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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.
The Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-site network that supports innovative life course intervention research and promotes optimal health and well-being of autistic individuals across the lifespan. In September 2020, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) was awarded funding by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau in the Health Resources and Services Administration to lead and develop the network with the primary goal of increasing the life expectancy and quality of life for autistic individuals. 
Blythe Corbett, Ph.D., professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and investigator with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND), recently led a study which found that on average, females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experienced the onset of puberty 9.5 months earlier than their peers. 
Researchers from the Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Research Network (DBPNet) recently published an article in the Journal of American Medical Association, Pediatrics (JAMA). The citation and abstract can be found below. 
An article on oral health and nutrition concerns for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) written by an interprofessional group of NJLEND Faculty and Nutrition Fellow was published in the February 2021 issue of Exceptional Parent Magazine. Jane Ziegler, DCN, RDN, LDN, NJLEND Nutrition Faculty, Evan Spivak, DDS, NJLEND Dental Faculty, and Karen Stanfar, MPH, RDN, LD, NJLEND Nutrition Fellow, authored "Oral Health and Nutrition Concerns in Autism Spectrum Disorders" to provide information about autism-related behaviors, dietary habits, medical comorbidities, and medication use which may contribute to oral health and nutrition concerns. 
UCLA All Brains was established in 2017 after students recognized the unmet need of UCLA as a neurodiverse-friendly campus. At the first town hall meeting, many neurodivergent students expressed the lack of resources and communities. As a result of this need, All Brains was formed. All Brains works as a community intervention model with three branches including socials, peer mentoring, and training/workshops. Although we are UCLA based, all of our services are open to all students. 
This year, a team of LEND trainees and faculty developed an Extensions for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) pilot project with an AUCD Professional Fellow and other teachers from the Al Muntazir Special Needs School (AMSEN) in Tanzania. According to the 2012 Tanzania Disability Monograph, only one major university in Tanzania produces teachers for students with ASD/DD. 
2021 has arrived! Despite the challenges we have all faced during COVID-19, our Community of Learners have persevered and made excellent progress in their work. To learn more about each grantee's work, check out their state profiles on the SPHARC 
It has been more than a year since we started adapting to the "new conditions" of living in a world with the COVID-19 pandemic. Transitioning from face-to-face to all-virtual interactions was not as much fun as the option of "working and studying from the bedroom" sounded. Not only did we start missing familiar faces, but we had to limit new relationships to connections traveling through router devices and Zoom platforms.
Interested in working for a national disability organization in the Washington, DC area? Passionate about growing diverse and skilled leaders? If you or someone you know can answer "yes" to any or all of these questions, consider working for AUCD! 
AUCD, our members, and partners have used this as an opportunity to share information relating to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The month has traditionally been framed as Autism Awareness Month, and April 2nd as World or International Autism Awareness Day. AUCD has shifted from "Awareness" to "Acceptance" in our April messaging. 
HRSA
HRSA
