FSoS professor’s collaborative project awarded $50,000 CEARCH grant

December 11, 2018

A University professor. — Lindsey Weiler is an assistant professor and the FSoS Department’s Faculty Honors Representative.

Lindsey Weiler, an assistant professor in Family Social Science, is part of a team receiving a 2018 Community Health Collaborative Pilot Grant of $50,000.

She and her collaborators – Rebekah Hudock, Dept. of Pediatrics, and Emily Goldberg from the Autism Society of Minnesota – were awarded the grant from the Office of Community Engagement to Advance Research and Community Health (CEARCH).

These grants support community-University pilot research projects that address pressing health issues that communities have identified.

Weiler, Hudock, and Goldberg are collaborating on the project, “Evaluation of a Community Mentorship Program for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).”

Their project proposal outlined how they will evaluate feasibility and initial outcomes of the Autism Mentorship Program (AMP), a mentoring program that pairs adults and adolescents with ASD in 1:1 mentoring relationships. The program is a community-university partnership targeting the quality of life, socio-emotional health, self-esteem, and social connectedness of adolescents and adults with ASD.

“Youth with ASD rarely experience critical relationships with caring adults who also have ASD,” says Weiler. “What’s most exciting about this project is its potential to change the status quo. The Autism Mentorship Project is an innovative approach to autism service and support that has never been tried in Minnesota, nor has a similar model been found elsewhere. Drawing on the wisdom of parents of children with ASD and adults with ASD has been critical to designing an accessible and promising intervention.”

More about CEARCH Pilot Grants

According to the CTSI website, “Awards are designed to stimulate high-impact research that ultimately leads to health improvements, while building and sustaining long-term partnerships between University of Minnesota researchers and community representatives, including nonprofits, healthcare providers, and community advocates.”

More about Lindsey Weiler

“An ounce of prevention” – Dr. Weiler is among professors interviewed for a story on prevention science in CEHD Connect magazine.

“Weiler honored with national award” – Weiler is recognized by the Engagement Scholarship Consortium.

AUCD features MNLEND story about sensory tents in Minneapolis parks

May 16, 2018

Sarah Thorson (left), Erica Chua (center), and Elise Niedermeier (right), all from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Niedermeier is a MNLEND Fellow.

The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) website featured MNLEND Fellow Elise Niedermeier‘s collaboration with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to bring sensory tents to the Minneapolis parks this summer. Sensory tents can help people, such as children with autism, cope with sensory overload. The article is titled, “MNLEND Fellow Leads Creation of Sensory Tents in the Minneapolis Parks.”

AUCD is a membership organization that supports and promotes a national network of university-based interdisciplinary programs; ICI is a member of this organization. The Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (MNLEND) Program is an ICI center.

ICI supports cross-cultural identification, screening, and intervention for autism

November 17, 2017

Hall-Lande at CDC headquarters in Atlanta where she trained in 2016.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) renewed the appointment of ICI’s Jennifer Hall-Lande as the Minnesota Act Early Ambassador, extending it through October 2018 to spread the CDC’s “Learn the Signs, Act Early” message throughout the state.

CDC trained her to develop and expand on ICI’s Act Early work of promoting early identification, screening, and intervention for autism and related neurodevelopmental disabilities in culturally- and linguistically-diverse communities across Minnesota. That work expanded this fall when the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), through a subcontract from CDC, awarded her $137,000 for a new nine-month project, “Learn the Signs, Act Early” Formative Research Evaluation of Developmental Books. ”

This project helps the Minnesota Act Early team to evaluate the effectiveness of our materials in promoting parent-led developmental monitoring, and it’s also a great opportunity for building a strong professional partnership with the AUCD team and UCEDDs in New York and Indiana,” she says. UCEDDs (University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities) are a federally-designated network of programs similar to ICI that are housed in major universities and teaching hospitals across the country to promote a nation in which all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, participate fully in their communities.

