Poster Presentations

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  Local Resources for Parents and Youth with Disabilities

  Cynthia Thielen
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2020

  The Coalition and the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council sought to revise and update its diagram for supports across the lifespan so it can be presented in an easy to read, user friendly manner. As a LEND trainee, I revised its materials related to the Developmental Services Lifelong continuum of Care and the Blueprint for Effective Transition.

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  CDS State Data Review Project: Data Tells the Story

  Katharine Appleyard
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program
  2019

  This poster presents data that identifies state and regional site-level trends, outliers, etc., with regard to federal reporting indicators and other factors, in the Child Development Services system.

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  Children with Disabilities Tend to Stay in a Highly-resourced Early Head Start/Head Start Program Longer than Children without Disabilities

  Alan Cobo-Lewis, Dale Walker, Noreen Yazejian, Shinyoung Jeon, Sandra Hone, Karen Stoiber, Diane Horm, Gabriela Guerrero, and Donna Bryant
  2019

  Using data from 21 Educare schools, the researchers measured the rate at which children from birth to kindergarten-age enter the school and rate at which they exit the school. Educare schools are highly resourced Early Head Start/Head Start programs targeting children at risk, especially children from low-income backgrounds. About 10% of the children have a disability. Results showed that children with a disability tended to stay in the program longer, especially when enrolled in Early Head Start.

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  Consolidating Historical Perspectives: Maine Institutions For People with Developmental Disabilities

  Tucker Conley
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2019

  This poster describes my work in assisting the Community Housing of Maine (CHOM) in revising and combining two separate presentations on the history of supports for people with developmental disabilities in Maine. The poster will display pictures illustrating the treatment of individuals with disabilities throughout American's history, as well as some portraying the mistreatment of the people at Pineland.

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  NMPHI and CCIDS Parent Advocacy Training Collaborative

  Crystal Cron and April Fournier
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program
  2019

  This poster describes the collaborative work between New Mainers Public Health Initiative (NMPHI) and the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies (CCIDS) to assist in developing and presenting advocacy training for parents of children on the autism spectrum, including Somali parents here in Maine as well as assist in the development of resource and information materials on Somali populations in NH and Maine.

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  ASM – A Friend for Life: A Training Manual and Guide for Parents, Providers, and Individuals

  Allan French
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program
  2019

  In collaboration with the NH-ME LEND Program, the Autism Society of Maine (ASM) has set forth the goal of providing an up-to-date, accurate, relevant, and easy to follow manual that highlights nearly every aspect of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

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  Collaboration with Parent-Run Organization, a Support Agency and Adults with Developmental Disabilities to Improve the Quality of Life

  Alan Kurtz and Janet May
  2019

  CCIDS staff worked with a parent organization to develop a plan for evaluation of a residential alternative for their adult children that included pre-post quantitative and qualitative measures of resident quality of life and a review of planning documents. A quality of life survey was administered separately to residents and parents shortly before their move into the new residence and about one year after their move. CCIDS also provided training for agency staff, parents, and residents on authentic person-centered planning and facilitating community connections.

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  Collaborating for Change: NH-ME LEND/New Mainers Public Health Initiative (NMPHI) – An Interagency Parent Advocacy and Information Project

  Marnie Morneault and Hibo Omer
  2019

  Over the past two decades, Maine has experienced rapid growth of racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse populations, as has the US generally. Although Maine’s population is largely White (95%), children in Maine are disproportionately from minority populations; currently 9% of children in Maine are from a race other than White. With funding support from a Focused Assistance to Support Training Project (FAST) grant, the NH-ME LEND Program partnered with New Mainers Public Health Initiative (NMPHI) to develop and deliver parent advocacy training modules for Somali parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). NMPHI is a public health and social service agency headquartered in Lewiston that serves New Mainers—recent immigrants to the secondary resettlement area and their families.

