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May 2025 I Volume 11 I Edition 5 |
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Important Announcement: Cancellation of Annual Conference
The AUCD 2025 Conference Committee, the AUCD Board of Directors, and the leadership team at AUCD have made the difficult decision not to hold an annual Conference this fall. This decision was made due to uncertainty in federal funding, expenditure restrictions across universities, and limited organizational capacity. While AUCD will not hold a virtual or in-person Conference this year, we will have virtual opportunities for network members to connect. It is our priority that researchers, practitioners, professionals, policymakers, trainees, and advocates can come together to advance our collective mission. |
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Autism Leaders United in Call for Action Following Roundtable in Washington D.C.
On May 14th, a powerful coalition of Autism organizations convened a first-of-its-kind roundtable to address the state of Autism services, civil rights, scientific integrity, and representation of disability in federal policy. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, was invited to participate, however did not respond to the request to attend; Mary Lazare, Principal Deputy Administrator at the Administration for Community Living, was in attendance. |
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AUCD Statement: President’s Budget Undermines Decades of Disability Progress
The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is deeply concerned about the President’s budget. While the budget lacks detail, it makes clear there will be enormous, disastrous cuts to funding for programs that support people with disabilities. These programs produce valuable data and research, which, for years, have informed the roadmap that federal and state governments use to support and improve the lives of people with disabilities. Weakening and defunding them is an assault on the disability community.
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AUCD Network Story Submission
Share a story of impact from your Center/Program to help raise awareness of the AUCD Network and the impact it has on the lives of people with disabilities, their families, and communities. |
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A faculty member at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) since 1991, Melanie Fried-Oken, PhD, CCC-SLP, has had an incredible career as an internationally recognized expert in assistive technology, including application of brain-computer interface technology to facilitate communication. Serving as the OHSU UCEDD’s co-Director and research lead for the past eight years, she has held numerous leadership roles during her time at OHSU, including Interim Associate Director for both the UCEDD and the larger Institute on Development and Disability (IDD) and current leader of the IDD research mission.
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A new study from the Kansas University Center on Disabilities (KUCD) is shedding light on the extensive waiting lists for Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waivers managed by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS). Led by Dr. Evan Dean, the research analyzes who is on the waiting list, who has been removed, and who may be at risk of needing services in the near future. This data-driven approach is helping KDADS better plan and allocate resources to reduce the backlog and improve service delivery.
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Medicaid provides funding for services that help millions of people with disabilities and their families across the country. This guide has information to help you share your lived experience with policymakers so they understand the importance of Medicaid and the services it provides to people with disabilities. In the guide, you will find information about how Medicaid works and commonly proposed threats, along with tips for sharing your story and a worksheet to help you plan your advocacy message. Resource created by The Boggs Center on Disability and Human Development.
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The Ride Ahead is going to be on PBS! We're thrilled to be a part of Season 38 of "POV," TV's longest-running series for nonfiction films! Mark your calendars to watch the broadcast premiere of The Ride Ahead this Disability Pride Month on July 21, 2025, at 10pm (check local PBS listing). Then the film will be available to stream for FREE on the PBS app and POV website through September.
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Certificate Program in Assistive Technology
UIC’s Certificate Program in Assistive Technology is a flexible package of 13 graduate-level credit hours designed to train individuals to deliver state-of-the-art assistive technology clinical services and solutions for people with physical, cognitive and/or sensory disabilities. Learn how to analyze a person’s interaction with their environment, help them select effective technology, and support their use of tools through implementation and follow-up training. |
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Zeke’s Artistic Journey: From Passion to Exhibit at ArtFest 2025
Ezequiel “Zeke” Olivarez, a talented artist and student in the Aggie ACHIEVE Program at Texas A&M University, has achieved a remarkable milestone: having his artwork displayed in the 2025 ArtFest. The ArtFest is an annual student art exhibition and competition at the James R. Reynolds Student Art Gallery in the Memorial Student Center. His piece, a stunning representation of his love for anime and personal expression, captures the essence of his artistic journey. |
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New Work Based Learning Project at Diboll ISD
Texas A&M University's Work-Based Learning (WBL) project is creating valuable opportunities for students across the state. Recently, members of the employment team participated in an open house at Diboll Independent School District (ISD) to showcase their new chicken coop, “The Jack Coop.” This innovative project was developed to provide students in the WBL program with hands-on business experience through the collection and sale of eggs. The coop is designed to house approximately 20 hens, with accessibility as a central feature to ensure that students of all abilities can participate fully.
