Director's Welcome

Lucille Zeph, CCIDS Director

Welcome to our website. The Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies is Maine’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. CCIDS was established at UMaine in 1992 to bring together the resources of the community and the university to enhance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities and their families in Maine and beyond.

Read the entire Director’s Welcome here.

Administration on Developmental Disabilities Renamed and Joins Newly Established Administration for Community Living

US Department of Health and Humans Services’ Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced a new organization within the Department: the Administration for Community Living (ACL). The ACL will include the efforts of the Administration on Aging, the Office on Disability and the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) in a single agency with the goal of increasing access to community supports and full participation in all aspects of society, while continuing to focus specific attention and resources on the unique needs of older Americans and people with disabilities. In addition, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities will become the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies is part of a national network of congressionally authorized University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, sponsored by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (now the Administration on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities). “Aging and disability communities have been working together at the national level for a number of years supporting our common needs and desires of the disability and aging populations to be supported in the community,” stated Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) Executive Director, George Jesien. Read the full AUCD statement on the establishment of the Administration for Community Living here.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: May, Kurtz and Taylor to Discuss Best Practices in Transitioning Youth with Disabilities

On May 24, 2012, Janet May, Alan Kurtz, and Billie Taylor will present, “Where the Rubber Meets the Road: What Works in Transition and What We Need to Do to Get There,” at the TransitionME 2012 Raising Aspirations Conference at the University of Maine.

May, Kurtz and Taylor will discuss supports and strategies that have been identified as “best practices” in supporting the transition of youth with disabilities from school to adulthood. Relying heavily on what families have said about their experiences with transition, they will examine how typical transition practices often differ dramatically from those that are likely to improve adult outcomes. The presenters will also discuss steps that could be taken to more closely align transition planning for Maine youth with best practices; drawing on their recent experiences working with youth and families in transition-related projects.

Read more about the presenters and the TransitionME 2012 Raising Aspirations Conference here.

Five UMaine Graduate Students Present Final Research Projects in Early Intervention

Dean Anne Pooler

Five UMaine graduate students presented their research projects during a celebration at Wells Conference Center on May 1, 2012. The students were recognized for successfully fulfilling the requirements for the M.Ed. in special education with specialization in early intervention, an interdisciplinary graduate personnel preparation program funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, and sponsored by the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS), the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD), and the Maine Department of Education.

Read more about the Early Intervention research projects here.

Twenty UMaine Disability Studies Scholars Honored During Celebration of Achievement

Christina Tibbetts, Liz DePoy and Stephen Gilson

Twenty UMaine Interdisciplinary Disability Studies scholars were honored for completing the 24-credit Undergraduate Minor in Disability Studies during the Celebration of Achievement at Buchanan Alumni House on April 23, 2012. The Interdisciplinary Disability Studies curriculum, administered through the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, provides students with a means to explore disability within the larger context of diversity and human rights, and to examine scholarship, practice, and policy related to persons with disabilities.

Disability Studies Minor honorees Caitlin Armstrong (Communication Sciences & Disorders), Janice Grant (Social Work), and Lisa Lyon (Social Work) delivered the student addresses. Stephen F. Gilson, Coordinator and Professor of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies and Social Work; and Elizabeth DePoy, Professor of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies and Social Work, and cooperating faculty in Mechanical Engineering, presented the certificates and stoles.

Read more about the 2012 Disability Studies Celebration here.

CCIDS Website Highlights

• An Analysis of Disability-Related Provisions in the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) – CCIDS Policy Brief (PDF)
• Autism Now Webinars
• Early Childhood Opportunities (EChO) Scholars
• Envisioning the Future: Allies in Self-Advocacy Report (2011)
• Growing Ideas Tipsheets
• Learning Ideas Tipsheets
• Maine Autism Spectrum Resource Center (Maine ASRC)
• Maine’s Expanding Inclusive Opportunities Initiative for Children, Families and Communities
• University of Maine Interdisciplinary Research Initiative (monthly presentations)
• Visual Supports Learning Links and Checklist