October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, a month to celebrate those with Down Syndrome, break down barriers, and foster inclusion and connections. In honor of this important month, we sat down with Paula DeMichiel, our Administrative Program Coordinator, who is the mother of Danny, a 13-year-old with Down Syndrome. Paula describes Danny, the youngest of four children, as funny, kind, and hard-working, with a love for dogs and horses.

Paula and Danny recently attended the 2024 Step Up for Down Syndrome Walk, an annual walk hosted by the Down Syndrome Association of Connecticut. Paula highlights how rewarding the event was; not just in the joy of seeing children proudly cross the finish line and receive their well-deserved medals, but in the connections made between children and other families. “It is helpful to have other people walking in your shoes,” Paula tells us.

When asked what Down Syndrome Awareness means to her, Paula answers simply: “I don’t know what it means to me or our family, because it’s just a normal part of our life.” Paula emphasizes that though Danny has different needs than her other children, he is not treated any differently. What Paula would like to see most for the future of Down Syndrome Awareness, though, is inclusion, especially from other children in school. “Make friends with someone who is different from you. At school, if someone is different from you, befriend them, include them, talk to them,” she advises.

Although Danny’s Down Syndrome is a normal part of her family’s everyday life, Paula acknowledges how it has shaped her life, specifically, in igniting her passion to work at the UConn UCEDD­—“It’s why I’m here every day, not just for my son, but for all the children out there. I feel honored to be a part of the UConn UCEDD.”

On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, a non-partisan forum with candidates/surrogates for President, Vice-President, United States Senate and all five Connecticut Congressional Seats answering questions on disability topics, will be taking place at the Bristol Event Center in Bristol, CT. Diane Smith will be moderating this event and will be asking questions that have been developed in advance by the Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance.

Registration for this event is open and can be completed by clicking here for English speakers or by clicking here for Spanish speakers.

UConn Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) faculty, staff, and graduate students attended the 2024 Division for Early Childhood Conference (DEC) in New Orleans, LA. Faculty, staff, and graduate students presented multiple sessions about various projects, including the Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center for Equity (ECIPC-Equity) and Learn the Signs. Act Early. (LTSAE). Our presentations featured:

• Bethanne Vergean, CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early. Developmental Milestones for
Families, poster session
• Mary Beth Bruder, PhD, “Let’s Play Together: Engaging Families and Young Children
in Inclusive Play Using Technology”
• Mary Beth Bruder, PhD, Bethanne Vergean, “A Tale of Two Tools:  CDC Milestones & ASQ-3”
• Mary Beth Bruder, PhD, and Darla Gundler, “An Overview of the Early Childhood
Intervention Personnel Center for Equity”

We want to welcome our 2024-2025 CT LEND trainees! ✨ Trainees were introduced to LEND staff and met past trainees to hear about what they can expect from the program. Our Director, Mary Beth Bruder, PhD, provided an overview of the UConn UCEDD and CT LEND. We are so excited to spend the school year with our new trainees!

Over the course of Monday, July 15 and Tuesday, July 16, the third cohort of the Connecticut Aspiring Leaders Academy met for their orientation retreat!

July is Disability Pride Month! Disability Pride Month is held in July because it marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark legislation for inclusion. This month we honor the disability community’s history and achievements while also acknowledging their struggles and the work to break down the barriers that still exist. Throughout the month we’ll be sharing different pieces of disability history and highlighting individuals with disabilities! 

On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, a non-partisan forum on disability topics featuring candidates/surrogates for President, Vice-President, United States Senate and all five Connecticut Congressional Seats will be held and moderated by Diane Smith.

The Connecticut Aspiring Leaders Academy’s concluded last week when the second cohort participants presented their capstones!

Congratulations to all of this years graduates!

If you would like to view their capstones, you can click here!

Yesterday members of our Connecticut Early Childhood Intervention Leadership Academy met.
 
The objectives for the meeting were to: Identify the steps of strategic planning; identify what is needed to scale up and implement the practice, program, or policy, in multiple locations, service sectors or populations with fidelity as documented through an evaluation plan; and identify steps to sustain the scaled-up practice(s), programs, or policies with fidelity, fiscal accountability, and positive evaluation outcomes for all eligible infants and young children with risk conditions, delays, and/or disabilities and their families who represent diverse backgrounds.

35 faculty from 21 universities gathered in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands last week for the ECIPC-Equity and University of Virgin Islands HBCU & MSI Faculty Cohort Convening.