Category: Blog

PIPA and UCEDD Attend the Governor’s Disability Policy Summit

The inaugural Governor’s Disability Policy Summit was held on June 18 at the Lakeshore Foundation in Birmingham. Aimed at addressing and advancing key issues impacting the disability community, the event was filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and strategic advocacy. By bringing together decision makers, advocates, and individuals with disabilities, the goal to drive positive change and shape a more inclusive future in Alabama seems near.

This consumer-driven day of advocacy, discussion, and information aimed to empower participants and drive positive change in disability policies including six critical areas, each essential to improving the lives of disabled Alabamians:

  1. Employment
  2. Health Care
  3. Transportation
  4. Education
  5. Housing
  6. Civic Engagement

Christopher Alvarez, M.S., a bilingual disability activist and freelance journalist for The New York Times and Contributing Writer for NBC Latino, delivered the keynote address. Alvarez shared his insights on navigating education, employment, and housing systems while advocating for essential services. His address provided a valuable first-hand perspective and inspired attendees to take action in our own state.

Partners in Policymaking Alabama participants and alumni attended the event to contribute to the conversation. June Wilson, 2024 PIPA cohort, took the opportunity to spread awareness for her leadership project, “Changing Spaces Alabama.” The Changing Spaces Campaign is a network of advocates bringing awareness to the need for Adjustable-Height Universal Changing Tables in public family restrooms. As part of her Partners in Policymaking Alabama project, Wilson has started a chapter within our state.

When asked why she attended the summit, June quoted legendary disability rights activist Judy Heumann, “Change never happens at the pace we think it should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing, and pulling all the levers they possibly can.”

The Disability Policy Seminar was sponsored by the Lakeshore Foundation, the Governor’s Office on Disability, and Disability Rights and Resources. UCEDD and PIPA are looking forward to collaborating with this event for next year!

2024 Simpson-Ramsey Neurodevelopment Symposium

More than 60 people attended the Center’s annual Simpson Ramsey Symposium on April 25, 2024 at the Bradley Lecture Center. Distinguished presenters included Dr. John Foxe, Dr. Julie Preskitt, Dr. Leandra Godoy, Ms. Yetta Myrick, Dr. Madeline Eckenrode, and Ms. Betsy Hopson. LEND psychology trainee Zachary Arnold also presented updated data on his current research project.

Attendees were engaged in lectures and discussion on neuromarkers in rare monogenic neurodevelopmental disabilities, rural healthcare disparities in preschoolers referred for autism testing, multi-system approaches to improving autism care, and transition care for children and teenagers at the UAB STEP Program. The day also included presenting the Fred J. Biasini Outstanding Former Trainee award to Dr. Julie Preskitt who gave an inspiring talk on how teamwork and a multidisciplinary focus is truly one of the building blocks to success.

CEDD Co-sponsors and Attends the 23rd Annual Alabama Autism Conference

The CEDD and the UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics (Department of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics) were co-sponsors for the 23rd Annual Alabama Autism Conference on 2/22 and 2/23/2024 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The conference had about 350 in-person and over 200 virtual attendees, including many trainees and faculty/staff from our CEDD programs. Highlights included:

    • Presentations by leading experts, including Susan White, Ph.D.; Brittany Travers, Ph.D.; Jessica Kramer, Ph.D., OTR/L; Lauren Little, Ph.D., OTR/L, FAOTA; Mallory Manning, M.S., CCC-SLP; Pamela Ramsey, M.C.D., CCC-SLP; and Dr. Kerry Magro
    • Four posters presented by trainees from the Autism Database Group at Civitan-Sparks Clinics
    • A trainee breakout session attended by 30 trainees to meet with state department representatives and discuss opportunities for professionals working in the area of autism and related disabilities in Alabama
    • A pre-conference dinner discussion facilitated by LEND/UCEDD faculty Dr. Sarah Ryan, Looking to the Future with Adults with Autism in Alabama
    • Two well-attended pre-conference workshops led by LEND/UCEDD faculty Dr. Justin Schwartz (Empowering Autism Identification and Diagnosis in Primary Care) and Dr. Sarah Ryan (Adapting Evidence-Based Psychotherapy for Autistic Individuals)

The Alabama Autism Conference is held annually on the last Friday in February. More information can be found at https://training.ua.edu/autism/.

Introducing our Self-Advocacy Faculty Member

Phillip Crain, MPA has joined the CEDD as our first Self-Advocacy faculty member for the UCEDD and LEND at UAB. He is also the Project Manager for Achieving Health Equity for Alabamians with Disabilities (AHEAD), a collaboration between the UCEDD and the Alabama Council for Developmental Disabilities. Phillip recently shared the following information about himself with the CEDD faculty, staff, and trainees.

