Ensuring that all children, youth, and adults with disabilities, and those receiving educational supports, are valued by and contribute to their communities of choice. |
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Becoming: Young Adults Envision Active Futures
Checking out a recent career and resource fair at Minneapolis Public Schools’ Center for Adult Learning, Taylor Dowd steps away briefly to share her long-term aspirations.
“I’ve always dreamed about traveling the world – and being a famous chef,” said Dowd, who took the first step toward the chef dream a few months ago when she began working in a University of Minnesota dining hall. She’s among a group of nearly three dozen young adults with MPS’ Transition Plus program who work in University food service facilities. Transition Plus provides post-secondary education and training in career and independent living skills to promote a successful transition from high school to adult life, as established by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Conor Davis, who also works in a University dining hall through the program, rattles off a long list of future career steps he’s thinking about. Dowd, Davis, and other attendees are thinking about more than just work as they enter adulthood, however. They want to travel, live, and work on their own terms.
The Institute is partnering with MPS, state employment, human services, and education departments, other local schools and transition programs, and service providers to improve the experiences of young people with disabilities as they move from high school to adult life. ICI’s Renáta Tichá and Brian Abery
are leading the Institute’s contribution to the five-year effort, helping to evaluate a new, tiered transition framework developed at the state level and being piloted in four area school districts. Funded by the Administration on Community Living, it is a designated Project of National Significance to increase community-based employment, participation in higher education, and independence among Minnesota’s youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
Read more about Transition Plus. |
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Beyond the Pay: More Reasons to End Subminimum Wages
Early in her shift at City Center Market, Nellie Lee (pictured) is stocking shelves and reminiscing about one of her recent ideas to have store workers dress up in western gear for a day.
“Her co-workers say she makes their shifts more fun, and customers really seem to enjoy talking with her and asking her where things are,” said John Kenny, her manager. “And, she’s one of just two people in the store who cross over from stocking shelves to working in the deli and also in our wellness aisle.”
“I like interacting with others, making people happy and joyful,” Lee said. Such so-called soft skills are in high demand today, particularly in jobs involving interaction with the public.
Kenny met Lee through PHASE-Industries, one of eight provider organizations that have committed to ending their use of subminimum wages by 2024 under a Minnesota Department of Human Services grant awarded last year to ICI, along with the University of Massachusetts Boston and other partners, including The Arc.
The Minnesota Transformation Initiative Technical Assistance Center was created to help organizations and people with disabilities move away from segregated work sites paying below the minimum wage. For decades, in an effort to encourage employers to hire people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the federal government has allowed employers to pay workers with disabilities wages that are below the statutory minimum. This spring, state lawmakers in Minnesota are considering a measure to end subminimum wages altogether.
“This is a big shift for providers, particularly those in rural areas,” said Danielle Mahoehney, a community living and employment specialist with ICI. “It really goes so much deeper than just ending subminimum wages. It’s about engaging with your community and building citizenship.
Read more about ending subminimum wages. |
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As Part of CDC Report, ICI Researchers Find that 1 in 34 Children were Identified with Autism in the Twin Cities Metro Area
A report by ICI’s Minnesota-Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (MN-ADDM) at the University of Minnesota identified 1 in 34 (3.0%) 8-year-old children as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Minnesota. The report relied on 2020 data from 16,150 children in parts of Anoka, Hennepin, and Ramsey counties.
Minnesota is part of an 11-state network funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC found that, on average, 1 in 36 (2.8%) children were identified as having ASD in communities where prevalence was tracked by the ADDM Network in 2020, an increase from 1 in 44 in 2018. This estimate is based on 8-year-old children living in parts of 11 states and does not represent the entire population of children in the United States.
“Overall, these latest autism prevalence numbers tell us that we are identifying more children with autism in our communities than in previous years,” said Dr. Jennifer Hall-Lande, co-principal investigator for the Minnesota project. “It is important to remember that behind these numbers are real children and families. In the end, what matters is that children with autism and their families get the support and services they need to live healthy and successful lives.”