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  Partnership of NH-ME LEND and New Mainers Public Health Initiative to Offer Training Experiences With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations

  Susan Russell and Betsy Humphreys
  2019

  Over the past two decades, the geographic area served by the NH-ME LEND Program has experienced rapid growth of racially, ethnically and linguistically diverse populations, as has the U.S. in general. While the NH-ME LEND clinical and leadership placements provide opportunities for frequent contact with underserved populations, Maine trainees, in particular, have had few opportunities for training or fieldwork with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. With funding support from a 2018 Focused Assistance to Support Training Project (FAST) grant, the NH-ME LEND partnered with New Mainers Public Health Initiative (NMPHI) in Lewiston, Maine, to build the LEND’s capacity to offer inclusive and culturally and linguistically competent training experiences in response to an identified area of need. Lewiston is the second largest city in the state and a secondary resettlement area for refugees from Somalia.

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  Welcome Home: Exploring Housing Options for Adults with Developmental Disabilities in Maine

  Cheryl Stalilonis
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2019

  This poster describes various housing options offering varying levels of supports for adults living with developmental disabilities in Maine. It also provides information for housing options in other states.

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  Disrupting Disability: Social Practice Art

  Jaimi Clifford and Students of DIS 450 and DIS 520
  Social Work and Interdisciplinary Disability Studies
  2018

  Visuality and imagery are two powerful mechanisms embedded within cultures that perpetuate as well as reflect structural violence. Despite the serious harm caused by unchecked cultural violence, it is often overlooked, particularly as it appears or is absent in image. This study examines how images both creates institutional violence exercised through discrimination against aging and disabled populations and how socially engaged art, curation, and performance are being used to disrupt and reverse oppression, discrimination, and exclusion.

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  Aging Farmers with Disabilities: From Ommission to Belonging

  Elizabeth DePoy and Stephen Gilson
  2018

  This poster presents research investigating assets and unmet needs of aging farmers with disabilities, a diversity population that is often omitted from research, analysis, policy, and services. The session will detail the research and then, based on the findings, attendees will be guided through analysis and discussion of how AUCD can respond.

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  Life History from the Vantage Point of a Cane

  Elena Ford
  Interdisciplinary Disability Studies
  2018

  According to Kaiser (2018) “Appearance style is a metaphor for identity”. And while the typical body can project the self through selecting, donning, and displaying fashion, the disabled body has been denied that critical mode of self-expression, until recently. Lack of clothing choice has prevailed due in part to benign and even intentional neglect and omission of disability from both fashion design and display. As a result of negative attitudes towards disability, expectations are perpetuated that function should trump any concern with aesthetics, and that attention to fashion and appearance is petty and frivolous. Yet, the increasingly omnipotent visual culture positions the capacity to project identity through choosing one’s appearance as essential. Recognizing this trend, Jackson, AKA the Girl with the Purple Cane, initiated the Inclusive Fashion and Design Collective. Her goal for this advocacy organization is to grant opportunity of clothing and fashion choice to the full range of disabled bodies. Given the nascence of inclusive fashion, there is limited research on how such movements emerge and evolve. This inquiry will contribute to this emerging, important body of knowledge. Through life history design, Jackson’s work, its genesis, and its progress will be examined and analyzed. Using interview and observation, the study focuses on the role of object and clothing in Jackson’s life, and then turns to the creative process through which her work unfolds. The study not only unpacks individual ingenuity but provides empirical guidance to other activists in contemporary-relevant approaches to decreasing and eliminating exclusion and discrimination.

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  Educational Videos About Restraint and Seclusion

  Jodie Hall
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Trainee Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2018

  The Coalition for Restraint and Seclusion (C.A.R.S.) is a group of stakeholders whose mission is to prevent the overuse of restraints and seclusion within the educational setting. As part of my training with the New Hampshire-Maine Leadership in Education in Neurodevelopmental Related Disabilities Program (LEND), I have been working with C.A.R.S. to update their resources and parent education materials. We created a series of short informational videos which will be accessed via the internet, in order to provide materials which are easily digestible and accessible for parents. My poster will provide descriptions of the content included in each of the videos, and I will share a video sample during my presentation. For this project, I assisted in developing the video concept, recording the videos, and editing the videos. As a parent with a child who has special needs, I was able to provide a necessary perspective in developing the content of the videos. My role in the recordings was to interview a special education advocate and develop questions which are pertinent to families who are interested in learning more about restraint and seclusion.

