News & Events
Special Education Law and How to Advocate for Your Child
The program, presented by Orv Karan, PhD, will focus on what schools can and should do by law on behalf of students with disabilities. The session will provide a broad overview of special education with a specific focus on helping families understand special education laws and the entitlements and services they provide on behalf of students with disabilities. Families will learn how to navigate and advocate for their child within the school system.
Waterford Country School, Norwich
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
9:30am –12:30pm
UConn Health Center, Farmington
Thursday, October 7, 2010
9:30am –12:30pm
Family Services Woodfield, Bridgeport
Saturday, September 25, 2010
9:30am –12:30pm
Space is limited! Reserve your seat today by calling 860-679-4006.
RESCHEDULED: Enhancing Participation of Infant-Toddlers and Preschoolers Through the Use of Assistive Technology
Due to low registration numbers, this workshop, scheduled for August 12-13, has been cancelled and rescheduled for the fall.
The new dates for this 2-day presentation on the use and selection of adaptation and assistive technology to increase young children’s participation in their everyday routines are October 4-5, 2010.
When: Monday, October 4 and Tuesday, October 5, 2010 – 9:00am-3:00pm each day
(Registration – 8:30am)
Where: Pappanikou Center for Disabilities, 270 Farmington Ave. (The Exchange), Farmington, CT
Click here to register online
Click here for event flyer
For questions, please contact Jessica Sims at 860-679-1539 or sims@uchc.edu
Fall Workshop Series: Focusing on Positive Behavior Supports, Inclusive Education, and Autism Spectrum Differences
Aimed at classroom teachers, special educators, paraprofessionals, related services providers, parents, adult services providers,general and special program administrators, and others interested in providing state-of-the-art supports to improve quality of life and quality of individualize
education programs
These workshops, starting August 31st, are presented by a collaboration between the A.J. Pappanikou Center on Disabilities and the Autism Spectrum Differences Institute-New England.
For additional information or to register for these workshops, please contact Linda Rammler, PhD. At 860-338-0165 or email at lindarwc@comcast.net
Click here to view flyer for this workshop series.
Molly Cole, Associate Director at the A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Being Recognized
Molly Cole, Associate Director at the A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities is being recognized as one of the groundbreakers that made the promise of the ADA a reality in Connecticut. These groundbreakers are the advocates who were willing to picket, fight and litigate to disrupt the status quo and demand a new inclusive society. They are the people who helped break ground that opened the doors of opportunity for many who followed. At the commemoration of the signing of the ADA on July 26th the ADA Coalition of Connecticut will recognize those advocates who have been key in making the ADA work in Connecticut. All these groundbreakers will be recognized in the program booklet and will receive certificates to commemorate the event. The event will be held on Monday, July 26th at the Legislative Office Building from 2:30 to 4:430. Former Governor and U.S. Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. a chief architect of the ADA will be the Keynote Speaker.
The A.J. Pappanikou Center Mourns the Loss of Long Time Advocate and Friend, Polly Arango
Polly Arango, co-founder of Family Voices and a nationally known advocate for children, died in a freak one car accident in Alamosa, CO on Saturday, June 26, 2010. A resident of Algodones, NM since 1977, Polly is survived by her husband John, her four children, seven grandchildren, and seven of her eight brothers and sisters.
Polly was a tireless advocate for children and adults with special health care needs, and for quality health care for children. When it was discovered that her adopted son, Nicolas, had a severe developmental disability, she advocated for a full education and access to health care for children with chronic health conditions and began organizing the families of these children. She co-founded Parents Reaching Out (PRO) of New Mexico and remained active in this organization until her death.
When the Clinton Health Reform effort failed to take account of the needs of children with disabilities, Polly and a group of advocates from around the country founded Family Voices to improve access and quality of health care for children with special needs. She ran the organization out of her home for several years as the organization grew and she served as the first Executive Director of Family Voices. Family Voices now has active State Affiliate Organizations across the country and a strong national, regional and local presence; Polly was an active volunteer and supporter of the organization.
Polly worked closely with many officials in the federal Health and Human Services Department in such initiatives as Family-Centered Care, Parent-Professional Partnerships, and the Medical Home.
In the past decade, Polly added a new emphasis on children in general and particularly on children's health. She became associated with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) where she served on the Board of Directors.
In all her work, Polly advocated for a significant role for parents in designing and delivering services for children, and for reasonableness and transparency in government. Polly was particularly excited by the passage of the Health Care Reform bill earlier this year.