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Since 2011 Vanderbilt University Medical Center has provided services for women with substance use disorder and their children. In 2021, to address the increasing toll the opioid crisis was having on pregnant and postpartum women and their infants, the Firefly Program was created to offer expanded, multidisciplinary outpatient clinical care spanning OB-GYN, pediatrics and psychiatry that includes neurodevelopmental monitoring of infants from birth to 12 months of age. |
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Ellie Wilson (MN LEND 2010-11 and executive director of the Autism Society of Minnesota) told WCCO/CBS television that divisive federal statements about autism don't help affected families. Massive proposed cuts to federal services complicate the picture even further.
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An interdisciplinary team of ArizonaLEND trainees was deeply upset after hearing a story shared during the ArizonaLEND seminar on Best Practices in Working with Parents with Disabilities. The story involved a mother with an intellectual disability who attended her termination of parental rights hearing without understanding why she was there. |
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Urgent Call for Papers: A Critical Juncture for the DD Network
The Developmental Disabilities Network Journal issues this urgent call for papers at a pivotal and precarious moment for the disability community in the United States. The proposed elimination of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs), State Councils on Developmental Disabilities, Protection & Advocacy organizations, and other essential programs like LENDs, and IDDRCs represents an existential threat to the infrastructure that supports individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, and the professionals who serve them. The impact of these proposed cuts would be devastating, unraveling decades of progress in promoting community living, inclusion, and self-determination for people with disabilities.
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Research Participants Needed: How Do YOU Do Community?
The Center for Inclusion and Reflective Collaboration (CIRC Center) within the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research and the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion is looking to interview young adults (ages 18-30) with mental health conditions from marginalized backgrounds about your community participation. The study explores what community participation means to you, including your experiences since the COVID pandemic. This information can be used to improve interventions, systems, and policies to better meet your needs.
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Join the 2025-2026 Community of Practice on Community Life Engagement
Are you a service provider looking to increase community life engagement of people you support? Join the national community of practice on CLE! The Community Life Engagement in Action (CLE in Action) project is recruiting members for Year 2 of its Community of Practice (CoP) cohort starting in fall 2025. CLE in Action is a partnership between the Institute on Disability at UNH (IOD), the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston (ICI), and the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), aimed at increasing CLE for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
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Built Environment for All: Shaping Active Communities for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Friday, June 06, 2025, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET
A webinar brought to you by the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact and Special Olympics International.
Join us for a powerful webinar presenting findings from interviews with Special Olympics athletes to make towns easier to navigate for people of all abilities. This webinar will also provide strategies to involve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in your built environment work! |
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AAPD Technology Forum
Tuesday, June 10, 2025, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM ET
A webinar brought to you by the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact and Special Olympics International.
Join us for a powerful webinar presenting findings from interviews with Special Olympics athletes to make towns easier to navigate for people of all abilities. This webinar will also provide strategies to involve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in your built environment work! |
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2025 Institute on Theology & Disability
June 16-18, 2025, Denver, CO
The vision of the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability is to expand the depth and breadth of theological inquiry and resources that address and include the gifts, needs, and contributions of people with disabilities and their families to theological learning and religious practice. |
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2025 Mountain State Conference on Disabilities (MSCD)
September 18-19, 2025, Morgantown, WV
The Mountain State Conference on Disabilities is hosted by disability partners across the state including the WVU Center for Excellence in Disabilities, the West Virginia Developmental Disabilities Council and Disability Rights of WV. This conference will explore strategies and services that support people with disabilities of all ages and their families by focusing on ways to improve care, communication and self-determination through best practices. It will also highlight the lived experiences of people with disabilities, their caregivers and families. |
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Items may be submitted for consideration via the AUCD Public Promotion Page. Submissions are due on the second Friday of the month. AUCD 360 is promoted on the last Friday of the month. |
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AUCD | 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1000 | Silver Spring, MD 20910 |
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This newsletter is in part supported by the Administration on Community Living (ACL) through a technical assistance contract for the URC and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a National Professional Organization for Persons with Developmental Disabilities. The content of this material does not necessarily reflect the views and policies of any federal agency. No official support or endorsement by federal agencies is intended not to be inferred. |
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