Author: Court Cox

The inclusive dojo: HDI training supports martial arts instructors in transforming training spaces

Posted on | by Court Cox

The first thing you do when you enter the dojo is take off your shoes. You’ll see a rainbow of colored belts around the waists of students in matching cotton garb, called gi in karate classes. The puzzle piece edges of thick foam mats fit together to form a training area. You might see a symbolic shrine on the front wall, the shomen.  

Typically thought of as a martial arts training facility, the origin of “dojo” transcends contemporary notions. The Japanese word translates literally as “the place of the way.” The dojo is a place of ritual and discipline, designed for collaborative exploration free from distraction. The dojo is a place for the practitioner to learn about the world and the self. 

Darrell Mattingly, computer specialist at HDI, developed HDI’s Adaptive Martial Arts training course, which teaches martial arts instructors about disability etiquette, universal design and how to adapt their teaching to be inclusive of students with disabilities. Mattingly serves as president of the Adaptive Martial Arts Association, which offers further resources for both students and instructors.  

According to Mattingly, there is no standard way of “adapting” martial arts for individuals with disabilities. The nature of adapting makes the experience highly individualized. Mattingly, who has cerebral palsy, took a strong interest in martial arts as a child, but he did not have access to formal training, stating “at that time, training someone with a disability was unheard of.” At 31-years-old, he began training in kenpo karate.  

When Mattingly’s second instructor, Master Steve Finn, took over, Finn took the approach of finding what worked, rather than teaching by the book. It was then that Mattingly began to see real progress. Now, Mattingly holds the rank of Sandan–that is, a third-degree black belt. 

The adaptive martial arts training, which takes about an hour to complete, is free and open to the public. The course consists of three sections made up of video, supplemental text and brief review quizzes. Much of the course is applicable to instructors and researchers with interests in adaptive sports even outside the realm of martial arts.  

The first section gives an overview of disability etiquette—how to be respectful and grant autonomy to the individual receiving instruction. It includes helpful lists in plain language about what to do and what not to do, while acknowledging individuals all have their own preferences regarding etiquette.  

The second section focuses on universal design—what does the built space of an inclusive dojo look like? What does accessible instruction look like? Can an instructor legally deny instruction to an individual based on their disability? (Spoiler: no., they can’t.) 

The course’s last section explains the benefits of adaptive martial arts for individuals with disabilities and how to adapt instruction. Benefits described include social, cognitive, emotional and physical benefits. The course reviews assistive technology and considerations the instructor should make based on the individual and the facility.  

The idea for the course started with Adaptive Martial Arts Association founder Jason Davis. Davis was the impetus that drove the collaboration that leading to the completion of the module. 

Accessibility is not a luxury feature, but rather, it must be an essential and non-negotiable function of the built world. In the case of the dojo, access is integral by its own translation: the place of the way. 

“It is a place of freedom of expression with respect for others. It is for this reason, among other things, that a dojo, wherever it is located, is a place of non-discrimination, open to anyone who wishes to discover the way,” writes Nicholas Messner of the International Judo Federation. 

HDI’s Inclusive Public Health Collaborative is a partner of the Adaptive Martial Arts Association. Other HDI staff members involved include Lindsey Mullis, Trenton Marcum, Morgan Turner, Jon Drummond, Austin Nugent and Kari Jones, as well as UK students Collin Burkle and Ellie Fahey, each of whom extensively contributed to the development of the course and continue to support ongoing work.  

The training module was funded by a CDC (Centers for Disease Control) grant. While no funding has yet been secured for further development of the course, the team is hopeful that the adaptive martial arts training will be expanded in the future. One possible expansion is a component with focus on mental health, something instructors who have completed the course have suggested in their feedback. 

You can take the adaptive martial arts course by creating an account on the HDI Learning page and then following this link to the course module.  

For questions about the course or the Adaptive Martial Art Association, please email Darrell Mattingly at darrell.mattingly@uky.edu. 

