August 2010, Vol. 10, No. 8

SIGN UP FOR AN AAIDD WEBINAR (FREE) ON “INDIVIDUALIZED SUPPORTS PLANNING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION: APPLICATIONS TO STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY” ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2010
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) is hosting the first of its best practices webinars based on Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports (Eleventh edition), the Association’s authoritative definition manual. “Individualized supports planning in special education: Applications to students with intellectual disability” to be held on September 27^th at 3:30 pm US EST, features authors Martha Snell, PhD and Karrie Shogren, PhD, and special education teacher Paula Fallon, M.Ed., as panelists. The webinar will focus on informing special education teachers and administrators on how individualized supports planning can be used to build on strengths, and address the challenges in social thinking that students with intellectual disability may experience in classrooms. 

Register for the webinar. Learn more about Intellectual Disability at www.aaidd.org/intellectualdisabilitybook.

U.S. GOVERNMENT WILL BE A MODEL EMPLOYER OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, PRESIDENT OBAMA PROMISES, AS HE SIGNS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER ON THE 20^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

During a July 26 ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order that will establish the federal government as a model employer of individuals with disabilities.  The order directs several federal agencies to design model recruitment and hiring strategies to increase employment of people with disabilities within specified timeframes, and mandates training programs for both human resources personnel and hiring managers. Read a transcript of President Obama’s Executive Order. Read a transcript of President Obama’s entire speech at the ADA 20^th anniversary celebration. Listen to a Public Service Announcement from President Obama on the ADA anniversary.

Also in related news, the U.S. Justice Department announces new ADA regulations. Sign the Spirit of the ADA pledge. View a list of ADA celebrations around the country.

READ TWO NEW ANALYSES ON HOW THE RECENT U.S. HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL AFFECT PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
The June 2010 issue of the journal, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, highlights some of the provisions in President Obama’s health care reform legislation (P.L. 111–148) specifically affecting individuals with developmental disabilities. Read “Implications of Health Care Reform for Individuals With Disabilities” by Joe Caldwell. Learn more about Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Also, the United Spinal Association and The National Spinal Cord Injury Association have prepared an analysis on how the healthcare reform law interfaces with disability.

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Visit the AAIDD booth at the Reinventing Quality Conference in Baltimore, MD, August 8-10, 2010

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INTERVIEW SPOTLIGHT ON TWO GIANTS IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: DR. TEMPLE GRANDIN AND DR. TAMAR HELLER

The Gerontology division newsletter of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) features interviews with Dr. Temple Grandin, arguably the most famous person with autism in the world today and subject of a recent HBO film “Temple Grandin” which has garnered 15 Emmy Nominations including the best actress nod for Clare Danes. Also in the same issue is an interview with Dr. Tamar Heller, one of the most prominent researchers on aging issues for people with developmental disabilities. Dr. Heller is Professor and Head of the Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago and director of its University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities for the State of Illinois. 

Also in aging and end-of-life news, a special pre-publication offer on End-of-Life Care for Children and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ends August 4, 2010. A special issue of the newsletter, Impact, from the Institute on Community Integration at the University of Minnesota, explores perspectives on aging and end-of-life from the point of view of self-advocates, siblings, researchers, and practitioners.

THE ARC LAUNCHES SURVEY TO CAPTURE PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES; GEORGIA SURVEY REVEALS RESIDENTS HAVE LITTLE EXPOSURE TO PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES OR THE ISSUES THEY FACE

Take the “Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports” survey designed by The Arc of the United States, a national effort to tap into the knowledge and perspectives of individuals and families within the intellectual and developmental disabilities community. The goal of the survey is to better understand what services are available, what gaps exist, and what new supports are needed for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

In other survey news, a state-wide survey by the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities finds that only 33 percent of the general public is likely to say that they come across or even notice persons with developmental disabilities in their everyday lives (33.3%), even if they have a family member with a disability (44.3%).