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October 2025 I Volume 11 I Edition 10
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Honoring the Contributions of Americans with Disabilities to the Workforce and National Progress through UCEDDs
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 2:00 - 3:00 PM ET
AUCD is excited to organize and host this year's National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) Webinar. This year’s webinar will connect disability employment to America’s 250th anniversary, exploring the past, present, and future of inclusive employment. The program highlights the role of University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) in driving progress through research, policy, innovation, and partnerships. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. The webinar will be recorded and made available to those
who are unable to attend live.
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AUCD Network Connections: Lightning Talk and Bright Spark Chats
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 4:00 - 6:00 PM ET
Join us next week for the second of two virtual sessions with UCEDD, LEND, and IDDRC colleagues, focused on connection, collaboration, and celebrating the work across our network. This session will feature Lightning Talks – The One Slide Challenge, where each center shares a 2-minute highlight of something exciting or meaningful, followed by Bright Spark Chats—interactive breakout discussions designed to spark ideas, share experiences, and foster new connections. Discussion topics include inclusive technology and digital accessibility, inclusive research and data practices, workforce development and training innovations, and innovations in plain language and
communication. Space is limited, so early registration is encouraged. Please note that Lightning Talks will be recorded and made available, along with presentation slides, on the event pages after the session.
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Disability Policy for All with Liz: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of IDEA
This September, we celebrated 50 years of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its impact on children with disabilities and their families. Join Liz Weintraub, AUCD’s Senior Advocacy Specialist, and Carrie Gillipsie, Early Development & Disability Project Director at New America, for a discussion on IDEA Part C: the section that guarantees early intervention services for infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities and delays.
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AUCD Policy Talk: Sean Tyree’s Journey in Competitive Integrated Employment
In honor of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), Sean Tyree, a Research Aide and Self-Advocate at the University of Kansas Center on Disabilities, wrote about his powerful journey to competitive, integrated employment while living with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. Sean recently testified on Capitol Hill to share how Vocational Rehabilitation, Medicaid, Medicare, SSI/SSDI, ABLE savings, and strong community support helped him turned barriers into opportunities—building a meaningful career, independence, and purpose.
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AUCD Condemns Administration’s Dismantling of the Department of
Education’s Disability and Civil Rights Offices
Over the weekend, the Administration carried out sweeping layoffs across the U.S. Department of Education, effectively shutting down the federal offices responsible for enforcing disability and civil rights protections in schools. Nearly all staff within the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and Office for Civil Rights (OCR) were terminated, leaving the nation without the federal infrastructure that ensures students and people with disabilities receive the education and services they are guaranteed under law.
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2025 is a landmark year for the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC)(TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) as well as several of its programs, including the Vanderbilt Consortium LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) Training Program, which is celebrating 25 years at Vanderbilt.
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Child Care Aware® of Kentucky has been recognized as one of six national finalists for the prestigious Wings of Innovation Award, presented at the Wind Beneath Your Wings Summit hosted by TOOTRiS. This honor celebrates groundbreaking efforts to improve child care systems across the country. Child Care Aware of Kentucky® is housed at the Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky. The Human Development Institute is Kentucky’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research and Service.
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The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute would like to share that Jacqui Kearns has received the June Downing Breakthroughs in Inclusive Education Award from the organization TASH. For over 34 years, Jacqui has worked tirelessly to advance disability inclusion and communication in schools—an inspiration to all of us.
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Iowa’s DD Council Honors Disability Champion Judy Warth for her years of service and advocacy in support of Iowans with disabilities. Judy Warth, long time program manager and employment specialist for Iowa’s UCEDD, is the recipient of the 2025 Rik Shannon Disability Champion Award. Shannon dedicated his professional life to improving the lives of Iowans with disabilities during his 23 years as the Public Policy Manager at the Iowa DD Council. Judy Warth has dedicated more than 30 years to advancing the rights and well-being of people with disabilities. Her experience spans direct care, employment support, sexual self-advocacy, mentorship, and more.
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The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Brenda Salley as the new Director of the Kansas Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. Dr. Salley is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Kansas Medical Center and Children’s Mercy Kansas City, where she also serves as Director of the KUMC Baby Lab. Her interdisciplinary work bridges developmental science, clinical psychology, and community-engaged research, with a focus on promoting early childhood development and family
well-being.