The latest data provides valuable information on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on autism identification. Both nationally and within Minnesota there was a stark drop-off in evaluations and identifications at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. “These data also provide a first-hand look at the impact of the pandemic on autism evaluations and early identification. During the pandemic, we saw a significant reduction in autism evaluation and early autism identification, and these delays in early identification can have a significant impact on a child’s future development,” said Hall-Lande.
Read more about the autism prevalence report. |
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Harnessing Uniqueness: MNLEND Fellow Leverages Neuroscience Advances to Explore Brain-Behavior Links
Differences in individual brain structure and function – even within groups of people already diagnosed with autism, for example – create challenges for scientists trying to study how it contributes to language and other behaviors.
Thanks to large neuroimaging databases now available at the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, however, scientists are beginning to discover patterns that could point to more personalized and effective strategies for regulating emotions, or developing social cognition, among other skills.
Damien Fair (pictured at left), co-director of the MIDB and director of the Developmental Cognition and Neuroimaging Lab, and Sanju Koirala (right), a MNLEND fellow at the Institute on Community Integration, recently shared their work in neuroimaging studies with the 2022–23 MNLEND fellowship class. MNLEND
stands for the Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities, an interdisciplinary leadership training program spanning more than 16 disciplines across the University.
“We can now categorize people not as a binary group – those with and without autism – but by individual differences in their brain networks,” said Koirala. “In LEND we talk a lot about person-centered thinking and this is how I adopt that in my research. Not everybody is the same.”
Read more about brain-behavior links. |
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NIDILRR Director Anjali Forber-Pratt urges the research community to dive more deeply into the multiple cultural identities of people with disabilities. ”The layers and systemic forces of oppression that I experienced are at the heart of what we mean by intersectional research,” Dr. Forber-Pratt, a two-time Paralympian, writes in the new issue of Impact. Read it today! |
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NCEO Data Analytics 17: Number and Percentage of Students with Disabilities by Disability Category from 2005–06 to 2020–21
Authors: Yi-Chen Wu, Martha L Thurlow, and Sheryl Lazarus
This interactive report
presents information on the percentage of students with disabilities ages 6–17, and the percentage of these students by category for school years 2005–06 to 2020–21. Students with disabilities are students who receive special education services as indicated in an Individualized Education Program (IEP). The U.S. Department of education receives data from states on the number of these students in each of 13 disability categories, and the number and percentage of students with disabilities varies over time, by category, and by state. The data in this report allow users to view trends over time, disability categories, and provides data by state. Published by ICI’s National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). |
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NCEO Data Analytics 18: Number and Percentage of English Learners with Disabilities by Disability Category, 2012–13 to 2020–21
Authors: Yi-Chen Wu, Kristin K Liu, and Sheryl Lazarus
This interactive report
presents information on the percentage of students with disabilities ages 6–21 who are also English learners (i.e., English learners with disabilities), and the proportion of these students by category for school years 2012–13 and 2020–21. English learners with disabilities are students who receive special education services as indicated in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and who are also developing English proficiency. The U.S. Department of education receives data from states on the number of these students in each of 13 disability categories, and the number and percentage of English learners with disabilities varies over time, by category, and by state. The data in this report allow users to view one or more disability categories for comparison, and provides data by state. Published by NCEO. |
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Journal Articles Published
Tichá, R., Abery, B., & Šiška, J. (2023) Editorial: Improving the quality of outcome measurement for adults with disabilities receiving community-based services. Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, 4:1163522.
