This curriculum, designed by the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston, offers teachers and facilitators opportunities to assist students with disabilities to develop and refine their networking skills and further employment opportunities. This curriculum is intended to be incorporated in existing school-to-work transition programs and contains elements such as group exercises, discussion topics, and homework exercises corresponding to each unit. Topics include practicing for informational interviews, how to use a network to find employment, what skills employers look for, and much more.
View the Guide – Institute for Community Inclusion: Teaching Networking Skills: Paving a Way to Jobs and Careers (PDF)
This booklet, developed by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Learn the Signs. Act Early. program, provides developmental milestones to help parents monitor their child’s development from birth through age 5. At each stage, it provides signs that indicate typical development in areas such as social/emotional, language/communication, cognitive, and physical development. Additionally, this guide offers suggestions of activities that parents can engage in with their child to help them in their development. It promotes early detection by offering a list of signs that may indicate possible developmental delays at each age and encouraging parents to act early if their child exhibits these signs.
View the Handbook – CDC: Milestone Moments Booklet (PDF)
This guide, provided by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, encourages a fruit and vegetable-rich diet. By taking age, gender and physical activity level into consideration, it determines the amount of fruits and vegetables that a person needs to consume daily. Additionally, it provides simple suggestions for how to integrate fruits and vegetables into one’s diet. Through its use of visuals, this guide presents nutritional information that individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities may find accessible.
View the Guide – CDC: How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do You Need? (PDF)
This guide is intended to help parents prepare for Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings. It provides steps to take at different points prior to the meeting, guiding parents from three months before the meeting to the day of the meeting to help ensure that parents are well-prepared. While other materials provided relate to policies in the state of Florida, the guide itself provides useful planning information for all parents preparing for IEP meetings.
View the Guide – CARD: Parents’ Guide to Preparing for an IEP (PDF)
This guide, developed by the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, is intended to help hospital staff and other health professionals understand autism and how to better meet the needs of patients with autism. Since the environment of a hospital can often overwhelm the senses of an individual with autism, suggestions are provided that may help reduce the stress associated with trips to the hospital.
View the Guide – CARD: Autism & the Hospital Emergency Room
This fact sheet emphasizes the importance of including students with disabilities in general education classrooms. It briefly identifies some practices that promote inclusion as well as barriers to inclusion in the classroom. It offers suggestions and includes additional resources that families and professionals can use to find out more on how to promote inclusion.
View the Fact Sheet – Vanderbilt Kennedy Center: Inclusion in the Classroom (PDF)
This fact sheet addresses steps that a person with a disability or their family can take when searching for a faith community to join. It also discusses how people can help build inclusion in that community so that all individuals can participate in religious services and events. It offers various suggestions to encourage people to communicate openly about interests and needs to religious leaders and other members of the community and provides links to other related resources.
View the Fact Sheet – Vanderbilt Kennedy Center: Inclusion in a Faith Community
This factsheet, published by the Social Security Administration, provides information about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps. This program helps eligible families cover expenses for food. The factsheet discusses qualification requirements, the application process, the SNAP Pre-Screening Tool and more.
View the Fact Sheet – SSA: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Facts (PDF)
Cyberbullying affects countless teens and adolescents. A 2015 random sample study of 11-15 year olds in the Midwest found that over 34% reported being the victim of cyberbullying in their lifetime. Other studies have found that 1 in 4 teens have been cyberbullied. Victims of cyberbullying are much more likely to use alcohol and drugs, avoid school and have poor grades, experience depression and low self-esteem, and may even contemplate suicide.
Website: https://www.callersmart.com/guides/49/What-Is-Cyberbullying-and-How-to-Stop-It
As a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD), the Institute on Community Integration engages in research, training, technical assistance and information sharing. It implements numerous projects and works with affiliated centers to address disability issues across the lifespan. Its website offers a wide range of resources for individuals with disabilities and professionals including reports, brochures, guides, newsletters and briefs.
View the Website – University of Minnesota: Institute on Community Integration