She was the author of many articles and book chapters, and spoke frequently at meetings around the country. A memorial service will be announced shortly. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Family Voices, New Mexico Voices for Children or PRO.
A Survey for Connecticut Pediatricians Concerning Screening and Referral of Toddlers for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Connecticut Pediatricians are encouraged to complete the survey by clicking on the following link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/DHCH8T7
The purpose of this study is to discover the screening and referral trends that exist among Connecticut pediatricians concerning toddlers suspected of having developmental delays, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorders (ADS). We hope to identify components of clinical excellence as well as barriers to universal screening within these trends. This research will highlight a compilation of the professional opinions and routine practices of CT pediatricians with an emphasis on potential barriers to universal screening of all toddlers and consistency of referrals per the AAP recommendations.
The results of this needs assessment survey will be reported on the website of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program at the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities: http://www.uconnucedd.org/lend/. Posted with the results will be a list of resources specifically addressing areas of need as revealed by the survey.
It is our hope that this study will identify and break down barriers preventing universal screening and appropriate referral through enhanced communication. Overcoming these factors is an important measure to facilitate the capture of more children who would benefit from immediate post-screening early intervention and to establish an individualized baseline against which to compare re-screening for others.
Tell Us About Your Training Needs
The A. J. Pappanikou Center for Developmental Disabilities would like to offer intensive training opportunities this summer and we need your input! Please follow the link below to complete the survey. Your input will help us offer training to best suit your needs.
Training Needs Survey
UCEDD Launches a Faith Based Initiative
As part of our efforts to ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities and their families in all aspects of community, the UCEDD has launched a faith based initiative to assist faith communities in supporting and engaging persons with disabilities. Several activities have already begun as part of this project:
- We have convened an advisory council of consumers and representatives of various faith communities to share their expertise and suggestions.
- We have launched a series of radio broadcasts in partnership with the Conference of Churches. These seven minute broadcasts are featured on the Health segment of RICH ANSWERS, a show about Religion and Public Affairs hosted by Rev. Shelley Copeland of the Conference of Churches. The show is broadcast on WRCH, 100.5 FM at 5:30AM Sunday mornings. The first two segments will air on November 18th, and we plan to develop an entire series on including persons with disabilities into worship, religious education, pastoral care, and the social life of faith congregations.
- We have begun identifying faith communities who have ideas and strategies to share with others, and we will feature these both on the broadcasts and in other forms of support and assistance through our faith based initiative.
For more information please contact:
Molly Cole
860.679.1595
mcole@uchc.edu
Seeking Participants with a Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder or Fragile X Syndrome
Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is investigating cortical plasticity in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and Fragile X syndrome using noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an experimental way to transiently activate specific brain areas through the scalp that has been used for the past 20 years in neurology and psychiatry. Safety guidelines have been developed that will be closely followed.
The study involves up to 7 visits.
Subjects will be asked to undergo a neurological exam, neuropsychological assessments, MRI, and TMS.
Study Eligibility: Subjects must be 15-65 years of age, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders or Fragile X Syndrome, have no known history of neurofibromatosis or tuberous sclerosis, cerebral palsy, frank neurological damage, or significant dysmorphology.
Subjects will be compensated $60 per session for their participation.
If you are interested, or to learn more, please contact Lindsay Oberman at 617-667-5247 or loberman@bidmc.harvard.edu.
UConn UCEDD Director, Mary Beth Bruder, Ph.D., calls for use of stimulus funds to train professionals in Birth-to-Three programs.
In a recent Education Week article about federal economic-stimulus money for education, Dr. Bruder was quoted as saying, “Personnel needs are tremendous, as are service-coordinator needs. We’re not training enough, and we’re not training well, in the preservice arena."
UConn Study on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS)In Progress
The SBS parent education models under study were both implemented and evaluated as primary prevention interventions. This study will take place within the Nurturing Families Network Intensive Home Visiting Programs, funded by the Connecticut Children’s Trust Fund, which is a secondary prevention program that targets first time mothers who screen as being at-risk for child maltreatment. This study represents the first effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the two parent education models as secondary prevention interventions. Data is still being collected for this project. For more information, please contact:
Cristina Mogro-Wilson, Ph.D.
860.679.1529
cmwilson@uchc.edu
Click here to view this project.
UConn UCEDD provides editorial support to Infants and Young Children, an Interdisciplinary Journal of Special Care.
UConn UCEDD provides editorial support to Infants and Young Children, an Interdisciplinary Journal of Special Care. Mary Beth Bruder, Ph.D, Professor of Pediatrics and Educational Psychology and the Director of the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service, is now the editor of the Journal.