Jacob Mason Tina Jackson Story video still with Jacob and Tina during the interview with the caption: "Who are you and why do you want to share your story?"

HDI Launches Storytelling Website

The University of Kentucky Human Development Institute Digital Storytelling Initiative highlights the stories and lived experiences of people with disabilities. By recording and collecting stories, the contributions of people with disabilities and their families are amplified to help shape the narrative of how disability impacts society. These stories can be found at HDI Voices, a website that currently includes stories about employment, health, and COVID-19.

The work continues! Do you have a story to tell? HDI staff Patti Logsdon, Adam Potter, and Patti Singleton want to work with you. You can share your story or work with others to record their story in writing, on audio (podcast), or video. If you are interested in adding to the HDI story collection, fill out the form at https://bit.ly/TellMyStoryHDI  or contact Patti Logsdon at patti.logsdon@uky.edu or 859 218-1338.

Visit voices.hdiuky.net and share with others who want to improve their work with people with disabilities and their families. This project was made by possible by a HDI Fund for Excellence proposal.

smiling woman with short brown hair wearing a tan top, jean jacket, and hoop earrings with trees in the background

Promoting COVID-19 Vaccine Access and Confidence

Over the next year, the UK Human Development Institute will work with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and several partners as part of a CDC Cooperative Agreement, Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Access and Confidence among People with Disabilities. This project aims to support the work of AUCD in facilitating COVID-19 vaccine conversations among network members, identifying barriers to vaccine accessibility, increasing vaccine confidence, sharing credible COVID-19 vaccination information, responding to misinformation, translating information into accessible formats, and sharing success stories and lessons learned. HDI will ensure the accessibility of a variety of resources that will be shared across the network. Patti Singleton, Division Director, will be the Principal Investigator of this effort, and will draw upon the expertise of many staff who are involved in universal design, accessibility, digital storytelling and information services work.

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HDI to pilot Professional Certification in Universal Design

A University of Kentucky (UK) Human Development Institute (HDI) Fund for Excellence award has been given to Christina Espinosa Bard and Patti Singleton to offer a professional certification to equip people to use the principles of Universal Design (UD) in the workplace. This will expand HDI’s current undergraduate certificate program available to UK students from any field of study.

HDI is a national leader in embedding UD practices in learning by examining goals, materials, methods, and assessment for usability factors. These practices will be used to develop and pilot a six-hour certificate program that will include case studies and activities to support practical application of UD principles in the workplace.

To increase capacity and raise awareness about UD principles, UK employees will be provided an opportunity to complete the certificate at no cost to them. This project supports HDI’s mission of promoting the inclusion and contributions of people with disabilities through information sharing, leadership, and advocacy. 

Contact ctespinosa@uky.edu or Patti.Naber@uky.edu for more information.

5 people standing in a training room

Human Development Institute expands capacity with StoryCorps Facilitation Training

Staff representing the UK Human Development Institute (HDI) recently completed training to expand their capacity to capture and deliver digital stories. Staff from HDI along with partners at Utah State University participated in a six-hour D.I.Y. facilitator training with StoryCorps. Through this training, staff gained an understanding of the facilitation method, interview best practices, and an understanding of the archival process. The model will be replicated in the story collection efforts of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center. This center is an HDI project and partnership between the University of Kentucky, Utah State University, and the University of Alaska – Anchorage.
HDI has a long history of sharing the lived experiences of people with disabilities. The information gained in the training will be used across HDI projects. Using the StoryCorps facilitation model, project staff formalize these efforts to collect, archive, and centralize stories for use by staff, partners, and the public. A unique angle of this the digital story collection efforts at HDI is the use of self-advocates to conduct interviews. Patti Singleton, Professional Learning Coordinator, explains that HDI is currently exploring and refining this process, which will allow for collaboration with partners, and other UK colleges and departments.
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