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Iowa’s Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health (CEBH) hosted a Youth Suicide Prevention Summit in September to support the state’s expanded plan for systematic youth suicide prevention efforts. The summit brought together 95 behavioral health service providers, agency leadership, state staff, and community members to address suicide risk among Iowa’s youth. Summit participants learned about evidence-based practices for suicide prevention and about the value that partnerships and community cohesion bring to youth suicide prevention.
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The Waisman Center UCEDD has released an issue brief that describes its experience in leveraging preservice training to meet the UCEDD mission. The brief reviews the UCEDD preservice training pathways and highlights the ways in which those with lived experience have been increasingly integral to training over time.
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The UCEDD at Oregon Health & Science University’s Institute on Development and Disability has received $775,000 in supplemental funding from the Administration on Disabilities (AoD) to expand the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Peer Support Project. The supplement builds on the recently completed project funded by AoD in partnership with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and CommunicationFIRST and will support the critical next step: moving from research and recommendations into implementation of a national peer support system.
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At the International Gathering of the Learning Community for Person-Centered Practices in Minneapolis, keynote presenters Ty Day, self-advocate and empowerment speaker, and his mother Aimee Ortiz-Day, Director of Person-Centered Programs and Family Outreach at the Center on Disability and Development, presented “Let Go of My Hand, I Can Do This on My Own!”
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The Work-Based Learning (WBL) Summer Institute welcomed 75 dedicated special education professionals from across Texas to College Station for three days of collaboration, learning, and inspiration. Held July 8–10, the event focused on equipping attendees with tools and strategies to strengthen their WBL projects and better support student success.
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UCEDD Trainees - Apply Today for Emerging Leaders Internship
The Emerging Leaders Community is offering a paid internship for current UCEDD trainees! This remote position is a unique opportunity for trainees to build leadership skills, collaborate with the AUCD team, and deepen their understanding of the AUCD network. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, October 29th, 2025, 11:59 PM ET.
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MN LEND Alum Looks Back
Andrea Lawson (MN LEND fellow, 2024–25) connects her state advisory appointment to her ongoing master’s degree studies in maternal and child health. "LEND taught me that I’m stronger than I know," said the mother of a child with a rare genetic condition.
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The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Center on Disability Studies, in the College of Education, will be accepting presentation proposals for the 41st Annual Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability on Wednesday, May 27 - Saturday, May 30, 2026 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Presentation proposal submissions are currently open and will be accepted until Nov 14, 2025.
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Call for Applications: Postdoctoral Fellowship in IDD Employment Research
The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at UMass Boston, in partnership with the School for Global Inclusion and Social Development (SGISD) and the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS), has launched a new 3-year postdoctoral fellowship program focused on intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) employment research.
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Collaborative Strategies for Success: Healthcare and Educational
Interventions for Children Impacted by Substance Exposure
November 7, 2025, Cincinnati, OH
Registration is now open for the 2025 Next Step Collaborative Conference, Collaborative Strategies for Success: Healthcare and Educational Interventions for Children Impacted by Substance Exposure. This in-person event will be held on November 7, 2025, at Cincinnati Children’s and will bring together professionals and family members to share research, strategies, and caregiver supports for children affected by prenatal substance exposure or parental substance use disorders. Attendees will gain valuable knowledge, build cross-disciplinary connections, and strengthen skills to make a positive impact in their communities. Continuing education credits will be
available.
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The Arc National Convention
November 13-15, 2025, Charlotte, NC
The Arc’s National Convention is an unmatched opportunity to connect and learn with advocates, professionals, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and their families. If you are interested in employment, education, advocacy, housing, criminal justice, and more, our sessions are sure to challenge, inspire, and motivate!
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Texas Transition Conference
February 18-20, 2026, San Marcos, TX
The Texas Transition Conference (TTC) is a three-day event offering valuable information and strategies to support youth with disabilities in their journey from school to successful adult lives. It covers these core content areas: Student-Focused Planning, Interagency Collaboration, Student Development, Family Involvement and Program Structure.
The conference is for a wide range of participants, including educators, transition professionals, service providers, families, individuals with disabilities, employers, policymakers, and community partners.
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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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