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FYI Newsletter August 31, 2009
Quick Scan:
- Institute Key Collaborator in Developing Professional Competencies for Teachers of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Champion Your Future Conference
- Kiwanis Health and Safety Fun Fair
- Indiana Institute Staff Retreat Features Dean Fixsen
- SABE 2008 Conference Highlights DVD
- Alliance for Full Participation Sets Goal of Doubling Employment Among People with Developmental Disabilities
- Library Corner
IN THE NEWS
INSTITUTE KEY COLLABORATOR IN DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES FOR TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS: The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), in conjunction with the Autism Society of America (ASA), has announced the publication of professional competencies for teaching students with autism spectrum disorders.
These competencies, the result of a three-year grant funded by the Autism Society of America, will be incorporated into the CEC's resource on highly qualified teachers titled What Every Special Educator Needs to Know and endorsed by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
"As the incidence of autism has increased, universities and colleges created their own version of competencies to guide program development," said Cathy Pratt, director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at Indiana University and chair of the Autism Society Board, who worked on the competencies.
"With the release of these competencies and through the leadership of the Autism Society and the CEC, there is now a national standard that can be used for both course and program creation and for professional development in schools," Pratt said. "This will increase the probability that new teachers will enter the classroom with the skills and knowledge needed to educate students across the autism spectrum."
Family members and individuals on the spectrum played a key role in the competencies development process. Research and technical assistance was provided by the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) and partners from the Network of Autism Training and Technical Programs (NATTAP), which includes the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community's Indiana Resource Center for Autism.
NATTAP will be integral in the implementation and training of the use of the competencies in school districts. Additionally, the competencies will be incorporated into textbooks used by universities and integrated into a platform of 80 Autism Internet Modules currently under development. For more information, contact Pratt at prattc@indiana.edu or (812) 855-6508.
UPCOMING
CHAMPION YOUR FUTURE CONFERENCE: The location for the Champion Your Future Conference will be at Raymond Park Middle School in Indianapolis, not Stonybrook Middle School, as was identified in last week’s edition of the FYI. Our apologies for the error.
Conference registration fee is $15.00 per person. For more information, contact the Arc of Indiana at (317) 977-2375 or 1-800-382-9100 or FUSE at (317) 462-9064 or visit http://www.arcind.org or http://www.fuse.org. This conference is sponsored by the Governor's Council for People with Disabilities, the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, IN*SOURCE, and R.A.I.S.E.
KIWANIS HEALTH AND SAFETY FUN FAIR: The Kiwanis Club of South Central Indiana will host a children’s health and safety fair on September 19, 2009 from 10:00-2:00 p.m. at the Sherwood Oaks Christian Church in Bloomington. The fair will feature tethered hot air balloon rides by ReMax, vision screenings by Long Family Eye Care, lead screenings by Bloomington Hospital, exhibitors, door prizes, and more!! For more information, contact Vanessa McLary at (812) 327-8575 or e-mail vmmcclary@msn.com.
ACROSS THE COURTYARD
INDIANA INSTITUTE STAFF RETREAT FEATURES DEAN FIXSEN: The work of the Indiana Institute is about putting good ideas into everyday life in schools and communities in the interest of people with disabilities. Doing this better and in new ways was the focus of our annual retreat held last week.
The Institute was fortunate to secure Dean Fixsen, Ph.D. as the featured speaker. Fixsen is the Co-Director of the National Implementation Research Network and of the State Implementation and Scaling-Up Evidence-Based Practices Center at the Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
The purpose of the State Implementation and Scaling up Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Center is to help states establish adequate capacity to carry out effective implementation, organizational change, and systems transformation strategies to maximize the academic achievement and behavioral health outcomes of students statewide. For more information, visit http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~sisep/.
Additionally, for every non-perishable food item brought in by staff, the Institute’s Management Team would match those efforts to benefit those in the Bloomington Community less fortunate. Results of the CAN for CAN Challenge… Everybody won. A total of 550 pounds of non-perishable food items were donated to the Bloomington Food Bank.
NEW INSTITUTE DVD
SABE 2008 CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS DVD: The Indiana Institute’s Center on Aging and Community has completed a DVD that highlights opening night ceremonies, keynote presentations, exhibits, educational sessions, and more from the national Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) conference held in Indianapolis on September 4-7, 2008. Cost for this DVD is $10.00 per copy and the run time is 55 minutes. To order, visit the Institute’s e-store at www.iidc.indiana.edu.
IN EMPLOYMENT
ALLIANCE FOR FULL PARTICIPATION SETS GOAL OF DOUBLING EMPLOYMENT AMONG PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: The Alliance for Full Participation has announced that the goal of its new campaign, Real Jobs – It’s Everybody’s Business, is to double the employment rate for people with disabilities by 2015. The Alliance has also outlined the issues that will guide the work of stakeholder teams in each state and the District of Columbia, leading up to the 2011 Summit.
The employment rate for typical Americans is 79.7%, while the employment rate for people with developmental disabilities is only 22%. The campaign seeks to close the employment gaps by doubling that figure to 44% within five years. According to Chester Finn, President of Self Advocates Becoming Empowered, “This goal is important for people with disabilities because we want to work, make money and accomplish our goals and aspirations. Furthermore, when we work, we’re contributing valuable skills and assets to our communities.”
"Setting a goal to double the employment rate for those with developmental disabilities is the only way we can move towards our actual goal of full participation for all people in community life," said AFP chair James F. Gardner, PhD.
The effort to improve employment outcomes in communities across the country will be led by a team in each state. The state teams, comprised of people with developmental disabilities, employers, coworkers, business organizations, service providers, government officials, family members, advocacy organizations and members of the general community, have already begun forming. The teams will advance their shared agendas through a series of activities organized by theme:
- Having Clear Goals
- Service and Services Innovations
- Learning from Employers and Self-Advocates
- Creating Incentives and Removing Barriers
- Interagency Collaboration
- Community Partnerships
“State teams are evolving using existing coalitions, collaborations or from those individuals interested in achieving real and lasting change,” says Karen Flippo, AFP Liaison to the State Teams. “Our belief is that change can occur if there is ‘buy-in’ by the community and a shared value about competitive employment for people with developmental disabilities.”
The Alliance for Full Participation will support state teams by hosting a series of interactive webinars, issuing an informative newsletter for each theme, and will provide state teams with a tool kit for holding meetings in their communities on these topics, with particular emphasis on how to implement the strategies discussed in the webinars. The results of these activities will frame the program and related activities for the 2011 Summit.
The archive of the campaign’s “kick off” webinar, “Employment Today: Understanding the Current State of Employment for People with Developmental Disabilities,” held May 7, 2009, can be accessed from the Alliance website at www.allianceforfullparticipation.org. Those interested in connecting with the team in their state should contact Karen Flippo at kfflippo@aol.com.
LIBRARY CORNER
NEW ITEMS: The following new materials may be borrowed by Indiana residents from the Center for Disability Information and Referral at the Institute. To check out materials, contact the library at 1-800-437-7924, send e-mail to cedir@indiana.edu, or visit us at 2853 East Tenth Street in Bloomington.
Connor, L. (2008). Waiting for normal. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
Luecking, R. G. (2009). The way to work: How to facilitate work experiences for youth in transition. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
Parker, R. A. (2008). Piano starts here: The young Art Tatum. New York: Random House Children’s Books.