DHDD Newsletter - December 2020
A Note from the DHDD Director:
Dear DHDD colleagues –
For the past several weeks, I have been deployed to assist with CDC’s COVID-19 response. In this capacity, I have been privileged to work with the teams at CDC and Operation Warp Speed who are working with states to receive, distribute, and administer COVID vaccine. Over the next few weeks to months, it will be important for us all to work with state and local partners to ensure that children and adults with disabilities and their caregivers have access to vaccine. This is such an important time for us as a nation that will help turn the tide in this pandemic.
As the year comes to an end, I would like to wish you all a healthy, safe, and enjoyable holiday season. Holidays this year will likely look very different for many of us. Like many of you, I will certainly miss being away from family and friends during the holidays but have chosen to make these difficult decisions this year in the hopes that I can spend many more years to come with my loved ones. It doesn’t make the decisions any easier though!
I also want to take this opportunity to thank you for all of the continued hard work and dedication to the populations we collectively serve, and for your collaboration and partnership over this challenging year and always. I wish you and your family a very happy, restful, safe, and healthy holiday season.
Take care and stay well,
Georgina Peacock
In the Spotlight
December 3: International Day of People with Disabilities
On December 3ʳᵈ, in recognition of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, DHDD posted a feature website recognizing the 2020 theme “Not all Disabilities are Visible”. The feature highlighted mental health among people with disabilities and current resources from CDC and funded partners, Special Olympics and the National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability (NCHPAD), to support people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
COVID-19 Accessible Materials Microsite is Live!
The Georgia Tech Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (CIDI), with funding from the CDC Foundation and technical assistance from CDC is adapting COVID-19 materials into accessible formats for people with disabilities. The project has created a microsite to house all of the materials. On the microsite, you can request embossed braille, download accessible Word Documents and PDFs, and register for upcoming webinars related to COVID-19 and people with disabilities. More accessible materials are coming soon.
You can access the microsite here:
COVID-19 Accessible Resources Home | Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation (gatech.edu)
COVID-19 Webinar Series – GA Tech Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation
Georgia Institute of Technology’s Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation, the CDC Foundation, and DHDD are collaborating on a free webinar series to provide information to supplement CDC’s COVID-19 considerations for people with disabilities. You can register for these events by clicking on the links below.
- Making Social Media Accessible for People with Disabilities
Wednesday January 20, 2021 at 2:00 PM - A Closer Look: Guidance for Business and Employers Considering the Needs of People with Disabilities during COVID-19
Wednesday February 10, 2021 at 2:00 PM
Participants will qualify for CEUs through the AAC Institute and CRCs through the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC).
Registration will close one hour before the live webinar. The webinars will be presented through Zoom, recorded, and archived. All webinars are accessible with captions and American Sign Language.
Recordings of past webinars in this series, including Face Masks and People with Disabilities and Mental Health and Resilience within the Disability Community, can be found here.
Flu Vaccine During the COVID-19 Pandemic Webinars
AAP Hosted: “Now is the Time! Flu Vaccination for People with Special Healthcare Needs and Disabilities”
On Wednesday, December 9th, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) hosted a webinar for healthcare providers who care for children and adults with special healthcare needs and disabilities. The webinar provided the latest information from the AAP and CDC on flu, including routine vaccination recommendations; safely vaccinating during the COVID-19 pandemic; flu activity and surveillance; and why flu vaccination for people with special healthcare needs and disabilities, and those who care for them, is more important than ever.
NCHPAD Hosted: “It’s Not Too Late to Vaccinate: Why You Should Get Your Flu Vaccine Today”
On Thursday, December 10th, the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) hosted a webinar for people with disabilities and their caregivers. The webinar provided the latest information from CDC on vaccination recommendations; safely vaccinating during the COVID-19 pandemic; and why flu vaccination for people with disabilities, and those who care for them, is more important than ever. Speakers included Dr. Matt Holder, an advocate of people with IDD, Dr. Kevin Chatham-Stephens, Lead of DHDD’s Children’s Preparedness Unit, and Chris Mackey, a disability expert from the Lakeshore Foundation.
