Apply Today: AUCD Leadership Academy

The AUCD Leadership Academy is a week-long intensive experience, paired with a year of pre and post interactions designed to enhance the skills of current and emerging leaders from disability networks to build coalitions to improve systems of supports and services. The Leadership Academy engages participants from UCEDDs, LENDs, and the wider community of disability partners to come together to immerse themselves for a week of study, shared experiences, self-evaluation, and skill development.

Now Enrolling: Inclusive Education Pre-K-12 Micro-Credential

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (ME UCEDD) was part of a collaborative team of faculty and staff with expertise in inclusive education that has developed an Inclusive Education Pre-K-12 Micro-Credential with funding from a competitive 2022-2023 mini-grant awarded by the University of Maine System Micro-Credential Initiative.

UCCEDD Associate Director, Dr. Kara Ayers, featured in Women of Cincinnati Blog

The UCCEDD's Associate Director, Dr. Kara Ayers, was featured in the Women of Cincy blog. Dr. Ayers touches on disability, connection, and empathy, as well as highlighting the importance of how we can better care for one another.

OHSU LEND-UCEDD Trainee Amplifies Community Priorities

Led by LEND Health Administration and Social Work Trainee Libby Quinn, OHSU Institute on Development and Disability opted to submit public comment as an organization on the recent proposed ruling for updates to Section 504. [alt text: Libby Quinn, a light skin woman with wavy blonde and brown hair wears a turtleneck and smiles for a professional headshot in an outdoor setting against cement terraced grass]

In Memoriam: Dr. Steven E. Brown

Aloha, it was with great sadness and heavy heart to hear this past week of the death of Dr. Steven Brown. Steve served for many years as a professor of Disability Studies at the Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. He was lead investigator on numerous projects working to improve the quality-of-life experience for persons with disabilities across the globe. Further, Steve was respected internationally as an activist and advocate for the rights of all persons with disabilities.

Iowa Creates a New Vaccine Clinic for Patients with Unique Needs

Iowa's Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD) has a new vaccine clinic for children and some adults with unique needs, including sensory issues, anxiety, and other disabilities. Earlier this year, the mother of a child with autism got in touch with CDD, looking for a place to get her child vaccinated against Covid-19. CDD clinical nurse manager Sheree Murphy, RN, took up the challenge, and enlisted the help of UCEDD program coordinator, Anne Crotty, MPH.

JFK Partners' Colorado Office of Employment First Celebrates National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) with Development of Video Minis

October was National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) which commemorates the many contributions of people with disabilities to America's workplaces and economy. This year's theme, "Advancing Access and Equity," recognized the importance of ensuring all people have equal opportunity to contribute their skills and talents to our workforce.

Request for Proposals: A national partnership to develop an approach and plan to advance peer-support models for augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device users

AUCD is seeking proposals for a contracted entity to fulfill a scope of work central to an effort federally funded by the AoD, Administration for Community Living (ACL) that will seek to co-create a nationwide comprehensive, consensus-based peer support model to advance the use of AAC. This one-year planning project is anticipated to yield a rich source of recommendations for peer support models anticipated to improve the lives of AAC users.

2023 Young Professional Award

The Young Professional Award is presented to a person in the field of disabilities under the age of 40 who has demonstrated dedication and commitment to people with developmental disabilities and their families through work as a bridge between the academic sector and the community. The 2023 AUCD Young Professional Award was presented to Jacy Farkas, MA, during the AUCD Awards Ceremony on November 7, 2023.

UCEDD Resource Center ExceLens Series: AUCD Emerging Leader: Blake Warner

Honoring the theme of the AUCD Annual Conference, this edition of ExceLens is excited to feature AUCD Emerging Leader Blake Warner. Blake has previously completed two years of SD LEND and is currently serving as a UCEDD trainee and completing a predoctoral internship at the UCLA Tarjan Center. Blake is passionate about advocacy and policy reform efforts, particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals in the disability community. The AUCD Community Inclusion Team was able to sit down with Blake and learn more about his interests, goals, and experience so far as an AUCD Emerging Leader. Please read on to see the highlights from Blake's interview!