Celebrating Neurodiversity and Inclusion: Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month
Please join the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies and our national network, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), as we celebrate neurodiversity and inclusion – April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month! Bookmark AUCD’s April 2016: Autism Awareness & Acceptance web page and visit often during April to learn how network members across the country are positively impacting the lives of individuals with autism, their families, and their communities.
A list of selected CCIDS resources of possible interest to individuals with autism, their families, and the professionals and communities that support them, appears below.
Accessibility
- Planning Accessible Meetings and Conferences: A Suggested Checklist and Guide (2020) PDF – This accessible checklist, developed in collaboration with people with disabilities, is designed to help any person, group, or organization plan a meeting or conference that is inclusive and welcoming for everyone.
Early Childhood
- Growing Ideas Tipsheets and Resources for Guiding Early Childhood Practices – Tipsheets and resources on a variety of topics related to quality inclusive care and education for young children.
- Maine’s Expanding Inclusive Opportunities (MEIO) Early Childhood Settings Inclusion Toolkit. This toolkit supports early childhood programs in providing high quality inclusive settings for young children and their families.
Employment
- The Institute Brief: Supporting Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Quality Employment Practices. (2008) (PDF) – Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), including those with significant impairment or who have behaviors that others find challenging, can work when they are given appropriate supports.
Health
- Accessing Healthcare: The Experience of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Maine (2014) – A research report that reveals promising positive trends, as well as areas of concern, in healthcare access for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders in Maine.
- New Hampshire Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program at the University of Maine. – LEND Programs are interdisciplinary leadership training programs federally funded through HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Transition
- Increasing Access and Success in the STEM Disciplines: A Model for Supporting the Transition of High School Students with Disabilities into STEM-related Postsecondary Education (2014) – A model for supporting the transition of Maine high school students with disabilities into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related postsecondary educational opportunities within the University of Maine System.
- Person-Centered Planning for Transition-Aged Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2014) (PDF). – This study explores strategies and supports used to help transition-aged youth with ASD participate in person-centered transition planning meetings. Implications for the use of this planning process by rehabilitation counselors involved in transition are discussed.
- Outcomes of a Family-Centered Transition Process for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2012) (PDF). – This study assessed the effectiveness of a transition planning approach that empowers students with ASD and their families, educates them about the transition process, and helps them connect with community resources.