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HDI Staff to Present at Annual AUCD Conference

Posted on | by HDITrex

University of Kentucky Human Development Institute (HDI) staff are preparing to present sessions and posters at the 2021 Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) conference. The theme of this year’s conference is Learning Together: Connecting Research and Lived Experience.  

The UK HDI is Kentucky’s Center on Disability and is a University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). As a UCEDD and a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, we are a member of the AUCD organization that supports and promotes a national network of university-based interdisciplinary programs in every U.S. state and territory to achieve meaningful change.  Visit www.aucd.org for more information about the AUCD Network and Conference.  If you are interested in learning more about HDI programs or the presentations being made, contact Beth.Potter@uky.edu.

Conference sessions presented by HDI staff include:

  • Echo collaborative on AAC: Supporting interprofessional collaboration to improve augmentative and alternative communication through case-based learning and information sharing

    Jacqui Kearns, EdD, Mary Jo Cooley-Hidecker, PhD*, Lou Ann Land, Patti Logsdon and Judith Page, PhD*

    *University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences Communication Sciences and Disorders Program
  • The Power of Your Story – How digital storytelling amplifies the voices of people with disabilities

    Morgan Turner, Adam Potter, Patti Logsdon and Patti Singleton
  • L.I.V.E from your virtual platform! How to engage every audience in your inclusive virtual event and program

    Lindsey Mullis, Trent Marcum, and Ellen Fahey
  • Recruiting and retaining researchers and evaluators with lived experience in higher education: A critical reflection

    Kathy Sheppard Jones, PhD, Chithra Adams, PhD, Jacob Mason, Taylor Bardon, Phillip Rumrill, PhD
  • Harnessing the power of inclusive higher education to improve employment outcomes for students with significant disabilities: a Kentucky story

    Johnny Collett, Erin Fitzgerald, Rebecca Gregory
  • Impact of COVID on individuals with disabilities: a mixed-method study driven by voices of people with disabilities

    Kathy Sheppard-Jones, PhD, Harold Kleinert, EdD, Kara Ayers**, PhD, Chithra Adams, PhD, Jian Li***, PhD

    University of Cincinnati**, Kent State University***
  • Human Development Institute’s Undergraduate Certificate in Universal Design Program

    Walt Bower, PhD, Haley Potter, and Ellie Fahey
  • Inclusion of women with disabilities in research: Creating an inclusive community needs assessment 

    Ellen Fahey, Lindsey Mullis, and Trent Marcum. 
  • Co-Occurring Mental Health Conditions and Developmental Disabilities: Including Individuals with Lived Experience as Experts in Their Care

    Kristen Dahl and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu
  • Recruiting and retaining researchers and evaluators with lived experience in higher education: A critical reflection

    Kathy Sheppard-Jones,PhD, Chithra Adams, PhD, Jacob Mason, Taylor Mora, Phillip Rumrill, PhD
  • National Training Initiative: Implementation of the Project SCOPE – Site Experiences and Lived Perspectives

    Canyon Hardesty, Andrea Witwer, PhD, Stephanie Webber, PhD, Tai Baker, Caroline Gooden, PhD

Kentucky’s OVR Interpreters in Action at SERID Conference

Posted on | by Beth Potter

Interpreters from the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, in conjunction with others across the country, provided American Sign Language interpreting services at the 2021 Southeast Regional Institute on Deafness (SERID).

Since 1971, SERID has hosted this annual conference for health professionals, employers, consumers, educators, and people who are interested in issues affecting individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, and/or late-deafened and to further knowledge concerning these issues through publications, studies, and educational programs.

200 attendees celebrated the 50th anniversary of SERID by participating in the 2021 hybrid conference in Knoxville, Tennessee. Participants had the opportunity to choose between a variety of tracks including Vocational Rehabilitation, STEM Education, Mental Health, Medical, Interpreting, and serving Deaf-Blind people.

HDI is proud of Lisa Amstutz, Tara Eversole, Sarah Grubb, Missy Miller, Chelsea Naugle, and Christina Vice and congratulates them on recognition by Rita Jo Scarcella, SERID Interpreter Coordinator, who said that “the Kentucky interpreters were fabulous! They were highly skilled, professional and flexible”.

Students at University of Kentucky

Funding Opportunity to Establish a Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary Program

Posted on | by Beth Potter

The Human Development Institute (HDI) is inviting applications from Kentucky Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) for a 12-month planning grant to support IHEs in developing a plan to establish and sustain a CTP program for students with intellectual disabilities (ID).

To support the establishment of new CTPs in Kentucky, HDI intends to fund five (5) applications with a one-time award of $20,000. HDI plans to fund up to 3 applications from colleges within the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, and up to 2 applications from other Kentucky IHEs. If fewer than the established number of applications in one of these categories are chosen for funding, HDI may fund additional applications in the other category.

Learn more, register for an informational webinar, and apply at the KSHEP website. Contact Johnny.Collett@uky.edu with any questions.

Recharging Resiliency Together

Posted on | by Beth Potter

Register now for Recharging Resiliency Together! HDI would like to thank the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Quality of Life Grants Program for providing funding which helps give greater independence to individuals living with paralysis. This grant will provide our community with services and education that will truly enhance all our lives.

This virtual retreat will help you recharge your resilience by building your coping skills and expanding your social network to gain the necessary connections and supports to navigate the COVID-19 environment. After each retreat, follow-up group calls will be held to help participants use the skills learned during the retreat and lean into their peers for support.

Who can participate? Anyone 18 or older who has paralysis and lives in Kentucky.

What do you need to participate? Be available from 10:00am – 3:00pm for five consecutive days; have access to the Internet; have a tablet or laptop. Participants should select one session only.

Session 1: March 22 – 26

Session 2: May 10 – 14

Session 3: July 12 – 16

Session 4: September 13 – 17

Learn more and register at https://bit.ly/2OYkdcM. Contact Jason Jones at jp.jones@uky.edu with any questions.

b/w photo of infant with black hair

Hausman and Howard to lead Kentucky’s Act Early Network

Posted on | by Beth Potter

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute (HDI) has received a 2020 Act Early State and Territorial Team COVID-19 Response Initiative grant funded through an existing cooperative agreement between the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

Christine Hausman, Kentucky’s Act Early Ambassador, and Mary Howard, Director of Child Care Aware of Kentucky, will lead this effort to ensure there is continued and enhanced access to relevant developmental monitoring tools, materials, and program information that will improve resiliency of families with young children during the COVID-19 response. This opportunity is expected to help boost and evaluate the integration of parent-engaged developmental monitoring using “Learn the Signs. Act Early” (LTSAE) in statewide programs serving families with young children (birth to age 5).  

Dr. Kathy Sheppard-Jones, HDI’s Executive Director, says, “HDI has the team, the resources, and the broad partnerships necessary to carry out this critical initiative for Kentucky’s children and families.

Visit the LTSAE website to learn more.