“This grant adds to ICI’s growing portfolio of ‘Learn the Signs, Act Early’ projects, including our Outreach Work and State Systems Grant: Minnesota Act Early,” says Hall-Lande. Also, in September, ICI’s Minnesota Act Early team partnered with Minnesota Help Me Grow to train another group of cultural delegates to conduct Learn the Signs outreach in their communities. The newly-trained delegates join the ranks of an existing “Minnesota Learn the Signs, Act Early” statewide network of approximately 100 trained delegates who use the Act Early materials and resources to help parents monitor child development. In this way, delegates connect with families in their communities to support early identification.

ICI’s Gulaid among panelists for Voice of America town hall on autism and vaccines

July 20, 2017

ICI's Anab Gulaid (in blue headscarf) is interviewed on camera at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs on July 8, 2017. — ICI’s Anab Gulaid (in blue headscarf) is interviewed on camera at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs on July 8, 2017.

Anab Gulaid, a public health expert in CEHD’s Institute on Community Integration, was a panelist for Vaccine and Autism: Myths and Facts, a recent town hall forum held to address Somali parents’ concerns about the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, autism, and the measles outbreak affecting the Twin Cities’ Somali community.

Held on July 8 at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the forum was hosted by the Humphrey School and the Voice of America news network, which broadcast the two panel discussions – one in Somali and one in English – to its worldwide audience. The gathering, which was covered by numerous media (e.g., Minnesota Public Radio, Fox 9 News), was prompted by the measles outbreak tied to low MMR vaccination rates among Minnesota’s Somali community.

See video of the panel discussion in English (which includes a short segment on autism research by CEHD faculty Jed Elison and Jason Wolff) and the other panel discussion in Somali (which includes Anab Gulaid).

Judge Donovan Frank to keynote MN LEND Forum on litigation for disability rights

October 20, 2016

The Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopment and Related Disabilities Program (MN LEND) at the College’s Institute on Community Integration will present its fall forum, “Litigation: Advancing the Rights of People with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities” in St. Paul on November 17. The keynote speaker is the Honorable Donovan W. Frank, U.S. District Judge for the District of Minnesota, and long-time champion for the rights of people with disabilities. He will be joined by a panel of local and national legal experts to discuss how litigation is framing and moving forward the human and civil rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities:

Greg Brooker, First Assistant U.S. Attorney
David Ferleger, Attorney with Supreme Court and federal court experience
Pamela Hoopes, Attorney, Legal Director at Minnesota Disability Law Center
Shamus O’Meara, Attorney, Managing Shareholder at O’Meara, Leer, Wagner & Kohl, P.A.
Roberta Opheim, State of Minnesota Office of the Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities

The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and registration is required. “MN LEND focuses on improving access to and equity of high quality assessment, services and supports for all children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families,” says Amy Hewitt, MN LEND training director. “Litigation has always been key to transforming systems and moving forward the disability rights movement in the United States. We are so fortunate to be able to bring together such an esteemed group of professionals for our MN LEND forum.”

The forum will be on Thursday, November 17 in the Grand Hall at the TIES Event Center, 1644 Larpenteur Avenue West, St. Paul, MN 55108. The program, with a light lunch at the start, runs from 12:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m., followed by an ice cream reception.

The event will also be filmed and posted on the MN LEND website in the LEND Webinar Archive for later viewing.

MN LEND funding renewed through 2021

July 18, 2016

Federal funding for the Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program (MN LEND) at the Institute on Community Integration has been renewed and increased through a new five-year, $3.5 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, that began July 1. “This renewal will allow continued opportunities for collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Health and Department of Human Services, Minnesota Disability Law Center and a number of non-profit agencies in areas that support policy innovation, service delivery, translational research, and other dissemination activities,” says Joe Reichle, MN LEND director.

