The Human Development Institute has an extensive catalog of one-hour lecture and seminar style presentations available at the University of Kentucky. These lectures are being offered virtually through zoom for online classes as well. We welcome the opportunity to bring diverse perspectives to your classes. The lectures cover an array of topics that include: foundational lectures on disability, advocacy, health, employment, early childhood, universal design, and assistive technology. Presenters are people with disabilities, family members of people with disabilities, and other interdisciplinary experts. For more information or to schedule a lecture for your class, Contact nicholas.wright@uky.edu to reserve a speaker.
Human Development Institute: University Lecture Series 2024-2025 [PDF]
Sexual health and healthy relationships for individuals with disabilities are often overlooked and undervalued. This presentation provides insight and resources on these topics for educators, health providers, and caregivers. Participants will learn more about the importance of safe and healthy relationships, including sexual health, for people with disabilities. This presentation can be focused on intellectual and developmental disability or physical disability.
Lindsey Mullis, Jason Jones
Physical activity is beneficial for everyone, but it is especially important for individuals with disabilities, who experience obesity and high blood pressure at significantly higher rates than the general population. This lecture will focus on the importance of inclusion of individuals with disabilities in physical activity and discuss considerations for assessment measures of physical activity and fitness levels. Adaptive equipment and alternative methods for measuring activity will be included.
Lindsey Mullis, Morgan Turner, Jon Drummond
This session will explain assistive technology (AT) terminology and practice. We’ll discuss categories of AT, and how it can be applied to promote greater independence across the life span. We’ll examine AT’s usefulness for independent living, employment, community participation, and education.
Christina Espinosa, Jason Jones
Universal Design is creating spaces, products and policies that are usable by the greatest amount of people, and benefit everyone, which results in a reduced need for modifications and accommodations. Universal design principles can build environments that are accessible to the broadest array of users. Learn about strategies that maximize usability in physical and virtual environments. We’ll examine a variety of applications of universal design in the workplace, community, and classroom.
Christina Espinosa
This presentation explores barriers faced by people with disabilities in various aspects of life including real life stories. Discussion and activities will consider how Universal Design principles promote accessibility to the broadest array of users, including discussion around etiquette and myths related to a variety of disabilities. Learn about strategies that maximize usability in policy, program, physical and virtual environments. Objectives include understand barriers experienced by individuals with disabilities; list reasons why universal design supports all students; describe the relationship between accessibility and universal design; evaluate a document and make recommendations for how the document can be made more accessible; produce a handout/document free of accessibility errors.
Lindsey Mullis, Johnny Collett, Christina Espinosa, Jason Jones, Patti Singleton
Online learning has become a mainstay in early care and education professional development. This session is for trainers or faculty interested in developing online training, or for anyone who is training online and would like to make content interactive, engaging, and universally designed. Two stages of development will be discussed, as well as turning problems into online learning solutions. Questions and answers will be addressed in real time with the use of participants’ smart phone, tablet, or computer.
Patti Singleton
This lecture will explain the interdisciplinary training aspect of the HDI’s Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities, the Undergraduate Certificate in Universal Design, and the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program, as more on- campus students become involved with HDI projects. The lecture will discuss research opportunities available for students to engage with HDI projects, practicum opportunities available for students, and HDI’s family mentor program as a valuable training opportunity for students to learn first-hand from the family’s perspective.
Johnny Collett, Walt Bower, Phillip Rumrill, Rachel Womack
Pursuant to Kentucky Revised Statutes 151B.211-214, “is the General Assembly finds and declares that it is thepolicy of the Commonwealth of Kentucky that competitive integrated employment shall be considered the first and primary option for persons with disabilities of working age who desire to become employed.” This policy is intended to increase meaningful opportunities for competitive integrated employment for citizens with disabilities seeking employment, regardless of their level of disability. Participants will learn more about employment first policy in Kentucky and the nation, as well as HDI and partner efforts related to supported and customized employment. As Kentucky’s employment first policy includes all persons with disabilities, including students and persons with significant disabilities of working age who desire to become employed, discussion will also include how this policy should inform the development and implementation of program plans and services for both adults and youth with disabilities.
Johnny Collett, Katie Wolf Whaley
Dr. Rumrill will discuss career opportunities for UK students with disabilities; key provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act that mandate inclusive employment policies and practices; reasonable accommodations as a key ingredient of career success; and will describe a 9-step process to guide students’ journey from graduate school to a meaningful and rewarding career.
Phillip Rumrill, PhD, CRC
Those who are closest to the work know the most about it. Often, they have great ideas related to improvement. At the same time, these individuals are often not in a position to compel actions they believe can improve processes and results. Some of the best ideas for improvement and innovation may never see the light of day. This is partly because individuals within the system may not be well-equipped to advance those ideas. Let’s face it, advancing ideas for improvement or innovation is hard, no matter who you are. Join this discussion to learn principles that individuals and teams can use to advance ideas for improvement or innovation within their systems.
Johnny W. Collett
This lecture provides an overview of the Center for Disease Control’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early” campaign, which addresses the early identification of children with autism and other developmental disabilities so that children and families can access the services and support they need.
Christine Hausman
This lecture focuses on the experiences of parenting a child with Down Syndrome from the moment of diagnosis to the first day on the job as an adult. We identify important milestones including, but not limited to, rebuilding dreams after diagnosis, developmental milestones through early intervention, preparing for school, cultivating healthy sibling relationships, promoting community and school inclusion, and preparing for employment.
Jason Jones
