A series of four online courses developed AUCD and The Arc that overview competencies that public health programs should include to ensure that people with IDD are included in programs.
Healthcare disparities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are grave. Access continues to be a huge concern especially for adults who need qualified doctors to provide primary and specialty care. Operation House Call (OHC), a program of The Arc of Massachusetts, is addressing this policy priority in a hands-on way. OHC has been successfully providing training to thousands of medical students and other health professionals through a best practices model that is now available to chapters of The Arc.
Operation House Call flips the script to make families and individuals with IDD the instructors teaching young medical professionals essential skills to enhance the health care of individuals with IDD. This unique opportunity provides sensitivity training and disability competence to help build medical professionals confidence in working with individuals with IDD. The program provides a lecture, taught by a volunteer parent professional, and an experiential learning opportunity – through a two-hour home visit to a family who has a child with an IDD (hence house call) and written self-reflection essays.
For $200, the Operation House Call toolkit includes: step-by-step instructions to help disability organizations partner with a medical school and implement the program in their area; sample templates; sample program budget; staffing plan and evaluation forms for families and medical students.
In this webinar, The Arc@Work speaks to international influencer Debra Ruh on what The Arc does to create inclusive workplaces and promote disability hiring.
People with IDD and mental health needs and their families often struggle to get the help they need. Our first project wanted to learn what could be done to help young adults with IDD and mental health needs to get better mental health care. This project brought together young adults with IDD and their families, service providers, and researchers to develop priorities for practice and research. This project was funded by the Patient Centered Outcome Research Institute (PCORI). The second project hosted focus groups to learn more about the challenges that people with IDD and mental health needs and their families have and what we can be doing to better help families. This project was funded by the Family Support Research and Training Center (FSRTC). Presenters from The Arc, Boston University, and The Intellectual Developmental Disability Mental Health (IDD-MH) Research Partnership discuss their projects, results, and next steps.
Death is something that we all have to face at some point in our lives. We have systems in place to help us understand and get over a loss. However, some adults feel they must protect others from grief and loss including children, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Some have gone as far to protect people with IDD from experiencing grieving. Knowing more about the feelings and thoughts that come after the death of someone close to us can help us and the people we support. The presenters will remove any misunderstandings by sharing best practices and methods to support people with IDD deal with grief and loss.
For millions of people with disabilities in the United States, exercising the basic right to vote remains a challenge. Over the last few decades, the U.S. government has passed several policies to make voting easier for individuals with disabilities. However, people may still struggle to vote because of barriers they face from the government, caregivers, and family members. This webinar reviews barriers people may face when voting and explores solutions to break down these barriers for people with IDD so that everyone can exercise their right to vote.
Sexuality is a natural part life for all people. However, people with developmental disabilities, family members, and professionals often feel unprepared to discuss this subject with each other. Presenters discuss common misperceptions and myths people have about people with IDD and sexuality; what a healthy, relationship looks like and how you can help support people to have healthy relationships; and how to prevent abusive relationships or leave bad relationships. Our presenters also discuss ways you can start discussing this subject with people with disabilities in your life.
Using and accessing technology is important throughout our lives. We use technology to pay our bills, to keep in touch with friends and families, to receive healthcare and medical support, and even to help us get to and from work, school, and other activities in the community.
One important part of future planning is making sure that people with disabilities have the skills and ability to access technology and the support they need to find new technologies to use throughout their lives. This webinar reviews the steps that people and their families should take to evaluate any needs that a person has that can be assisted by technology and provides tips and resources that families can use to find relevant technology.
We also describe ways that people with IDD and their families can work to make sure that people are building their technology skills throughout their lifetime.
As we grow older, we should continue to grow and develop our skills and interests, and we can continue to live well, happily, and healthfully. But, getting older also creates challenges that we should plan for. These challenges may include staying active and engaged, paying our expenses when we stop working, and addressing changes in body and mind. In addition, people should plan for how decisions will be made in this part of life and make sure that they have the skills and support they need to age successfully.
Dr. Kathie Bishop addresses planning and skill-building to support people with complex medical needs and adults with IDD who experience cognitive or functioning loss, possibly related to dementia. Dr. Bishop also describes how people with IDD and their families can work together to advocate to and with health care professionals to make sure that they receive needed medical care and that their wishes are carried out.
Join NCCJD as we delve further into the topic of policing and people with disabilities, with a focus on procedural justice as a potential solution. This is our final webinar in the 2017 Policing & People with Disabilities series that educates law enforcement and others about the various intersections that play into discrimination and violence toward people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) within the criminal justice system and how we can address the issue by examining innovative programs and potential solutions from around the country. Topics addressed on this webinar include an explanation of procedural justice, an overview of the history and current efficacy of procedural justice principles, examples of how procedural justice can impact policing practices with the disability community, the leadership philosophy that needs to be in place to encourage the use of such practices, and an interactive discussion in which panelists apply the four tenets of procedural justice to realistic use of force scenarios.
Panelists:
Lt. Leo Daniels, Arlington Police Department
Chief Michael Davis, Northeastern Police Department
Lt. Tarrick McGuire, Arlington Police Department
Ariel Simms, The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice & Disability
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