Kentucky LEND logo

HDI is Seeking Applicants for 2023 LEND Program

Posted on | by Court Cox

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute seeks qualified applicants for the third year of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program, in partnership with the University of Louisville and Eastern Kentucky University.

LEND programs share the overall mission of improving the health of infants, children and adolescents with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. A major focus of LEND is to increase the number of professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based screening and diagnosis, as well as supports to individuals and families. See the LEND website for more information.

We are accepting applications across disciplines for the 2023-2024 academic year. A total of nine trainees will be accepted in the LEND program, which includes leadership coursework and a rich array of clinical and community placements each semester. Trainees must commit to 15 hours of LEND activities each week.  

Trainees must be one of the following:

  • enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate training program in a LEND discipline, OR
  • a family member of an individual with an intellectual or developmental disability, OR
  • an individual with an intellectual or developmental disability

To apply:

  1. Complete LEND online application by March 3.
  2. Applications will be reviewed and interviews scheduled with finalists.
  3. 2023-2024 trainees will be notified by April 17. A total of nine selected trainees will receive a nine-month fellowship.

We will host two online Open Houses to describe the LEND program and application process. We welcome all interested persons.

  1. Feb. 7 at 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST (Zoom link)
  2. Feb. 8 at 12-1 p.m. EST (Zoom link)

Contact Dr. Caroline Gooden, Kentucky LEND Project Director, at caroline.gooden@uky.edu with any questions or to schedule an informational session.

Person using an adaptive bike in the woods

UK HDI Fund for Excellence Award to fund Bluegrass Mountain Biking Accessibility Initiative 

Posted on | by Court Cox

Kentuckians will soon have access to an adaptive mountain biking trail, thanks in part to an internal grant funded by the UK Human Development Institute. The trail, to be built by the Kentucky Mountain Biking Association, will be designed with the interest of people with disabilities at the forefront, prioritizing input and feedback from trail users with disabilities. 

The $10,000 grant, known as the Fund for Excellence award, was awarded to John C. Hill and Laura Butler. The Fund for Excellence Award is issued to Human Development Institute staff members for innovative projects, services and products that address the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families.  

Hill, principal investigator of the grant, is a survey project coordinator at HDI, an adjunct professor in the College of Education and the College of Information and Communication, and, fittingly, a mountain biker himself. 

“When I look through things, I try to find ways to connect my personal life to my research,” Hill said. 

The grant proposal written by Hill and Butler for their project, called the Bluegrass Mountain Biking Accessibility Initiative, addresses indicated barriers to physical activity and equitable access to outdoor recreation. Butler, disability program administrator at HDI and project director of the mountain biking initiative, works closely alongside Hill to collect and analyze Kentucky National Core Indicators survey results to assess the services and supports offered to people with disabilities.  

The location of the new trail, which will be in central Kentucky, is still being determined. It may be its own trail or a new branch or modifications to an already existing trail. However the logistics pan out, the scope of the project that is funded through the Fund for Excellence Award will conclude in the second half of 2023. In the meantime, Hill, Butler, and their partners on the project are working to install QR codes on trails throughout the bluegrass, in order to conduct surveys to better understand what limitations current trail users have and what sorts of trail features and/or adaptive technology would best support their needs. 

In Hill’s experiences, he has seen that the culture within the bluegrass mountain biking community is to support new bikers and cheer them on, even when that means slowing down the pace a bit.  

“The mountain bike community is really special to me because [there are so many] extremely intelligent, nice people, and they care about others. They just want to get people involved,” Hill said. 

Hill and Butler are relying on the expertise of the Kentucky Mountain Biking Association to physically build the trail. Together, and in collaboration with Midway University and the UK Community Innovation Lab, the team plans to consult with experts in trail building, universal design, and the community members who the trail is designed for throughout each step of the process. 

