the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families.

AUCD is a national system made of other organizations—or "groups"—across the United States. Groups in this network are called “Network Members.” Network members complete research, training, and projects related to disability. Network members consist of:

  • University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs)
    • There are 68 UCEDDs in the U.S.
    • There is at least one in every U.S. state and territory.
    • UCEDDs share disability-related information across its community and university.
  • Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Programs
    • There are 60 LEND Programs in the U.S.
    • There are LEND Programs in every state, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and six Pacific Basin jurisdictions.
    • These programs focus on improving the health of babies, children, and teens with, or at risk for, neurodevelopmental and related disabilities. This includes autism.
    • LEND increases the number of experts able to screen, diagnose, and support people with disabilities and their families.
    • LENDs work with universities. They are typically a part of a UCEDD.
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Centers (IDDRC)
    • There are 15 IDDRCs in the U.S.
    • IDDRC projects research biologic processes contributing to brain health. They work to discover how the brain works related to various disabilities.
  • 13 Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Training Programs (DBPs) (non-members who receive Technical Assistance (TA))

These Centers and Programs serve and are located in every U.S. state and territory and are all part of universities or medical centers. They serve as a bridge between the university and the community, bringing together the resources of both to achieve meaningful change.

AUCD supports this national Network through:

  • Leadership on major social problems affecting all people living with developmental or other disabilities or special health needs
  • Advocacy with Congress and executive branch agencies that fund and regulate programs used by people with disabilities
  • Networking and partnering with other national organizations to advance the Network's national agendas
  • Promoting communication within the Network and with other groups by collecting, organizing, and disseminating data on Network activities and accomplishments
  • Technical assistance provision on a broad range of topics

Our Vision

A vision statement tells what a group's long-term goals are. It describes what the world would look like if it didn’t need AUCD.

AUCD’s vision is a world where people with disabilities live the lives they want. This includes fully inclusive and accessible communities.

Goals

  • AUCD leads Network efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.
  • AUCD strengthens Network Members. This means building stronger ties in their university and community. This makes sure groups can run by themselves for a long time.
  • AUCD strengthens ties among Network Members, governments, corporations, and communities.
  • AUCD seeks funding to continue work throughout the Network.
  • AUCD carries out a plan to achieve growth in developmental and other disability projects.

Five vertical rectangles sit next to each other, the first, third, and fifth are light blue and the second and fourth are white with a light blue line around the rectangles. The first rectangle has an icon of four hands linking together in a circle and reads: Goal 1 - AUCD leads Network efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Rectangle two has an icon of two people sitting together at a table and talking, one of the people uses a wheelchair. The text on rectangle two reads: Goal 2 - AUCD strengthens Network Members. The third rectangle has an icon with a text box surrounded by a circle with three icons of people around the text box. Rectange three reads: Goal 3 - AUCD strengthens ties among Network Members, governments, corporations, and communities. Rectangle four pictures an open hand with a dollar bill above the hand. Rectangle four reads: Goal 4 - AUCD seeks funding to continue work throughout the Network. Rectangle five pictures a white board with symbols, gears, and a arrow moving up on the screen. Rectangle five reads: Goal 5 - AUCD carries out a plan to achieve growth in developmental and other disability projects.

Visual Description

Five vertical rectangles sit next to each other, the first, third, and fifth are light blue and the second and fourth are white with a light blue line around the rectangles. The first rectangle has an icon of four hands linking together in a circle and reads: Goal 1 - AUCD leads Network efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. Rectangle two has an icon of two people sitting together at a table and talking, one of the people uses a wheelchair. The text on rectangle two reads: Goal 2 - AUCD strengthens Network Members. The third rectangle has an icon with a text box surrounded by a circle with three icons of people around the text box. Rectangle three reads: Goal 3 - AUCD strengthens ties among Network Members, governments, corporations, and communities. Rectangle four pictures an open hand with a dollar bill above the hand. Rectangle four reads: Goal 4 - AUCD seeks funding to continue work throughout the Network. Rectangle five pictures a white board with symbols, gears, and a arrow moving up on the screen. Rectangle five reads: Goal 5 - AUCD carries out a plan to achieve growth in developmental and other disabilities.

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Copyright 2024 Association of University Centers on Disabilities

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Copyright 2024 Association of University Centers on Disabilities