Hall-Lande appointed MN Act Early Ambassador

April 22, 2016

Dr. Jennifer Hall-Lande (Institute on Community Integration) has been selected as Minnesota’s 2016-18 Act Early Ambassador by the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. This marks the start of her second two-year term as the Minnesota point-of-contact for the CDC’s nationwide “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” (LTSAE) program to improve early identification of developmental delays and disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder. “Over the past five years, Minnesota’s Act Early team has partnered with state agencies, early childhood and parent organizations, and cultural organizations from diverse communities to share the message of “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” with thousands of parents of young children,” says Dr. Hall-Lande. “We greatly appreciate this additional support to further grow our efforts in our communities across the state.” On April 18 she took the message of “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” to the “Mom Enough” Podcast, where she was interviewed by mother-daughter co-hosts Marti & Erin Erickson on the topic of “Early Identification and Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Resources That Change a Child’s Life” (listen here).

Institute on Community Integration showcases artist Jimmy Reagan

April 30, 2015

On April 24th, the College’s Institute on Community Integration hosted Celebrating Artist Jimmy Reagan, an art exhibit and reception in its Changing Landscapes series that showcases the work of artists with disabilities. Jimmy Reagan is a Twin Cities artist with a passion for color, texture, and the simplicity of an image. Diagnosed with complex autism at age 2 1/2, today he is a young adult whose artwork offers him a means to illustrate his perspective of the world. As his mother, Peg Reagan, observed about the exhibit, “Jimmy’s art helps to tell a story. His story impacts people in very different ways, causing us to think about many aspects of life: art, disability, access, communication, different visual perspectives, healthcare… the list goes on.” The event drew nearly 150 participants, and in addition to showcasing Jimmy’s artwork, a portion of proceeds from sale of items will go to support the Stephanie Evelo Arts & Disability Memorial Fund at the Institute. The exhibit continues through June 11th in Pattee Hall on the University of Minnesota East Bank campus and is available for viewing Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information about the exhibit, and the Institute’s arts initiatives, visit http://ici.umn.edu/art or call 612/626-8649. To learn more about artist Jimmy Reagan visit http://www.throughjimmyseyes.com.

ICI collaborates on study of autism in Minneapolis Somali community

November 16, 2011

The Institute on Community Integration (ICI), the University’s Department of Pediatrics and Department of Educational Psychology, and the Minnesota Department of Health are collaborating on a project to determine whether there are true differences in the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) between Somali and non-Somali children in Minneapolis. The year-long study is one effort to provide answers to reports from advocates in the Somali community that children of Somali descent living in the city have, in the past few years, been classified as having ASD at a higher-than-usual rate. To learn more, see the November issue of the Institute’s staff newsletter, FYI.

New project on autism prevalence

July 15, 2011

A new project studying the incidence of autism within the Somali community in Minneapolis has been awarded to the University’s Department of Pediatrics, Institute on Community Integration, and Department of Educational Psychology, as well as the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). The one-year, $400,000 study is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and awarded through the Association of University Centers on Disabilities. Principal Investigators are Dr. Michael Reiff, Department of Pediatrics; Amy Hewitt, ICI; Joe Reichle, Educational Psychology; Amy Esler, Pediatrics; and Judy Punkyo, MDH. FFI contact Amy Hewitt at hewit005@umn.edu or 612-625-1098.

A focus on autism in Zambia

March 16, 2011

A delegation from the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) will fly to Zambia on March 30 for two weeks of work with disability rights leaders developing and improving services and supports for people with disabilities and their families. The trip is part of the work of the Twin Cities Zambia Disability Connection — a partnership of ICI, Arc Greater Twin Cities, Fraser, Opportunity Partners, and Zambian disability rights leaders — which was formed in 2008.
This will be the fourth time ICI staff have traveled to Zambia (Zambian delegations visited the Twin Cities in 2008 and 2010), and it will be the first time there has been an emphasis on autism. “The last time our Zambian colleagues were here they had a chance to visit the autism spectrum disorders clinic at the University and a number of autism-specific programs in Minnesota,” notes Amy Hewitt, project director. “They asked us to help them build autism expertise in Zambia. This trip is hopefully the first of many exchanges that will focus on autism.” To learn more, see the ICI staff newsletter.

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