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  Educational Videos About Restraint and Seclusion

  Jodie Hall
  2018

  The Coalition Against Restraint and Seclusion (C.A.R.S.) is a group of stakeholders whose mission is to prevent the overuse of restraint and seclusion within the educational setting. As part of Jodie Hall’s training with the New Hampshire-Maine LEND Program, she worked with C.A.R.S. to update their resources and parent education materials. This poster presentation reports on the outcome of her work and the development of a series of short informational videos which may be accessed via the internet.

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  Enhancing a Disability Advocacy Organization's Online Capacity to Provide Families with Essential Information about Secondary Transition

  Taylor Harris
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Trainee Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2018

  This poster describes my work assisting the Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Supports conducted as part of my NH-ME LEND Leadership Project. The purpose of the project was to enhance an existing online timeline designed to help family members of individuals with developmental disabilities in Maine. In particular, I searched for essential resources, materials, and data related to effective secondary transition. The outcome was to provide a better resource for families as they identify services and supports that will help their children to have a smooth transition to adult life. Throughout this project, I collaborated with my leadership mentor and organizational liaison in an effort to identify quality information to include in the transition timeline and to identify valuable resources. This information will allow parents to access recommendations and essential information that may be beneficial for the transition from school to adult life. My poster will include a list of the resources and recommendations for the online timeline including those related to triennial testing, Summary of Performance, role of Vocational Rehabilitation, and ensuring diagnosis before the age of 18.

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  Researching Less Restrictive Alternatives to Maine's Regulations Governing Behavior Supports for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

  Holly Hegarty
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Trainee Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2018

  This project was done in partnership with the NH-ME LEND Leadership Project and Disability Rights Maine. For this project I researched Maine’s regulations governing behavioral support, modification and management for adults with intellectual disabilities or autism spectrum disorder, and I researched regulations from other states. The purpose of my project was to compare regulations from other states with Maine’s regulations, with the goal to find a model state that Maine could potentially adopt parts of their regulations to make Maine’s regulations more progressive and less restrictive. This project was completed in collaboration between student, mentor and leadership supervisor which determined the states to be researched, and how to organize the regulations (i.e., behavior support plans, the author of such plans, and use of restraints). My poster will include a description of the project activities, my results, and conclusion. I concluded Maine has progressive, and minimally restricted regulations compared to other states, with a few states, such as Georgia, having some regulations that could be valuable for Maine to adopt.

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  Coaching LEND Faculty in Implementing Team-Based Learning Across Two States: Lessons Learned over Four Years

  Alan Kurtz, Rae Sonnenmeier, Betsy P. Humphreys, and Susan Russell
  2018

  This poster describes the implementation of team-based learning (TBL) in the didactic seminar component of the NH-ME LEND program over four years. TBL has been found to be an effective instructional method, fostering communication, collaboration, and conflict negotiation among interdisciplinary teams. The process of coaching a large faculty across two states to implement TBL, faculty perceptions with TBL, lessons learned, and quality improvement strategies is described.

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  Building Strong Bonds: How Maine's UCEDD and Community Advisory Committee Support Each Other in Our Work

  Kile Pelletier and Maryann Preble
  2018

  In 1990, a Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) assembled and created a mission statement for what would become the University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion, University Affiliated Program. Their vision of inclusion and interdependence and recognition of the inherent worth and talent of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities continues today. The CAC Co-Chairs will describe how strong bonds between the Maine UCEDD and CAC sustain our work together in this poster presentation.