doi: 10.3389/fresc.2023.1163522
Kolb, R. L., McComas, J. J., Girtler, S. N., Simacek, J., Dimian, A. F., Unholz-Bowden, E. K.,
& Shipchandler, A. H. (2023). Teaching requesting to individuals with Rett Syndrome using alternative augmentative communication (AAC) through caregiver coaching via telehealth. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-023-09894-9
Shaw, K.A., Bilder, D. A., McArthur, D., et al. (2023). Early Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 4 Years — Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2020. MMWR Surveill Summ 2023;72(No. SS-1):1–15. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.ss7201a1 |
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"Invaluable" Included in Festival Honoring Care Workers Recognition Month
April 21–30
Online
The Workers Unite! Film Festival is screening ”Invaluable: The Unrecognized Profession of Direct Support” in honor of Care Workers Recognition Month. Free screenings run from April 21 (6 pm EST) through April 30. |
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MIHEC Community of Practice Gathering: "Inclusive Teaching, In Theory and Practice"
May 15
3 pm Central Time
A gathering of faculty and staff from Minnesota colleges and universities who are either interested in or part of their campus’ inclusive higher education initiatives. Faculty members Annette Romualdo (University of Minnesota Duluth) and Diana Joseph (Minnesota State University, Mankato) will facilitate the conversation. This Zoom event from the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium (MIHEC) is a safe and welcoming space to learn, network, share resources, brainstorm, and problem-solve.
Registration is open. Please email MIHEC with any questions. |
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Schleien Scholarship Accepting Applications
The Jason David Schleien Memorial Scholarship offers $3,000 to qualified students who actively promote the community inclusion of individuals with disabilities, disadvantaged youth, and other underserved populations. These activities could take place in the spring, summer or fall. Students must be enrolled full-time at the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development and report their experiences to the Schleien family after completing the project. Applicants should submit a one-page proposal to ICI’s
Nik Fernholz outlining their interest in the stated examples of areas of study and working with the relevant populations. Read more about this scholarship opportunity. |
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Jessica Simacek and Seunghee Lee. On March 22, Simacek
(pictured) virtually presented, ”Telehealth to bridge barriers to intervention access,” to the Supporting Pediatric Research on Outcomes in Telehealth network’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On March 22–24, Simacek and Lee presented, ”Telehealth to advance early education research and implementation science,” at the Badar-Kauffman Conference at Kent State University in Ohio. |
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Akeem Anderson. On March 23, Anderson, a current MNLEND fellow, presented on intersectionality and identity-based etiquette at the 4-H Central Region staff meeting.
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Jennifer Hall-Lande. On March 29–30, Hall-Lande
presented wellness work on direct support professionals and other public health project work at the annual Art and Science of Health Promotion project in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The conference hosted public health, medical, clinical, and wellness professionals. |
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Sheryl Larson. On March 29, Larson
presented a webinar on highlights from ICI’s Residential Information Systems Project (RISP) for the U.S. Administration on Community Living, Housing and Services Research Center. RISP is a longitudinal study of long-term supports and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The study began in 1977. |
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Piecing Together Progress
FYI recently caught up with Hillary (Ross) Tabor, a 2008 graduate of the Institute’s Disability Policy and Services certificate, who also completed a law degree and a master’s in education policy at the University of Minnesota.
“The specialization in disability was incredibly important in helping me understand more about the policy levers and how they fit together,” Tabor said. “I had taught special education before law school, but the master’s and certificate programs helped me bring the pieces together to understand how people will be affected by policies.”
Today, Tabor works with Congressional leaders and staff members on a variety of regulatory and policy issues as a management and program analyst for the U.S. Department of Education.
“We have some incredible disability advocates on the Hill on both sides of the aisle,” she said. “Special education tends to be an area where most everyone agrees we need to be supportive and not create barriers to school and employment. It’s one of those bright lights that, when you look around at what else is happening on the Hill today, stands out as an area of collaboration. It really helps remind me that there is still a lot of good going on.”
Read more about Tabor. |
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This email was sent to ICI staff by Institute on Community Integration, 2025 East River Parkway, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
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The University of Minnesota stands on Miní Sóta Makhóčhe, the rightful homelands of the Dakhóta Oyáte. ICI recognizes that the U.S. did not uphold its end of these land treaties. It is the current and continued displacement of the Dakhóta Oyáte
that allows the University to remain today. At ICI, we affirm our commitment to address systemic racism, ableism and all other inequalities and forms of oppression to ensure inclusive communities. |
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