Author: HDITrex

The mission of the Sibling Leadership Network (SLN) (www.siblingleadership.org) is to provide siblings of individuals with disabilities the information, support and tools to advocate with their brothers and sisters and promote issues important to them and their entire families. Membership is free. You can join by going to the above link, clicking on “Join Now” and providing your name and email address.

During 2014, the national sibling network grew to over 4000 siblings & supporters with 17 state chapters, became an official 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, led webinars, created an Advocacy Toolkit for siblings that includes Sibling Policy Videos and the 2014 Sibling Policy Brief highlighting legislation significant to siblings.

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On June 19, both Dr. Harold Kleinert and Katie Hastings were named by the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute (HDI) as the winners of the prestigious 2015 Paul Kevin Burberry Award.

Dr. Kleinert has served people with intellectual disabilities for nearly 47 years, the last 27 of those as part of HDI and is retiring on June 30, 2015 from his position as the Executive Director of HDI. He also serves on the board of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities and the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities. He has improved the world for people with developmental disabilities both nationally and in Kentucky by building meaningful training programs for educators and medical providers, and he has offered thoughtful, supportive, and kind mentorships to countless students over the years.

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The Human Development Institute’s National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Resources raised about $1800 from its Mother’s Day Campaign to distribute packets of resources for expectant parents learning about a diagnosis of Down syndrome. With the funds donated to this “Shaping the Future” campaign, the National Center can deliver a complete packet of our resources, “Diagnosis to Delivery: A Pregnant Mother’s Guide to Down Syndrome,” “Understanding a Down Syndrome Diagnosis,” “Understanding Prenatal Screening and Testing for Chromosome Conditions,” and “Delivering a Down Syndrome Diagnosis to every obstetric medical residency program in the US. The purpose of the campaign is to prepare obstetric medical students to answer the fundamental questions expectant parents have when learning about a diagnosis: “What is life like for people living with Down syndrome?” and “Where can I get support?”

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