News Highlights
2020 - Present
Hall and Shinnick Goddard Publish New Article in Disability and Health Journal
September 1, 2021
Jean Hall, RTC/IL Director, and Kelsey Shinnick Goddard, RTC/IL Researcher, authored "Is the presence of home entrance steps associated with community participation of people with mobility impairments?" with colleagues from RTC: Rural.
Jean Hall to Serve on NIH Advisory Group
July 14, 2021
Jean Hall, Director of the RTC/IL, will serve on the National Institute of Health Advisory Group to the Director Working Group on Diversity as an expert on diversity and disability. Learn more about the advisory group at NIH.
Jean Hall Elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance
January 21, 2021
Jean Hall, IHDPS Director, joined the National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) as one of 56 distinguished experts. NASI educates the public on the connections between social insurance--such as Workers Compensation, Unemployment Insurance, and Medicare--and economic security. "It is essential to include various types of expertise and disciplines when it comes to the challenges we face - from the impacts of COVID-19 to systemic racism in our society and economy," William Arnone, the Academy's CEO, said of the recent elections. Read the press release at NASI.
Koon et. al. Publish in Disability and Health Journal.
December 8, 2020
Read the article, "Aging Concerns, Challenges, and Everyday Soultion Strategies (ACCESS) for Adults Aging with a Long-Term Mobility Disability."
Nary and Coulter Present to Medical Student Group
October 21, 2020
Dot Nary, RTC/IL researcher, and Seth Coulter, RTC/IL communication specialist, presented "Writing and Speaking about People with Disabilities - With Dignity" to the KUMC student chapter of the American Association of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry. The group learned about several topics presented in the newly released 9th edition of Guidelines: How to Write about People with Disabilities, such as the Independent Living movement, person-first and identity language, and recommended terminology for discussions of disability. Ten students attended the online presentation.
Research and Training Center on Independent Living Releases 9th Edition of Writing Guidelines
July 26, 2020
The Research and Training Center on Independent Living (RTC/IL), a research center at the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas, celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by releasing the 9th edition of Guidelines: How to Write about People with Disabilities.
Acknowledging that the language we use to discuss disability shapes perceptions of people with disabilities, the Guidelines summarize key concepts in the Disability Community and recommend objective, respectful terminology to use when writing about disability. The recommendations were reviewed and endorsed by national organizations representing people with disabilities.
New to the 9th edition is a discussion of a recent shift in some communities from a preference for person-first language to a preference for identity language. Person-first language literally puts the person first in a sentence, emphasizing their basic humanity before stating an objective fact, as in people with autism. Identity language expresses disability pride with such direct statements as I am autistic.
“Language evolves, and the Guidelines document evolution in disability language, noting terms that are rejected because they are stigmatizing and others that are preferred because they are factual and promote dignity,” says Jean Hall, Director of the RTC/IL.
The first edition of the Guidelines was published in 1984. Since then, RTC/IL has distributed more than a million copies, and recommendations from the Guidelines have been adopted by The Associated Press Stylebook, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and other professional organizations.
RTC/IL Staff Receive Major Awards
February 17, 2020: Two RTC/IL staff members recently received major financial awards. Kelsey Shinnick Goddard, Research Project Coordinator, received the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) Frederick J. Krause Scholarship on Health and Disability(AAHD). Jay Schultz, Graduate Research Assistant, received the Health and Disability Fellowship from the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
Goddard's award recognizes deserving students with a disability who are pursuing studies related to health and disability. She was one of two people to receive it nationally. The Scholarship on Health and Disabillity honors the life and career of AAHD co-founder Frederick J. Krause.
Schultz's fellowship allows graduate students to gain entry level experience in the public health workforce and to learn about people with disabilities as a public health priority population.