For questions about the Bluegrass Mountain Biking Accessibility Initiative, please contact John C. Hill at johnchill@uky.edu.  

Campers showing their goofy side by making faces

Kentucky DeafBlind Project Connects Youth from Across the State for a Week of Hands-On Education and Fun

Posted on | by Court Cox

For each of the past seven summers, DeafBlind young adults across Kentucky have come together for Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) Week, a five-day recreational learning experience hosted by the Kentucky DeafBlind Project (KDBP), which serves those born with some combination of vision and hearing loss from birth through age 22. KDBP is a grant-funded initiative housed in the UK College of Education.

This year, the six students who participated in ECC Week formed friendships at a baseball game, worked in teams on paddle boats, cheered each other on at a rock climbing gym, and gained hands-on experience in a range of life skills including budgeting, grocery shopping, and cooking.

At the beginning of the week, each student was given a swipeable card loaded with $200. The students budgeted the money throughout the week as they ventured to restaurants and excursions, along with planning, shopping for, and cooking their own meal.

Corinne Miller, KDBP consultant, believes in the importance of autonomy–that the teens and young adults they work with should have access to information needed to make informed decisions for themselves.

Miller says that at home, of course we want to avoid mess, but students must be allowed to fail in order to learn. After the students planned a meal together, navigated the grocery store, and paid for their own ingredients, at least three egg yolks were on the floor, perfectly encapsulating exactly what ECC Week is about.

“[The students] had complete decision making, power, independence, and patience from support providers to learn, to do, and to take the time they needed,” said Tara Eversole, an ASL interpreter from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, employed by UK Human Development Institute. Eversole worked closely with students and staff throughout ECC week.

There are approximately 10,000 DeafBlind children and youth in the United States. The communication styles used by DeafBlind individuals depend on their specific levels of hearing and vision loss, as deafness and blindness both exist on spectrums. Communication styles also depend on the resources provided to them and their families.

Alex, an ECC Week student, played the position of catcher in the students’ tee ball game on the Lexington Legends field. Miller stood behind Alex, making a diamond shape on his back and using a finger to point out where the ball had been hit to. Eversole, who was in the outfield, recalls hearing Alex exclaim, “Hey, I like that!”

“He had used Haptics,” Eversole said, naming the communication system. “That’s something that could really be utilized in his future, and maybe he didn’t know it. So there’s a lot of education and opportunity for incidental learning through touch.”

Another student, Peyton, was referred to KDBP at the end of 2021. Peyton has Usher Syndrome, a genetic condition affecting both hearing and vision. While he has worn hearing aids for most of his life, his vision loss has worsened more recently.

“We just knew that he had to come to ECC week with us, because he was just so cool,” Miller said.

Emma Riley, who works with the Department of Education, was one of many community partners involved with KDBP during ECC Week. Riley also has Usher Syndrome. Throughout the week, Riley taught Peyton various techniques for adapting to his new vision loss, such as how to work with service providers to find items in a grocery store while maintaining independence.

“It was a great opportunity for [Peyton] to see somebody that he could look up to and see her successes in life and where she’s at,” Miller said.

KDBP staff wanted to emphasize the social aspects of ECC Week this year, especially after running a virtual session in 2021. Not only did the students support each other on the rock wall and create tactile scrapbooks together at the end of the week, but their parents had the opportunity to mingle at a parent social.

KDBP works in collaboration with many people across the state including specialists from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Education, interpreters from the Human Development Institute, teachers of the visually impaired, teachers of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing, occupational therapists, orientation and mobility specialists, and more.

A major function of the DeafBlind Project is to ensure that DeafBlind youth and their families know what resources are available to them. Families and medical providers interested in learning more about the Kentucky DeafBlind Project or ECC Week should contact Donna Carpenter, project coordinator, at donna.carpenter@uky.edu or 859-257-6063.