See some additional flu resources from our partners
- Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD): mini toolkit for social media advocacy
- Special Olympics (SO): Flu Vaccine Information and Resources
New Resources
Local Health Departments Selected to Support People with Disabilities through NACCHO COVID-19 Project and Request for Proposals
Ten local health departments have been selected by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to support DHDD’s Addressing Needs of People with Disabilities in COVID-19 Local Preparedness Planning, Mitigation, and Recovery Efforts project. For more information about the health departments, read the latest press release.
As part of this project, NACCHO has also announced a Request for Proposals for a Technical Assistance Consultant.
The application submission deadline is January 11, 2021 by 11:59 pm EST.
Now Open for Applications for CDC Funding Opportunity: Characterizing the Natural History of Fragile X Syndrome to Inform the Development of Intervention Outcome Measures (RFA-DD-21-002)
The Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) funding opportunity builds on the foundation of the Fragile X Online Registry With Accessible Research Database (FORWARD) to conduct research to better characterize the natural history of FXS and meaningful outcome measures to improve the lives of children and adolescents with FXS with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and from different racial/ethnic groups and geographic locations across the United States. The research will characterize the cognitive, behavioral, and adaptive skills, and other indicators of functioning of individuals with FXS.
The application period closes January 11, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Disability Health Trainings and Continuing Education
The Ohio Disability and Health Program offers free online training modules that are designed to increase the capacity of health care providers, first responders, and emergency planners to provide quality care for people with disabilities. Some courses are approved for continuing education by CDC.
For more information, please visit the ODHP training website.
Healthy People
Healthy People 2020: An End of Decade Snapshot
The HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) released a snapshot, which provides an overview of the progress the U.S. made in meeting the Healthy People 2020 objectives’ targets at the end of the decade. CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics will publish a more detailed end-of-decade assessment in 2021.
Read the blog post by the Assistant Secretary for Health and visit the website to learn more about the achievements of Healthy People 2020.
Healthy People 2030: Leading Health Indicators and Overall Health and Well-Being Measures
The HHS Office of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention developed a blog to promote new Healthy People 2030 Leading Health Indicators (LHIs) and Overall Health and Well-Being Measures (OHMs). More information on the LHIs and OHMs can also be found on the HP2030 website.
Publications
Factors Associated with Self-Regulation in a Nationally Representative Sample of Children Ages 3-5 Years: United States, 2016
However, one in five children, or an estimated 2.5 million young children nationwide, were described as not on track with self-regulation, and many of these children were not being monitored for development or receiving supports or services that might help them get back on track.
Monitoring self-regulation along with other measures of mental, emotional, and behavioral health may be a step toward assessing progress on child development goals for early intervention and parenting support programs.
Learn more about developmental monitoring and screening and What to do if you are concerned about a child’s development
Prevalence of Intellectual Disability Among Eight-Year-Old Children from Selected Communities in the United States, 2014
CDC’s first report on the prevalence of intellectual disability (ID) among 8-year-old children was recently published in Disability and Health Journal. This report found that among 8-year-old children, 1 in 85, or 1.2% (11.8 per 1,000), in communities across the United States were identified with ID in 2014. Data were collected from nine U.S. communities through the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
Previous U.S. estimates used administrative or parent-report data with limited information on demographic subgroups. The ADDM Network’s record review method allows scientists to not only estimate the prevalence of ID within communities, but also to describe characteristics of ID among children and describe variability in ID prevalence by geographic location and socioeconomic status. These data can increase awareness of the populations of children who are most affected with ID and inform strategies to improve early access to intervention and support services.
DHDD’S mission is to lead inclusive programs to optimize the health and development of children and adults with, or at risk for, disabilities.