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  Oral History Project Plan: A Look at the History of Developmental Disabilities in Maine

  Madeline Ruffin
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Trainee Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2018

  This project is in partnership with the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) and is a 9-month process that will result in a design plan for an oral history project. This oral history project will focus on the experiences of those with developmental disabilities in Maine and provide public education regarding those experiences, particularly within the Pineland Institution. As the NH-ME LEND trainee I am working with stakeholders to determine the population of those included in the project, the method used to collect information for the project and how the project will be shared with the public. Additionally, the design plan will include potential partners in the project such as advocacy organizations and existing programs that will help support the DDC is carrying out the final oral history project. This poster will include a finalized outline of the design plan for the oral history project.

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  Developing the State Interagency Coordinating Council for Maine Child Developmental Services

  Olivia Shaw
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Trainee Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2018

  Each state is required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. 1441 to have a State Interagency Coordination Council to act as an advising council for their state Early Intervention Program. My leadership project mentor, Roy Fowler, the state director for Maine’s Early Intervention Program, Child Developmental Services (CDS), tasked me with helping him to develop a new and effective SICC for CDS. Doing this required extensive research into the federal requirements for an SICC including, participant requirements, responsibilities of the SICC, and the overall process for applying to be a member. Once the research was completed a recruitment letter was drafted to send out to prospective members. As the state director of CDS, Roy Fowler was able to come up with a list of prospective members and an invitation to apply was sent out. After a small group of people were picked to be members of the SICC, I was tasked with reaching out to each of them to schedule the first official meeting of SICC. Roy Fowler has entrusted me to assist him in facilitating the first meeting at the end of March.

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  Quality of Life Among Youth with IDD in Parent-Developed Residential Program

  Emma Wynne Hill
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Trainee Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2018

  My poster focuses on a research project I am conducting with a team from the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies. The study is tracking changes in quality of life for six young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) as they transition into an innovative housing program developed by their parents. This new housing offers individuals their own apartments, while also providing access to communal spaces and support staff as needed. Individuals with IDD routinely experience a lower quality of life than those without IDD. Further, the nature of residential settings has been shown to affect resident’s quality of life. For this study, quality of life is being measured in three ways: (1) pre-post administration of the INICO-FEAPS Scale, and pre-post administration of a quantitative survey created for this purpose to parents and residents; (2) structured qualitative interviews of parents and residents; and (3) measures of changes in goals identified in person-centered planning meetings, along with an analysis of the methods and processes used to create those goals. To date, one round of INICO-FEAPS surveys and qualitative interviews has been conducted, and that data is currently being aggregated and thematically coded. Since the project has not yet been completed, my poster will center on its impetus, goals, and process. In addition, it will incorporate results from the first round of qualitative interviews, coupled with preliminary results of the INICO-FEAPS Scale.

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  Flippin' Our Brains: Disability Benefits Everyone

  Jaimi Clifford and Class DIS 300 Disability: Interaction of Human Diversity and Global Environments
  Interdisciplinary Disability Studies
  2017

  Disability is often thought of as an object in need of change. Accordingly, products designed for disabled populations aim to improve function and help individuals adapt to their environments. Curiously and often unrecognized, products designed for the atypical and extreme human often find their way into mainstream use, improving the world for everyone. This presentation analyzes the process of disability product to commercial success. We illustrate the “disability” genesis of products such as Doc Marten footwear, speech-to-text and text-to-speech software and applications, automated doors, and closed captioning.

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  Picture vocabulary growth in students with and without disabilities in an early childhood program that targets poor families

  Alan B. Cobo-Lewis
  2017

  We compared growth in the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test between children with disabilities and children without disabilities in Educare Central Maine, a highly resourced data-driven Birth-5 early care and education program that targets children at risk of school failure because of socioeconomic factors. Children with disabilities made up 13% of enrollment. Children with disabilities tended to catch up with the typically developing children as they spent more time in Educare.

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  Reaching Local Community with the Message of Developmental Milestones and Early Identification of Autism

  Hope M. Duncanson
  New Hampshire-Maine Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Trainee Program (NH-ME LEND)
  2017

  This poster presents project activities for a pilot program for effectively distributing Learn the Signs, Act Early materials to a small study group in a community in Maine.