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.
Stout interviewed on Iowa Public Radio about school lunch as socializing experience
Karen Stout, a Research Associate at the Institute on Community Integration, was interviewed by Iowa Public Radio on December 17, 2010, about school lunch as a socializing experience of schooling. In the interview, she discussed school lunch as an opportunity to teach valued goals of schooling such as sharing, making friends, and taking turns.
Moore receives award to present at Gatlinburg conference
Tim Moore, a Research and LEND Post-doctoral Fellow at the college’s Institute on Community Integration, has received the Theodore Tjossem Post-doctoral Award from the Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The award covers travel and expenses associated with his March 3 presentation, “Adherence to Treatment in a Behavioral Intervention Curriculum: The Effects of Parent Perception,” at the conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Rutzen Named to National Board of The Arc of the United States
Kurt Rutzen of the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the Institute on Community Integration has been named one of the new national board members of The Arc of the United States.
American Evaluation Assoc. selects Nord for commemorative issue
Derek Nord, Research Associate at the Institute on Community Integration, was one of 10 young evaluators selected from 150 submissions to contribute to the 25th anniversary edition of the American Evaluation Association‘s (AEA) New Directions for Evaluation commemorative issue. Nord’s submission will address the challenging future of, and strategies for, evaluating online training and education programs.
Augustine Joins “Prevention Researcher” Advisory Board
Kay Augustine, a Project Coordinator at the Institute on Community Integration, has been selected to serve on the advisory board for Prevention Researcher, a multidisciplinary journal focusing on successful adolescent development, at-risk youth successful adolescent development, and at-risk youth.
ICI’s Check & Connect in The Huffington Post
Check & Connect, a school-engagement program of the Institute on Community Integration (ICI), was highlighted in “Solving the Mental Health Crisis for Our Children,” a May 6 article in The Huffington Post written by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
Read more about Check & Connect in the spring 2009 issue of Connect.
Community integration expert testifies before Minnesota House committee
Amy Hewitt, Ph.D, of the Research and Training Center on Community Living at the Institute on Community Integration, testified on consumer-directed community supports for people with disabilities before the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Policy and Oversight committee on February 9.
Altman presents at assistive technology conference
Jason Altman of the National Center on Educational Outcomes at the Institute on Community Integration presented “Exploring Assistive Technology Issues in the Instruction and Assessment of Students with Visual Impairments” at the Assistive Technology Industry Association’s annual conference in Orlando, January 28.