RTC/CL Happenings, Spring 2014
Welcome to the SCAP
L. Dara Baldwin has joined the Center’s Scientific and Consumer Advisory Panel (SCAP). She is a consultant in the area of social justice and equity with a concentration on disability rights. Ms. Baldwin’s previous experience includes working as an ADA Compliance Specialist in the DC government and serving as a policy analyst at the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), where she was responsible for NCIL’s diversity and cultural competency outreach. She has led multiple national and international advocacy campaigns.
Congratulations
Dot Nary has been promoted to Assistant Research Professor at the University of Kansas.
Craig Ravesloot received the Commendation Award at the NARRTC conference in April 2014. This recognizes his important contributions that strategically or creatively advance the field of disability research.
Advisor Participates in White House Event
Stan Holbrook was a panelist in an event held by the White House to celebrate and honor African American History Month in Feb. 2014. Holbrook spoke as part of the panel “Perspectives on the Civil and Disability Rights Movements.” Dara Baldwin was part of the planning committee and served as moderator for that panel.
No Fear of Flying
Glen White and Dot Nary both contributed stories to New Mobility magazine's April 2014 feature on air travel for people with disabilities. The magazine for active wheelchair users presented a series of articles on the theme "Taming Our Fear of Flying."
In "Delta Reaches Out to Passengers with Disabilities," White discusses the work of Delta Air Lines' Advisory Board on Disability, of which he is a member, to improve the flying experience. Nary shares a personal story in "Eight Tips for Easier Air Travel," advising consumers that they have a right to speak with a conflict resolution officer when they encounter problems.
Grants Received
Andrew Houtenville received a $4.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in Oct. 2013. The five-year grant, called the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Statistics and Demographics (StatsRRTC), works towards improving knowledge about and access to existing disability data and generating the knowledge needed to improve future disability data collection and dissemination.
Jamie Simpson received a seminar grant from Bringing Theory to Practice to help address engagement disparities between students with and without disabilities at the University of Kansas. The seminar will use evidence-based programs to set goals and adopt practices that will increase the full participation of students with disabilities on campus.
Service
Tony Cahill is chair and Amanda Reichard is treasurer of the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association.
Amanda Reichard is serving on the 2013-14 Disability Research Interest Group Advisory Committee of AcademyHealth, which seeks to improve health and health care by generating new knowledge and moving knowledge into action.
Charles Drum is chair of the Data, Policy and Evaluation Subcommittee of the Region I Health Equity Council, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Webcasts
David Gray and Jessica Dashner presented the webcast “Map Your Community’s Usability: A New Tool to Empower Consumers” in March 2014 to more than 100 participants. As a result, advocates and occupational therapists at 25 locations nationwide will be trained in and use the Community Health Environment Checklist (CHEC) to provide information to consumers in their communities.
Lillie Greiman and Catherine Ipsen presented “Using National Data to Describe the Context of Rural Disability and Inform Policy and Practice” for an Interagency Committee on Disability Statistics webcast in May 2014.
Training & Technical Assistance
Craig Ravesloot and Lillie Greiman presented data from the American Housing Survey (AHS) to the NCIL housing subcommittee in February 2014.
Dot Nary and Norm White conducted a disability awareness training for eight interns and staff members as well as the director of training at KU’s Counseling and Psychological Services in March 2014.
Presentations
Two Center researchers presented at the at the NARRTC conference in April 2014. Martha Hodgesmith presented “Building Bridges from Research to Policy and Practice: Sharing Early Results of a Research Center” in a panel on knowledge translation. Craig Ravesloot presented “Time Use and Impairment: Circos visualizations of time use differences among people with and without mobility impairments,” which was co-authored with Andrew Myers.
Charles Drum gave the keynote speech on Public Health, Diversity and Disability at the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity in May 2014.
Drum gave an invited presentation on “Disability and health: Definitions, determinants, and disparities” at the Translational Health Disparities Course, Sept. 2013, sponsored by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health.
He made another invited presentation in fall 2013 titled “What the health is disability doing in public health?” at the College of Public Health Seminar Series, University of Arizona.
Glen White made a presentation to the Kansas Commission on Disability Concerns in May 2014, discussing the work of the Research and Training Center.
Glen White, Dot Nary and Alice Zhang made presentations in a Disability Equity Panel Discussion hosted by the KU School of Education in Feb. 2014.
Dot Nary and Alice Zhang made presentations to a Global Perspectives on Disability class at Rockhurst University in Kansas City in April 2014.
Dot Nary also made the following presentations in recent months.
- She spoke to staff and faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Nursing and Health Studies on “Disability as an Issue of Diversity (or Why Disability Matters)” in March 2014.
- Also at UMKC, she presented to 60 students in a health sciences class on “Health Disparities and People with Disabilities.”
- She spoke on “Inclusive Leadership: Why People with Disabilities Matter” for the Student Involvement and Leadership Center at the University of Kansas.
Val Renault presented “Words of Respect: Speaking of Disability” with KU Journalism Professor Doug Ward at the American Copy Editors Society Conference in March 2014. They discussed the use of objective terminology for editors working at newspapers, magazines, websites, traditional media outlets, and Fortune 500 companies, as well as freelance editors, students and their professors.
Nurturing Disability Researchers & Advocates
Occupational Therapy students of Dave Gray and Jessica Dashner at Washington University School of Medicine made poster and oral presentations at the Annual OT Scholarship Day in April 2014. Irene Hsu’s poster titled “Web-Based Training Program for People with Disabilities and Their Informal Personal Assistants” described work being conducted for Dashner’s RTC/CL intervention.
The KU student group AbleHawks & Allies was named the Social Justice Program of the Year by the Jayhawk Choice Awards in April 2014, which are sponsored by the KU Student Involvement and Leadership Center. Dot Nary mentors the group, which was recognized for their work to increase disability awareness on campus, efforts to promote passage of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, and advocacy for an accessible entrance at the front of Strong Hall, the university’s administration building.