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News and Notes 542 December 14

birgitta.chaiken - Fri, 12/16/2022 - 12:14

NARIC staff mourns the passing of Steven Tingus, who served as NIDILRR's director from 2001 to 2007; This Just In... presents a study exploring community employment, facility-based work, and day activities for working age people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Employment of People Who are Blind or Have Low Vision releases new course for rehabilitation professionals, Partnering with Families to Support Employment Outcomes; investigator for the project Precise Customized Navigation for All Indoors and Outdoors as well as several projects on wayfinding technologies was inducted into the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Hall of Fame; the New England ADA Regional Center receives Excellence in Community Outreach and Prevention Award from the US Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts; the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Place-Based Solutions for Rural Community Participation, Health, and Employment (RTC: Rural) hosts virtual Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit; the Temple University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Living and Participation of People with Serious Mental Illness (TU Collaborative) seeks participants with a mental health condition for surveys to share their stories about their social connections; the CARE Study Community Access Through Remote Eyesite seeks participants for its study examining how assistive mobile applications support everyday tasks for users with low vision; the Office of Science and Medicine at the Department of Health and Human Services issues report, Health+ Long COVID Report, focusing on people who report long-term symptoms from a COVID infection.

Date sent: 
2022-12-14
NARIC news: 

This week, we learned of the passing of Steven Tingus, who served two terms as NIDILRR's director from 2001 to 2007 (then NIDRR). As NIDRR's Director, Tingus combined his focus on accountability and performance with his deep commitment toward improving the health, education, employment, and community living opportunities for people with disabilities, leading to improvements in NIDRR's grant programs as well as stronger interagency coordination and cooperation. Prior to joining NIDRR, his career included serving as Director of Resource Development for the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers and leading the US Department of Education's New Freedom Initiative. His most recent work focused on diversity and disability inclusion in the entertainment industry, including producing fiction and documentary films and even taking acting roles in recent productions. Our thoughts are with the Tingus family and his extended community.

This Just In: 
Community employment, facility-based work, and day activities for working age people with intellectual and developmental disability. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, Volume 57(1), Pgs. 97-112. NARIC Accession Number: J89704.
New to the NARIC collection, this NIDILRR-funded study explored the prevalence of day/employment activities for adult service users with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) and identified personal and environmental factors associated with opportunities to participate in those activities. Using 2018 - 2019 data from a survey of adult services users with IDD in the United States, researchers looked at four day/employment activity types (community-based work, paid facility-based work, unpaid facility-based activities, and unpaid community-based activities), and found that a variety of personal and environmental characteristics were associated with each type of activity. Characteristics related to equity (e.g., race and gender) and support needs (e.g., mental health) were associated with less community-based work. This study describes the complexity of day/employment activities that individuals with IDD experience in terms of prevalence and overlap. Further, this study provides evidence that certain profiles are leading to different experiences and that services do impact service users’ employment opportunities. Access the full abstract and ordering information in REHABDATA.
 
Resource Highlight: 
Course: Partnering with Families to Support Employment Outcomes
The NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Employment of People Who are Blind or Have Low Vision (90RTEM0007) released a new course, Partnering with Families to Support Employment Outcomes, for rehabilitation professionals. The course provides numerous strategies for the healthy involvement of family members of people who are blind or have low vision in the rehabilitation process and approaches for setting boundaries with family members. The course is free and an account is necessary to access the course content. Continuing education credit is available for this course.
 
News items: 
NIDILRR Investigator Inducted into the CTA Hall of Fame
Mike May, from the NIDILRR-funded project Precise Customized Navigation for All, Indoors and Outdoors (90IFDV0025) and principal investigator for several NIDILRR-funded projects on wayfinding technologies, was inducted into the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) Hall of Fame in November. Mr. May was recognized for his pioneering work, including his NIDILRR-funded development of accessible GPS and indoor navigation technology.
 
New England ADA Center Receives Civil Rights Award
The NIDILRR-funded New England ADA Regional Center (90DPAD0011) received an Excellence in Community Outreach and Prevention Award from the US Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts. The award recognizes outstanding commitment and/or innovation in the area of law enforcement and community outreach. The New England ADA Center received the award for their extensive outreach to promote protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to people with opioid use disorder, their family members, and addiction professionals. The center continues to hold regular webinars to increase the impact of civil rights for people with addiction and in recovery.
 
Grantee event: 
Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit
The NIDILRR-funded Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Place-Based Solutions for Rural Community Participation, Health, and Employment (RTC: Rural) (90RTCP0002) will host a virtual Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit, January 10th and 11th, 3 – 4:30 pm ET. The summit will explore issues that affect rural people with disabilities, including challenges and opportunities in personal assistance services and digital access. Registration is free and required for each day of the summit.
 
Participate: 
Share Your Story: Connections Among Adults with Serious Mental Health Challenges
The NIDILRR-funded Temple University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Living and Participation of People with Serious Mental Illness (TU Collaborative) (90DPGE0012) seeks participants for surveys to share their stories about social connections, how they feel about those connections, and what these connections mean to them. Participants must have a mental health condition, such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, or schizoaffective disorder. Participants may type out their stories, share a recording, or schedule a time to dictate their story with a research assistant.
 
Community Access Through Remote Eyesight Study
The NIDILRR-funded CARE Study: Community Access Through Remote Eyesite (90RTCP0001) s recruiting participants for its study to examine how assistive mobile applications support everyday tasks for individuals living with low vision. Participants are randomly assigned to use one of three visual assistive mobile apps for six months and answer related questionnaires. Participants must be adults 55 or older with low vision, living in Massachusetts, California, New Hampshire, Connecticut, or Rhode Island. Additional eligibility and study information are available on the website. Recruiting closes in January 2023.
 
Elsewhere in the Community: 
HHS Issues Health+ Long COVID Report
The Office of Science and Medicine at the Department of Health and Human Services issued a report, Health+ Long COVID Report (PDF), focusing on people who report long-term symptoms from a COVID infection, or Long COVID, and bringing their experiences to the forefront of defining solutions. Research has shown that Long COVID conditions can last weeks or months, leading some individuals to experience short- and long-term disabilities impacting work, home life, and participation in the community. In addition, some people with disabilities are at higher risk of severe outcomes from COVID infections, potentially compounding existing disabilities. The report includes an exploration of how and why the impact of Long COVID on individual lives varies from person to person, the reasons for which have the potential to increase health disparities between peoples and communities. The insights from this report aim to focus attention and interventions in areas that matter most to the community, as articulated by patients and those with first-hand, lived experience with Long COVID.
 
Archive link: 
https://www.icontact-archive.com/archive?c=654309&f=1190&s=26993&m=937198&t=635cba0a9267f719dd304fcd1ae764b160681b0bc4432192fe4b80b0dffecb7c