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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ICI, UM Extension Partner For 4-H Youth
Talking with staff and volunteer 4-H leaders in a recent training session, Darcy Cole holds up multi-sensory rule paper, with raised lines. There are timers, a chime, and small fidgets commonly seen in schools, offices, and other spaces.
Using common items to assist club members to get the most out of a meeting not only keeps down the cost of accommodations, it helps to make those accommodations universal – available to 4-H members with and without disabilities.
“Some of these tools might be designed for people with disabilities, but good accommodations can be useful for everyone in the group,” said Cole, a regional 4-H Extension educator.
Working with Minnesota 4-H, part of University of Minnesota Extension, the Institute on Community Integration has created accommodation kits featuring these and other tools that are now available to clubs across the state. They help with decreasing stress, enhancing learning, and building fine-motor skills to improve the 4-H club experience for all participants. Beyond the physical tools in the kit and how to use them in different scenarios, the training involved tips and sharing stories amongst club leaders about ways to more fully include youth with disabilities. Adopting a 5-point scale for communicating feelings has been an important behavior support tool, for example.
Sarah Hall, an ICI research associate, helped create the kits as part of a Minnesota Department of Human Services grant and has continued to work with 4-H to implement strategies for increasing inclusivity in individual 4-H clubs. The work was part of a more than 2-year effort to support youth with disabilities and youth with disabilities from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups to participate in 4-H. ICI’s
Charity Funfe Tatah Mentan helped lead an early phase of the project that focused on engaging youth with disabilities from underserved and immigrant communities.
“We wanted to create training that speaks to the 4-H philosophy of youth themselves being leaders and involved in every step,” said Hall. “We wanted to give them activities they could adapt to their own clubs, whether they have five people or 40, based on their interests and abilities.”
Learn more about ICI’s work with 4-H. |
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ICI, Ed Psych Win AAIDD Awards
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) will honor the contributions of researchers from the Institute on Community Integration and the Department of Educational Psychology at AAIDD’s annual meeting in June, the organization announced.
ICI director Amy Hewitt will receive the 2024 Leadership Award, which recognizes courage, dedication, and outstanding contributions to the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Frank Symons,
senior associate dean for research and policy in the Department of Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development, will receive the 2024 Research Award for investigations that have contributed significantly to the body of scientific knowledge in the field.
The purpose of AAIDD’s annual awards is to recognize those who have made significant contributions that have influenced positive change in the IDD field over an extended period of time, the organization said in announcing the awards. Founded in 1876, AAIDD is the oldest professional association concerned with IDD.
ICI’s Brian Abery will receive the 2024 Service to the Field Award, recognizing his significant contributions to improved services for individuals with IDD. AAIDD also announced that Renáta Tichá will be recognized as a
Fellow of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (FAAIDD).
Learn more about the AAIDD award winners. |
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MPR News reporter Feven Gerezgiher and photojournalist Ben Hovland visited ICI today to interview student intern Jean Hauff and Institute on Community Integration employee Dupree Edwards for a story on inclusive postsecondary education. Learn more about college opportunities for students with intellectual disability at
mihec.ici.umn.edu. |
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Research and Training Center on Community Living: Summaries of Research Studies
Author: Julie Bershadsky
ICI’s Research and Training Center on Community Living and Participation for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (RTC-CL) has engaged in research, training, and outreach to enhance community living and participation for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) since 1988. The RTC-CL has made substantial contributions to increasing knowledge, improving practices, and influencing policies regarding people with IDD living in the community who receive or do not receive federal or state services. RTC-CL’s mission is to improve the lives of people with IDD through the generation of research-based knowledge, training, and dissemination focused on community living and participation.
This report includes the key findings, products, and publications of the seven RTC-CL research studies conducted from 2018–2023 and a two-part workforce supplement. Published by RTC-CL. |
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Getting Started with Telehealth for Early Intervention: Learning Modules
These online modules are intended for caregivers of young children with autism or related developmental disabilities who are preparing to begin early intervention over telehealth. The modules can be viewed on a computer, smartphone, or tablet. Some modules have short video clips and resources. Each module should take approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete. The modules guide caregivers through getting connected via telehealth technology, planning their first telehealth session, completing assessments via telehealth with your child, and intervention via telehealth. Available in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. Published by the TeleOutreach Center. |
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NCEO APR Snapshot Briefs
Managing Editor: Michael Moore
This long-running series of briefs provides snapshots of the participation and performance of special education students in statewide assessments used for Elementary and Secondary Education Act accountability using federally-submitted data. Published by ICI’s National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO). Three briefs were added to the series in the past month. |
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Charting the LifeCourse Online Session
January 24, 2024
10:30 a.m. – 12 pm Central Time
Charting the LifeCourse helps you plan a good life with your child or young adult and develop supports that help them live the life they want. Join us for a Zoom session on January 24 and learn to use Charting the LifeCourse framework in planning life’s transitions. The other three sessions explore balancing safety and the dignity of risk, communicating with teams, and supporting out-of-school programs.
Learn more about Charting the LifeCourse and register. |
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MIHEC Learning Community Event: “Creating Our Own Lives: College Students with Intellectual Disability”
February 13
6 pm – 7:15 pm Central Time
Register for this Zoom session with Beth Myers, co-editor of Creating Our Own Lives: College Students with Intellectual Disability
. Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities belong in higher education. Myers and her co-editor, Michael Gill, give voice to young adults with intellectual disability and their experiences in inclusive higher education and offers a powerful challenge to assumptions that intellectual disability is best met with protection or segregation. Myers is executive director of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education, assistant director for the Center on Disability and Inclusion, and a faculty member at Syracuse University. She oversees InclusiveU, a federally-recognized model program for college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Hosted by ICI’s
Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium (MIHEC). |
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MNLEND Seeks Fellows for 2024–25 Year
General admission deadline: February 15
ICI’s Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (MNLEND) program is accepting fellowship applications for the 2024–25 year.
