Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

The University of Maine Institute of Medicine, Center on Aging, Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, and the University of Maine at Augusta invite you to attend a free Virtual Symposium on Mental Health in the Time of COVID-19, on Monday, April 5, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Symposium Program (PDF) includes speakers and descriptions of presentations […]

For over 30 years, Maggie Hoffman has worked to strengthen and support families of children and adults with disabilities and special health care needs. She is a co-founder and former executive director of Project DOCCSM – Delivery of Chronic Care: a medical education curriculum developed by parents to teach pediatric doctors in training about living […]

Dr. Alan B. Cobo-Lewis, the director of the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies, has posted a position paper in response to Maine’s recent move to age-based prioritization for Covid-19 vaccines (modified shortly thereafter to prioritize teachers and child care providers). The justification was that age is very strongly associated with […]

Each March, the Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month social media campaign seeks to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live. This year’s artwork was created […]

Disability Rights Maine (DRM) and Speaking Up for Us (SUFU) recently collaborated on a recorded training, Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule: Basics & Advocacy (YouTube). The training was led by Abbott Philson, SUFU Board Chair; and Lauren Wille, Esq., DRM staff attorney on the developmental disabilities team. A sign language interpreter is provided. The […]

CCIDS colleagues Cynthia Thielen and Alan Kurtz shared their perspectives on digital equity during the pandemic in a newsletter article, Digital Equity in the Time of COVID-19 (PDF), published in the Winter 2021 edition of The Communicator, a publication of the Autism National Committee. Kurtz and Thielen are members of the CCIDS Social Undistancing Committee that was established in Spring […]

“Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24 in the United States, and suicide attempts are significantly higher among youth, compared to adults.” (SAMHSA, Treatment, pg. 3) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has published a new guide, Treatment for Suicidal Ideation, Self-harm, and Suicide […]

Following a successful pilot program, the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) again collaborated with the Maine Department of Labor Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), the UMaine College of Education and Human Development, and Student Accessibility Services to deliver the Step Up Program for high school students with autism spectrum […]

Each fall, the NH-ME LEND Program conducts a leadership intensive on the history of disability. This year, the session was reworked to cover the history of the disability movement. Trainees were asked to watch the 2020 documentary, Crip Camp, and to reflect upon how this innovative inclusive summer camp for teenagers with disabilities during the […]

Maine Parent Federation recently updated their Summer Camp Directory for 2021 (PDF). This directory is a compilation of responses to their survey sent in the fall of 2020 to summer camps in Maine. The information is intended to help parents and guardians choose a summer camp that meets their child’s needs. All children with disabilities have the same […]