Mother and father with a baby with Down syndrome

Latest Fund for Excellence Awards: March 2019

The Human Development Institute (HDI) established the Fund for Excellence for the development of innovative programs, services or products to address the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, for which funding is not currently available. In the January, 2019 funding cycle, HDI awarded two Fund for Excellence projects:

Dr. Elaine Eisenbaum’s Music for All Inclusive Summer Music Camp, with Lindsey Mullis, Megan Jasperson, Dr. Chithra Adams, Dr. Olivia Swedberg Yinger, Austin Robinson, and Dr. Martina Vasil

Stephanie Meredith’s Prenatal and Postnatal Medical Outreach Modules to Improve the Genetic Diagnosis Experience for Families, with Dr. Harold Kleinert,  Julie Chien, and Angela Trepanier

“The Fund for Excellence gives HDI the ability to launch innovative and needed projects that are really collaborative in nature, as evidenced by our most recently funded round of applications. They foster partnerships across HDI, the University and beyond. These projects will yield important opportunities and resources to build inclusive communities,” said HDI’s director, Kathy Sheppard-Jones.

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Spotlight on Danielle Augustin

Danielle Augustin is a part-time Inclusive Health Project Assistant at HDI with work spanning several projects, including the Health and Wellness Initiative: Project CHEER and Wellness Edge. Danielle is a student in the Master’s Health Promotion program with expected graduation in May, 2019. She will also be starting next semester as a Research Assistant under Dr. Elaine Eisenbaum’s newest grant, the Serious Mental Illness National Training Center grant from the Administration on Community Living. Continue reading

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HDI Promotes Health and Wellness at the Special Olympics Kentucky State Basketball Tournament: The Healthy Athletes Event

HDI’s Elaine Eisenbaum, Lindsey Mullis, and Anna Fuller promoted good health with friends at the Special Olympics Kentucky State Basketball tournament—the Healthy Athletes event! Lindsey and Megan are the Kentucky Clinical Directors for the Health Promotion discipline, and Elaine is the Kentucky Clinical Director for the Strong Minds discipline. Strong Minds is a newly added Healthy Athletes discipline and this is the first time it was hosted in Kentucky! Strong Minds focuses on emotional wellness and developing strategies for coping with stress.

Athletes learn about and try different active coping strategies. This is important because we know that there are high rates of co-occurring mental health disabilities among people with intellectual disabilities. The Health Promotion discipline educates athletes on healthy living and healthy lifestyle choices, and also provides screenings for BMI, blood pressure, and bone density.

HDI Announces Applications Open for Developmental Disabilities Graduate Certificate

Applications are now open for the University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities. The purpose of this Graduate Certificate is to prepare students from a broad range of disciplines to play a leadership role in providing services and supports for people with developmental disabilities and their families. In addition to classroom learning, students will also have the opportunity to participate in a practicum and learn directly from individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Continue reading

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UK HDI announces new Universal Design class and certificate program

The University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute is offering a new undergraduate universal design class in fall 2017, HDI 350: Universal Design. Students from any discipline can take the HDI 350: Universal Design course. This interdisciplinary course provides students with an opportunity to learn about the foundations and principles of universal design. Additionally, after taking HDI 350, students who want to continue learning about universal design have the opportunity to enroll in the new universal design certificate program.

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