MNLEND is a 10-month interdisciplinary leadership training program in policy advocacy and evidence-based research and practices to develop new leaders to be skilled in systems-thinking, effective in interventions and practices, and able to improve quality-of-life outcomes for children and youth with neurodevelopmental and related disabilities. Benefits include a generous stipend, national networking opportunities, lifelong interdisciplinary connections, and interdisciplinary leadership development. The MNLEND 2024–25 cohort training runs from mid-August 2024 until mid-May 2025. People from underrepresented and/or underserved communities are strongly encouraged to apply. Funded by the U.S. Maternal & Child Health Bureau.
Read more about MNLEND. |
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Policy Forum: “The Employment Impacts of Being a Family Caregiver“
February 16
1 pm – 2:30 pm Central Time
Family members play essential roles in the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including providing medical, emotional, financial, and day-to-day support. Family members who are the primary providers of support often have to make choices related to employment that can affect their long-term financial well-being, including leaving the workforce altogether. The recent Policy Research Brief, The Economic Impacts of Being a Family Caregiver, recommends several government policy programs, policy changes, and employer-provided benefits. Forum discussants will include ICI researcher
Lynda Lahti Anderson, Vanderbilt University professor of special education Meghan Burke, and Family Voices executive director Alyssa Ware. Everyone is welcome to attend this free forum, but registration is required. |
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Reinventing Quality Conference 2024
September 15–17
Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel
Baltimore, Maryland
A sponsor and exhibitor prospectus is now available for the 2024 Reinventing Quality conference. Established in 1991, RQ is a biennial conference showcasing best practices in person-centered supports from across the nation. The conference has an average attendance of 700 participants, representing a wide spectrum of human service professionals, policymakers, self-advocates, family members, direct support professionals, and advocates from all over the U.S. Participants represent a variety of organizations, including service providers, advocacy, and county, state, and federal government.
Read more about the conference. |
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Andrea Castillo and Jennifer Hall-Lande. On November 29, Castillo (pictured) and
Hall-Lande were among the presenters of “Engaging for Equity in Early Intervention” at the Division of Exceptional Children National Conference in Minneapolis; some of the other presenters were former MNLEND fellows. At that conference, Castillo and Hall-Lande were also among the presenters of “Understanding Latine Family Experience in Early Intervention” and Hall-Lande co-presented “CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early: Updated Milestones, Materials, and More.”
On December 7, Castillo and Hall-Lande were among the presenters of “Engaging for Equity in Early Intervention Project” to the Minnesota Department of Education’s Part C Providers and the state’s Early Childhood Special Education administration. On December 11, Hall-Lande presented “Partnering to Engage Communities and Promote Equitable Early Identification: Project Partnership with MN Follow Along Program” to the CDC’s Learn the Signs, Act Early national network. Hall-Lande co-presented “Engaging for Equity in Early Intervention Project” to the Minnesota Children’s Cabinet on December 14, and to Minnesota’s Family Engagement Grant Awardees and the state’s Early Childhood Special Education administration on December 20. |
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Jessica Bowman and Gail Ghere. On December 11, Bowman (pictured) and
Ghere presented a webinar on ”Designing Success: Inclusive Learning and Curriculum Access Using Universal Design for Learning” for the Kansas Infinitic Project to an audience of teachers, administrators and parents. Infinitec is an innovative assistive and education technology program that offers schools in Kansas access to state-of-the-art technology information, equipment, and professional learning resources, as well as a wide variety of instructional resources based on the principles of Universal Design for Learning. |
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Sandra Pettingell and Julie Bershadsky. On December 11–15, Pettingell (pictured) and
Bershadsky delivered an in-person SupportWise
Data Boot Camp for human resources and administration staff from Rhode Island agencies that provide support and services to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. SupportWise Data is part of ICI’s Direct Support Workforce Solutions, a national consulting group addressing the workforce needs of organizations providing community-based supports for individuals with disabilities. |
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Amy Hewitt. On January 10, Hewitt
delivered a keynote presentation, ”Reflecting Forward: 30 Years of Community Living,” at the Everyday Lives conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The following day, at the same conference, she co-presented ”The Direct Support Workforce in a Post-COVID-19 Service System” with Joe Macbeth, director of the National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals. |
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Tipping the Grant Scales
In Christen Opsal’s world of academic grants, there are two kinds of research proposals: Successful, and not-yet-successful.
That optimism serves her well in the role of research development coordinator for the social sciences in the College of Liberal Arts, a job she’s held since returning to the University of Minnesota in 2019 after a four-year stint at the University of Northern Iowa. Opsal started her career at the Institute on Community Integration in 2001, working as an editorial assistant and office manager in the publications office. While at ICI, she held a variety of positions, supporting programs working on transition and youth development, the Check & Connect student engagement model, and others. In 2014, she completed a doctoral degree in educational policy and leadership at the University.
Besides being a fan of ICI’s strong culture of supporting employees who are furthering their education, which allowed her to complete her doctoral work, Opsal said she developed a way of thinking about the grant-writing process at ICI that has served her well.
“Grant writing is very pragmatic and task-based. You have to help writers think logically about the steps they’ll need to take to accomplish the goal. What is the outcome, and how does our contribution help?” she said. “We often remind people they’ll have to convince reviewers that what they do has value. There is feasibility and proving your potential to accomplish something, but I would add a third element: Does it matter?”
The does-it-matter question, she said, was formed in part by her work at ICI to improve the daily lives of people with disabilities.
Read more about Opsal. |
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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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