December 2010, Vol 10. No.12
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December 2010, Vol 10. No.12

AAIDD F.Y.I.
December 2010, Vol.10, No.12
Visit www.aaidd.org/FYI/ to access current and past issues of this monthly newsletter. Subscribe at http://www.responsetrack.net/aaidd/sign_up

Dear AAIDD Friends and Colleagues:

NEW SUPERVISOR TRAINING CURRICULUM FROM AAIDD IS DESIGNED TO IMPROVE WORK QUALITY AND CONTENTMENT AMONG DIRECT SUPPORT STAFF
A new training curriculum titled The Supervisor Training Curriculum: Evidence-Based Ways to Promote Work Quality and Staff Enjoyment by Dennis H. Reid et al. trains current and prospective supervisors in evidence-based strategies of motivating and supervising direct support staff working with people with intellectual disability. Most adults spend a large part of life working and quality of life is better when people enjoy their work. In the direct support profession, where staff turnover and burnout is high, people are more likely to keep their job if they enjoy their work, and supervisors can make a huge difference. The Supervisor Training Curriculum is based on the authors’ experience of thirty years in the field of psychology and human services. Learn more about The Supervisor Training Curriculum. Listen to a podcast interview with author Dr. Dennis H. Reid. Read an interview with two supervisors at The Arc of Frederick County, Maryland.

The Supervisor Training Curriculum is published by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). There is a special 15 percent pre-publication discount offer on The Supervisor Training Curriculum until January 1, 2011. Learn more at http://bookstore.aaidd.org.

NEW DATA SHOWS A 13 PERCENT INCREASE IN CHIDREN FROM BIRTH TO 21 YEARS LIVING IN AN OUT-OF-HOME FACILITY FROM 1997 THROUGH 2009, FALLING SHORT OF THE HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010 OBJECTIVES TO REDUCE TO ZERO THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN LIVING IN CONGREGATE CARE FACILITIES
The Healthy People (HP) 2010 initiative established goals and specific objectives for improving health in the United States, and Objective 6.7b of HP was to “Reduce to zero the number of children aged 17 years and younger living in congregate care facilities”. However, between 1997 and 2009 (the target period for this HP 2010 objective), the number of children ages birth to 14 years living in congregate care settings declined only slightly from 10,243 to 9,734. However, the number of children ages 15 to 21 years living in those settings increased from 15,785 to 19,696. Similarly, the proportion of children 14 years and younger with intellectual and developmental disability living in congregate settings declined slightly from 3.0% to 2.2% between 1997 and 2009, but the proportion who were 15 to 21 years increased slightly from 4.6% to 4.7%.

These findings are published in an article titled “Children and Youth With Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities Living in Congregate Care Settings (1977–2009): Healthy People 2010 Objective 6.7b Outcomes” by Sheryl Larson et al. in the October 2010 issue of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is published by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD). Learn more about AAIDD journals at www.aaiddjournals.org.

IQ SCORES FAIL TO PREDICT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISM, NEW STUDY SHOWS
New data shows that many children with autism spectrum disorders have greater academic abilities than previously thought. In a study by researchers at the University of Washington, 90 percent of high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders showed a discrepancy between their IQ score and their performance on reading, spelling, and math tests.

The study titled “Discrepancies Between Academic Achievement and Intellectual Ability in Higher-Functioning School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder” by Annette Estes et al. is published in the online Nov. 2 edition of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Read the full text of the article (for free).

NEW RESEARCH BY DUTCH GENETICISTS SHOWS THAT SPONTAEOUS MUTATIONS ARE AN IMPORTANT CAUSE OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY
New research by Dutch geneticists affiliated with the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre show that the majority of cases of intellectual disability are caused by spontaneous mutations in paternal sperm or maternal egg cells. This novel research finding is likely to cause a small revolution in the world of medical genetics. It is expected that approximately 1,000 of all 20,000 genes can cause intellectual disability. When a de novo mutation hits one of these genes, it will result in intellectual disability.

“A de novo paradigm for mental retardation” by Lisenka E L M Vissers et al. is published in the November 14 online issue of Nature Genetics. Read an abstract. Read a news release from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre.

DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS EMPLOYED BY PRIVATE PROVIDERS EARN SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER ENTRY WAGES THAN THOSE WORKING IN STATE-OPERATED ORGANIZATIONS, THE ANCOR 2009 DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS WAGE STUDY SHOWS
The ANCOR’s second annual report on the national wage, turnover, and retention comparisons of direct support professionals (DSPs) reveals that the average wages paid to DSPs in a private provider agency was 51% lower than the average wage paid to similar employees in a state-operated agency. Also, the average Entry Wage within private-operated providers was a mere 6% higher than the Federal Poverty Level for a family of three, compared to being 34% higher within private provider settings. The report also provides additional information and statistics on how the DSP wages compare to the Federal Poverty Level; the wages for providers operating with varying budgets and serving different sizes of communities; the average turnover and retention rates for DSPs; and predictions that can be made about whether entry wages affect turnover rate.

Read “2009 Direct Support Professionals Wage Study”.

HEAVY RECRUITMENT OF WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT OR LIKELY TO GET PREGNANT CONTINUES FOR THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S STUDY
The National Children’s Study is the nation’s richest research effort geared towards studying children’s health and development and the study will form the basis of child health guidance, interventions, and policies for generations to come. In late September of this year, the National Children’s Study began recruiting at 30 newly-activated locations across the country, and following that, a flurry of outreach activities via radio and television interviews and announcements were released to enroll more women into the study. To find out about your eligibility to enroll in the study, visit your local study location’s website. See a national list of study locations. Read an overview of the National’s Children’s Study. Listen to a podcast on the study. Read a news release from the National Institutes of Health.

AAIDD F.Y.I. is compiled by Anu Prabhala, Editor, and is published by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Formerly AAMR). Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to anu@aaidd.org. To learn about AAIDD products, visit http://bookstore.aaidd.org. For more information on becoming an AAIDD member, visit /content_14.cfm?navID=13.

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