Welcome to our New Format!

Access on-line: newsletter goes on-screen and "green."

We're excited to bring you news of the Institute on Disabilities as well as information that will help you in your home, school, workplace and in your community in a new, easy-to-read format.

To provide our readers with the most current information, and in keeping with our mission to be more "green," we will now provide our newsletter online. We will continue to distribute the newsletter through the mail for those who request it.

So, it is important that you update your contact information, including your email address, at www.disabilities.temple.edu.

From the Director

New director continues rich heritage, expands mission and anticipates challenges for the Institute.

David Mitchell

Welcome to the newly revised Institute on Disabilities Newsletter. It is my special pleasure to welcome you in my role as the new Executive Director of the organization.

This Center for Excellence on Developmental Disabilities at Temple University is one of the oldest in the country and one of the most long-lived Institutes at Temple. As part of that heritage we honor those—past and present—who have devoted themselves to the social, political, economic, and cultural well being of people with disabilities. Our mission remains one of accomplishing systems change in order to effect meaningful opportunities for people with disabilities to work, live, learn, and play in communities of our choosing.

In keeping with this tradition of social justice, we are undertaking initiatives on a variety of fronts. Our objectives remain consistent with those we have pursued for many years including: leadership training, monitoring for quality, innovation in assistive technology, public outreach and consciousness raising, a progressive research agenda, and the expansion of Disability Studies at Temple University. The Institute sits poised to serve as a catalyst for change in the 21st Century.

We appreciate your willingness to embark on these challenges with us.

Sincerely,
David Mitchell, PhD
Executive Director, Institute on Disabilities
Associate Professor, College of Education

Disability Studies Lecture Series

Robert McRuer

On September 17, 2008, the first of what is certain to be a memorable series of talks and presentations "The GeoPolitics of Disability" was held on Temple University's main campus. The Institute welcomed Robert McRuer, Associate Professor at The George Washington University, whose lecture "Bad Education: Crip Representation and the Limits of Tolerance" was attended by staff, students and faculty. In October, Sumi Colligan, a teacher of Anthropology and Disability Studies at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts presented "Conceiving Social Justice: Disability Rights Discourse and Practice in an Israeli Setting."

Sumi Colligan

The final lecture for the semester on November 19, 2008, featured Nirmala Erevelles, Associate Professor of Education & Instructional Leadership in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies at the University of Alabama, speaking on "Unspeakable Offenses: Untangling Race and Disability in Discourses of Intersectionality."

Lectures are held at 1810 Liacouras Conference Suite on Liacouras Walk, on Temple's main campus. For spring semester lecture dates, call 215-204-1356 or check our website, www.disabilities.temple.edu.

New Grants Awarded to Institute on Disabilities at Temple University

New funding backs important goals for research and leadership development projects.

Enhancing Higher Education Opportunities for All, is a three-year $1 million grant from the Department of Education designed to improve the quality of outcomes for students with disabilities at Temple University in particular and in higher education in general. The new grant will help researchers determine if educating Temple students about the contributions of people with disabilities will improve the educational experience for all students and disabled students in particular.

This multi-tiered project will use the Mosaic Humanities Seminar I and II courses currently offered through the university's General Education core curriculum to discuss the contributions of people with disabilities when talking about diversity, said David Mitchell, Executive Director of the Institute and Associate Professor in the College of Education. Temple professors with expertise in Disability Studies will provide instruction on the history, culture, arts, and social experiences of people with disabilities. Ultimately, the grant seeks to understand how best to integrate these contributions into current teaching on diversity. The grant also includes the development of a more expansive training module on disability to all new faculty and staff through Temple's Human Resources department.

The second grant awarded to the Institute is from the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council and is designed to help people with physical, developmental or other types of disabilities take their rightful place among the next generation of leaders.

In partnership with the Pennsylvania Youth Leadership Network, The Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania, the Urban League of Philadelphia and Leadership Harrisburg, the Institute will use this $400,000 grant to connect experienced leaders with newly emerging leaders.

According to Celia Feinstein, Associate Director for the Institute, community building, individual leadership development, sharpening team building efforts, and governance strategies will be among the skills that participants will develop. She added that participants will also get the chance to do an internship in his or her chosen area of interest.

The third new grant awarded is $120,000 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explore ways to develop, implement and evaluate a research partnership between United Cerebral Palsy (UPC) of Central PA and Temple University. The goal of this collaboration is to assure that a group of community members are trained to be "research mentors" to the larger UCP community, and that Temple University's academic researchers are fully informed about community views about the benefits of, and barriers to, health care research.

Dr. Mary Segal, Principal Investigator, said, "Through this award, community members will become full-fledged partners in the research enterprise to improve health promotion for persons with developmental disabilities." A series of discussions between Temple researchers and the mentor group of community members will explore the best ways to do this. An application for NIH funding to improve health promotion will be developed during the project's second year after a conference to arrive at consensus on an appropriate health promotion topic. The conference will be open to all stakeholders at UCP-Central PA.

For more information about these grants, go to www.disabilities.temple.edu.

Be Prepared!

After a difficult and tragic hurricane season, it's clear that being prepared for an emergency is crucial for you and your family, in your home, in your place of business or your school and throughout your community. Experts, including the American Red Cross, say that being prepared for an emergency takes planning, foresight, cooperation, and diligence. They say, "Get a Kit. Make a Plan. Be Informed." It is essential for people with disabilities, their families and support system to prepare carefully based on their unique needs.

Create a "ready kit" with the supplies necessary to self sustain for a period of at least 72 hours. Create a "go bag" containing your most essential items to take with you if you must leave immediately.

These are SOME items to include in your kit : (This list is NOT comprehensive.)

• 3-day supply of non-perishable food and manual can opener
• 3-day supply of water.
• Medical equipment and assistive devices (glasses, hearing aids, catheters, canes, walkers), labeled with your name and contact info. Don't forget batteries.
• Medications, including a list of the prescription name, dosage, frequency, doctor and pharmacist.
• Extra set of keys.
• Copies of important documents (birth certificate, passport, etc.)
• Identify your disability-related or health condition need by writing it down or wearing medical alert tags or bracelets.

For a list of resources and for more information go to our website www.disabilities.temple.edu/programs/qol or write to us and we will send you a resource list. Or contact your local chapter of the American Red Cross.

New Feature for Institute Website

If you are an Internet user and would like to receive Institute news and updates, you can now subscribe to the Institute's RSS news feed to receive them automatically. Visit our site www.disabilities.temple.edu, and look for the orange RSS button in your browser's address bar or at the bottom of the page.

When you click on the RSS button you can subscribe to the news feed using your news reader* or aggregator. Once subscribed, you will receive updates as they are added to the Institute's website.

It's a great way to keep up with news and events and to receive helpful information in the future.

* Many free news readers are available on Google Directory feed reader listing:
www.google.com/Top/Computers/Software/Internet/Clients/WWW/Feed_Readers