KYPSO Logo

Going beyond the requirements, UK HDI’s Kentucky Post School Outcomes Center sets exemplary standard for improving students with disabilities transitional outcomes after high school

Posted on | by Court Cox

In 2020, Kentucky students with disabilities who had exited high school in the previous year were asked which resource in high school had continued to help them the most in their current post high school lives. Of the 2,256 responses, the top response (39.2%) was “a teacher, counselor or principal,” followed next by “vocational training” (20.3%). 

The question comes from a YOYO (Youth One Year Out) survey, part of a federal data collection effort regarding the transitional experiences of students with disabilities one year after their high school exit. In Kentucky, the data collection is facilitated by UK’s Human Development Institute (HDI) on behalf of the Kentucky Department of Education, through an initiative called KYPSO (Kentucky Post School Outcomes Center). 

KYPSO works closely with Kentucky school districts to create the YOYO surveys, train the educators conducting the one-on-one surveys, aggregate each district’s data into one statewide dataset and, perhaps most importantly, work with school district administrators to interpret their district’s data and create further goals and plans of action. 

The data collected by each district plays an important role in both policymaking and district funding. Kentucky goes well beyond simply checking the boxes to meet the federal requirements, though. 

“Kentucky has done an excellent job of making secondary transition a priority,” Dr. Tony LoBianco, principal investigator and project director of KYPSO, said. “We have kind of served as a model for a few other states and how they go about doing this.” 

The federal requirements for post-school outcomes data are relatively small. States must report, on the state-level only, three data points, those being the percentage of those who are no longer in secondary school, had IEPs in effect at the time they left and were:  

  1. enrolled in higher education within one year of leaving high school 
  1. enrolled in higher education or competitively employed within one year of leaving high school 
  1. enrolled in higher education, competitively employed, enrolled in other education or training, or in some type of employment within one year of leaving high school. 

While some states are able to meet these requirements without conducting one-on-one student interviews in every district, either by taking a smaller sample from a few districts or by using other data sources to determine values for the mandatory data points, a quick look at a KYPSO annual report shows that Kentucky’s efforts are focused on far more than meeting minimum requirements. Interviewing students one-on-one engages Kentucky school districts in all phases of a rich and thorough data collection and reporting process, missing no opportunity to improve transition outcomes. 

“The general public should care about [this] because we’re providing data that tells us about what the future of our youth is going to look like. People should know what kids with disabilities are doing,” Dr. LoBianco said. “People directly in the field of education should care about KYPSO because we’re giving them direct information about their kids and what they could be doing better.” 

As critical as the data is, KYPSO staff are aware that raw data can’t always tell the full story, and they hope to bring forth their expert analyses into Kentucky school districts to continue supporting student transition into adult life. An important clarification Dr. LoBianco makes about the work KYPSO does is that people with disabilities are not a monolithic group.  

“There are so many different needs, and what may work for one person may not work for another person,” Dr. LoBianco said. “I also think sometimes it’s underutilized the amount of support that we can offer. There is really nothing more valuable for schools to do than to sit down with some experts and have plans for how they are going to help our youth transition to adult life… We’re here to help [educators] with that, and I hope they use it.” 

KYPSO’s public data page allows users to view data by varying demographic combinations and by disability category, showing distinctive differences in the transitional experiences among varying groups. One noted disparity is that, among female and male respondents, females tend to have higher post-secondary education rates, while males tend to have higher employment rates. Having access to consistent annual data allows researchers and educators to notice and address these systemic trends. 

“I would love for there to be the ability to follow up longer term. We don’t know what’s happening five years out… ten years out…” Dr. LoBianco said. 

While KYPSO does not have the funding for longer-term follow-up right now, Dr. LoBianco sees an opportunity for future research. YOYO surveys are highly effective at allowing special education researchers and educators to know what is happening in the immediate year after high school, but transition outcomes, as a whole, extend much further.  

If you have questions or would like to chat about transition resources, KYPSO staff can be reached by email at information@kypso.org.