News and Notes 505 March 30

birgitta.chaiken - Wed, 03/30/2022 - 11:59

Following the Academy Award for Best Film won by CODA, a story about a Deaf family and their hearing daughter who wants to become a singer, there is hope for seeing more performers with disabilities in the spotlight from now on; the Administration for Community Living (ACL) seeks input from the public on proposed public rulemaking about NIDILRR peer review criteria; Research in Focus presents survey offering insight into the impact of COVID-19 on community living and travel behavior in people with disabilities; This Just In... presents a study assessing user attitudes and implementation requirements of a tele-exercise intervention for people aging with lower body mobility impairment; the Rocky Mountain ADA Regional Center releases online course, Service Animals in the Workplace; the Southeast ADA Regional Center features interview with NIDILRR director Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt in special episode of the ADA Live! series; the Temple University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Living and Participation of People with Serious Mental Illness (TU Collaborative) hosts first webinar in new series, Parenting Through Leisure, featuring strategies parents experiencing mental health issues can use to spend quality time with their children; the RRTC on Promoting Healthy Aging for People with Long-Term Physical Disabilities hosts webinar, Reimagining Primary Health Care for Individuals with Disabilities; Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (Transitions ACR) hosts webinar, Pathways to Self-Sufficiency: Career and Technical Education for Youth with Emotional Disturbances; the US Department of Justice (DOJ) publishes guidance on web accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act, explaining how state and local governments and businesses open to the public can ensure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities in line with ADA requirements.

Date sent: 
2022-03-30
NARIC news: 

This week the film CODA won the Academy Award for Best Film. CODA is a film about a Deaf family and their hearing daughter who dreams of becoming a singer (CODA stands for Child of Deaf Adults). The cast includes three Deaf actors, one of which received the award for the Best Supporting Actor. Actors with disabilities are filling more roles in film, television, and theater, and they are receiving well-deserved awards for their work. Whether disability is central to the story or not, when characters with disabilities are played by actors with disabilities, people with disabilities see themselves truly represented on screen and on stage. We are looking forward to seeing more performers with disabilities in the spotlight from now on!

This Just In: 
User attitudes and implementation requirements of a tele-exercise intervention for people aging with lower body mobility impairment. Gerontechnology, Volume 20(2). NARIC Accession Number: J88199.
New to the NARIC collection, this NIDILRR-funded study assessed the feasibility of a tele-exercise (Tai Chi) class for adults aging with mobility disabilities who participated in a seated Tai Chi exercise class via video-conferencing software. The participants expressed positive attitudes toward the tele-exercise class, specifically the physical, emotional, and social benefits. Age- and disability-specific requirements to implement a tele-exercise intervention were identified, including large font size, adjustable volume, tailored exercises, and environmental design. The findings provide guidance for the implementation and deployment of remote tele-exercise classes and interventions for persons aging with mobility disabilities. Access the full abstract and ordering information in REHABDATA.
 
Research in Focus: 
Survey Offers Insight into Impact of COVID-19 on Community Living and Travel Behavior of People with Disabilities
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted life in many ways, including the impact on how people with disabilities travel around their communities, this week's Research In Focus finds.
 
Resource Highlight: 
Online Course: Service Animals in the Workplace
The NIDILRR-funded Rocky Mountain ADA Regional Center (90DPAD0009) released their latest online course, Service Animals in the Workplace. This training focuses on service animals in the workplace and the rights and responsibilities of employers and their employees. The course covers several topics, including understanding the ADA and service animals, an employer's role regarding service animals, and service animal etiquette and interaction, among others. Registration is free and required. More than 20 courses are available in course catalog.
 
NIDILRR News and Events: 
ACL Seeks Input on Proposed Public Rulemaking About NIDILRR Peer Review Criteria
The Administration for Community Living (ACL) seeks input on proposed public rulemaking about NIDILRR peer review criteria. ACL is proposing to amend its regulations for NIDILRR. These important amendments will allow NIDILRR to better evaluate the extent to which grant applicants conduct outreach to and hire people with disabilities and people from other groups that traditionally have been underserved and underrepresented. The amendments also emphasize the need for engineering research and development activities within NIDILRR's Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) program. ACL/NIDILRR encourages public comment on this action. All comments must be received no later than 11:59 pm EDT on April 18th, 2022. The proposed amended language and a link to provide comments can be found in the Federal Register.
 
News items: 
ADA Live! Features NIDILRR Director Anjali Forber-Pratt
The NIDILRR-funded Southeast ADA Regional Center (90DPAD0005) featured an interview with Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt, Director of NIDILRR, for a special episode of its ADA Live! series. In the interview, Dr. Forber-Pratt discussed the work of the NIDILRR community, the importance of representation and intersectionality in research, working across agencies and organizations, and universal design and access. She also discussed her lifelong advocacy, how that informs her role as NIDILRR director, and the impact of COVID on the disability and rehabilitation communities.
 
Grantee event: 
Webinar Series: Parenting Through Leisure
The NIDILRR-funded Temple University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Living and Participation of People with Serious Mental Illness (TU Collaborative) (90RTCP0001) will host the first webinar in their new series, Parenting Through Leisure, April 14th, 12-1 pm EDT. This webinar series features strategies parents who experience mental health issues can use to spend quality time with their children and ways to use family leisure to improve connection and communications. In the first episode, presenters will discuss the benefits of family leisure and specific strategies for parents to use to connect with their kids. Participation certificates are available upon request. Registration is free and required.
 
Webinar: Reimagining Primary Health Care for Individuals with Disabilities
The NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Promoting Healthy Aging for People with Long-Term Physical Disabilities (90RTHF0001) will host a webinar, Reimagining Primary Health Care for Individuals with Disabilities, April 14th, 2-3 pm EDT. The presenter will discuss how existing health care barriers, communication, and health literacy principles impact the health of individuals with disabilities. The presenter will also discuss screening for those barriers and sources of breakdowns, as well as other routine best practices, in order to reduce inequities and improve the engagement of and clinical accessibility for individuals with disabilities. Continuing education credits are available upon request. Registration is free and required.
 
Webinar: Pathways to Self-Sufficiency – Career and Technical Education for Youth with Emotional Disturbances
The NIDILRR-funded Learning and Working During the Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (Transitions ACR) (90RTEM0005) will host a webinar, Pathways to Self-Sufficiency: Career and Technical Education for Youth with Emotional Disturbances, April 14th, 2:30-4 pm EDT. Presenters will describe opportunities for engaging high school learners in Career Technical Education (CTE) to help them prepare for high wage, high-skill, in-demand employment opportunities or participation in post-secondary education. Presenters will discuss a guide designed to incorporate CTE in special education transition planning for high school students with emotional disturbances, policies that create opportunities for obtaining CTE among learners with disabilities, and how policy advances have been implemented by states. Registration is free and required.
 
Elsewhere in the Community: 
DOJ Issues Web Accessibility Guidance Under the ADA
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) published guidance on web accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The guidance explains how state and local governments and businesses open to the public can ensure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities in line with the ADA's requirements. The guidance discusses a range of topics, including the importance of web accessibility, barriers that inaccessible websites create for people with disabilities, when the ADA requires web content to be accessible, tips on making web content accessible, and other information and resources. Finally, the guidance reviews DOJ’s ongoing work to advance website accessibility for people with disabilities through statements of interest and enforcement matters.
 
Archive link: 
http://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=654309&f=1190&s=26993&m=930780&t=635cba0a9267f719dd304fcd1ae764b160681b0bc4432192fe4b80b0dffecb7c