How did you end up at UAB CEDD? I worked with Auburn University’s Wheelchair Basketball program from 2017 to 2019. When the pandemic started and higher education hiring froze, I decided to go back to school for another degree and a career shift. As a result, I started the MPA program at Troy University with a strong focus on their public health offerings through their graduate certificate in public health administration. This allowed me to explore the inequities of the disabled community regarding society at large and write multiple papers on disability and access to healthcare. At the end of my degree, I did an internship with United Ability. My time at United Ability led me to the STEP program at UAB where I worked for a year. The positions at United Ability and the STEP program allowed me to bolster my knowledge of the healthcare system and issues that disabled people deal with. Those positions also allowed me the opportunity to advocate and educate on behalf of my disabled community and help healthcare professionals better understand the issues facing disabled people, which I love doing. As my time with STEP ended, I was connected with Dr. Schwartz and the AHEAD initiative and here we are.

Where did you grow up? I grew up here in Birmingham. I graduated from Spain Park High School in 2010 before attending Auburn University for two degrees (undergraduate and my first masters) and Troy University to earn my second masters.

What do you like to do in your spare time? My favorite ways to spend time away from work include watching sports, especially the Auburn Tigers and Atlanta Braves, reading, and spending time with friends and family. I also love to travel. My favorite sights are museums, presidential libraries, and historic locations.

Top Bucket List Item? Right now, the top item is to travel to Alaska. Through family vacations, I have been to 49 of the 50 states, and Alaska is the only one I have not been to. Several European countries are also on the list, but the general lack of accessibility is a hold-up.

What are you most looking forward to in your role as a self-advocate faculty at UAB?
Honestly, I see my positions with LEND, UCEDD, and AHEAD as parallels working toward a similar goal. Our goal with AHEAD is to improve access and accessibility in the healthcare space for disabled individuals. We are trying to create an attitudinal shift among providers so
that access and accessibility are at the forefront of their care model. Similarly, my aim for the self-advocate position is to bring awareness where necessary and provide the perspective of a disabled individual within a discussion either by providing my thoughts and experiences or amplifying those of other disabled people. Within the disability space, parents and providers often drown out the disabled voices. We all need a spot at the table as we all have different angles and lenses through which we come to our understanding. The reality is that our view is often too narrow to identify the undesirable aspects and consequences at the periphery of our perspective on a given topic, policy, or practice. We need everyone’s input to see the whole picture clearly.

Trainee Research Presented at INSAR 2023

In May, five of the UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics’ ASD database lab members traveled to Stockholm, Sweden to present their work at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)’s annual meeting. Monica M. Abdul-Chani, a UAB Medical/Clinical Psychology doctoral student, presented her dissertation work through an Oral Presentation, “Characterizing Autism Stigma in the Latin Community: Impacts and Implications,” shedding light on autism in the Latin community through direct qualitative work. Four students presented posters sharing findings from their completed Masters Thesis work. Zachary Arnold, a fifth year student in the UAB Medical/Clinical Psychology doctoral program presented findings related to ASD and rural communities with a poster entitled, “Rural Healthcare Disparities in Preschool Children Referred for an Autism Spectrum Disorder Evaluation.” Jeremy Cottle, also a fifth year in the UAB Medical/Clinical Psychology program presented findings on autistic females with a poster entitled, “An Analysis of Sex Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Presentation in a Tertiary Care Clinic.” Brianna Stein, a fourth year in the UAB Lifespan Developmental Psychology Program presented her poster, “The Relationship between Language and Adaptive Functioning in Children Referred for an ASD Evaluation,” on adapting functioning and autism. Alecia Mercier, also a fourth year student in the UAB Lifespan Developmental Psychology Program, presented her poster on autistic drivers, “The Driving Profile of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.” Many of these works are in preparation as manuscripts for publication and represent some of the research conducted at the UAB CEDD.

New Trainee Cohort Begins for 2023-24

On August 18, 2023, incoming LEND trainees participated in the annual Orientation to UAB Civitan-Sparks Clinics and the LEND training program. They learned about the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) program and its origins, what “Individualized Training Plan” means, Justice, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, research opportunities, and observation scheduling and opportunities. During lunch, trainees from other UAB MCH programs (LEPN, LEAH, and PPC) joined the LEND trainees for a meet and greet session. Representatives from each organization gave brief introductions to their program and how it functions in the UAB/MCH realm. After lunch a CliftonStrengths Portfolio Manager led a class on developing strengths and what those strengths mean for each learner. The day ended with a tour of the clinic space.

In the fall semester, trainees from the UAB LEND program joined other UAB MCH programs on campus with a tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. The tour was led by Dr. Tamara Coyne-Beasley, division director of Adolescent Medicine/UAB LEAH program, and Charles Woods III, Education Coordinator at the Institute.

Heather Jackson and Madison Gaston, LEND trainees, and Eleese Anthony, a student in the OT program at UAB working on her capstone at Civitan-Sparks Clinics, along with Angelica Rice, Speech-Language Pathologist/RAN Director, participated in MCH HOPES at Carver High School. MCH HOPES is a program whose goals are to expose high school students to a variety of health professions, increase diversity in those professions, and provide a networking platform.
Trainees from Sparks Clinics and RAN, as well as Dr. Justin Schwartz and Angelica Rice, RAN Director manned tables at the UAB Disability Fair on the Campus Green.