Through its research and training aspects, NCLD-Youth will review, refine, and disseminate a curricula focused on the five areas of youth development and leadership. All materials produced will be tested for age, stage, and developmental appropriateness for its audience and available on a youth designed and populated website. NCLD-Youth will also advise, speak, and staff YLFs, facilitate cross organization conference calls, recruit for internships, scholarships, and job opportunities, develop a database for leadership development opportunities and become one of the go-to places for connecting with youth with disabilities.
The resources listed below are to serve as the beginning of a transformation of how we talk about youth development/youth leadership as it relates to youth with disabilities. All of these products are developed by and for youth with disabilities and NCLD-Youth staff and steering committee members can be contacted at the address below for tips on using these documents.
These products are free to use, all that we ask is that you share with us your feedback AND you cite us as the source for the materials you use. Products will be available both in .pdf and word versions, so click on the links below to lead you to various areas of our resource catalog.
Announcements: New!
YouthNoise webite launch
YouthNoise launches civic engagement website
YouthNoise (YN) has recently launched a new website at youthnoise.org, to engage youth world wide ages 13 to 26 in civic life
and civic action. YN believes the site can offer engagement opportunities
to youth along a full spectrum of engagement -from first time
consideration to deep activism.
Please go to http://www.youthnoise.org
Has the ADA Made a Difference in Your Life?
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) - ONLINE Suvey
The national network of ADA & IT Technical Assistance Centers, also known as DBTACs, seeks your comments on your experiences with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Your feedback on your experiences in employment, building access and access to public services will help the Centers to identify training gaps and issues needing increased technical assistance. Visit the online
form and tell us what has worked for you, what barriers you still encounter, and how the ADA has made a difference in your life. The survey will only take a few minutes and is confidential. The only identification requested is the state in which you reside.
Visit www.adata.org and share your experience (the survey is on the center of the webpage, click on: Share Your Opinions!). http://www.adata.org
New IDEA Parent Guide
IDEA Parent Guide is available from the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
The new IDEA Parent Guide is available from the National Center
for Learning Disabilities (NCLD).This guide takes you through
the special education process - a process that is the same regardless
of a child's particular difficulties or disabilities.
Within the guide, special emphasis is placed on the category of specific learning disability. The guide includes parent perspectives, terms
you'll find helpful to know, and practical materials for parents such as
Checklists, Sample Letters, Charts, and Questions to Ask.
Find the IDEA Parent Guide online at: http://www.ncld.org/content/view/902/456086/
Author of War Against the Weak to be featured on “Disability Matters with Joyce Bender”
Award–winning author, Edwin Black, will be featured with Joyce Bender on “Disability Matters” on Tuesday, May 9, 2006, from 2 PM to 3 PM eastern time. Discussed on the show will be War Against the Weak, published in 2003, which assembles the gripping story of America’s decades-long campaign to create a white, Nordic master race through a sham science called eugenics. Some 60,000 Americans, including those with disabilities, were forcibly sterilized in eugenic campaigns organized by American corporate philanthropic organizations. In 2003, Mr. Black received the International Human Rights Award from the World Affairs Council for War Against the Weak.
To hear the show tune in Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. eastern time at http://www.voiceamerica.com
New Amendment Passed That Provides Additional Funding For Students with Intellectual Disabilities
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PASSES AMENDMENT PROVIDING STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES ACCESS TO FEDERAL WORK-STUDY FUNDS AND POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION PROGRAMS
On March 29, U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) introduced an
amendment to the College Access and Opportunity Act (H.R. 609) that will
provide students with intellectual disabilities access to federal work-study funds. Currently, approximately 94 higher education institutions nationwide offer programs for students with intellectual disabilities, but these students are not able to access federal work-study funds due to disqualifying factors such as the absence of a high school diploma or enrollment in non-degree education programs, says a press release issued by Representative Sessions. Research shows that comprehensive postsecondary programs have had a positive impact on student rates of employment and wages. Read a press release by Congressman Sessions' office at http://sessions.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=41553
To read the text of H.R. 609, visit http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas and conduct a search by Bill Number for H.R. 609.
New IDEA Guide Available Online
NEW GUIDE EXPLAINS LAW IMPACTING STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS Teachers of struggling learners have a new resource to draw upon. The National Center for Learning Disabilities has just launched an innovative, online guide to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which is designed to explain the federal laws that underpin special education in every state. Although created primarily for parents, the guide is also a valuable source of information -- in accessible language-- for classroom teachers who may not have a background in special education. Teachers can use the guide as a referral for parents or use it themselves to better understand the rights and requirements of their students who have special needs. http://www.ncld.org/content/view/97
Events
OCT. 12 - 14, 2006 THE ARC'S 55TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Sponsored by The Arc and held in San Diego, CA.
For more information go to http://www.thearc.org/
OCT 22 - 25, 2006 18TH ANNUAL NATIONAL DROPOUT PREVENTION NETWORK CONFERENCE
Sponsored by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network and held in
San Antonio, TX.
For more information go to http://www.dropoutprevention.org/
NOV 8 - 11, 2006 "LIVING THE VISION TOGETHER: TODAY, TOMORROW, AND BEYOND" TASH NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Sponsored by TASH and held in Baltimore, MD.
For more information go to http://www.tash.org/2006tash/index.htm
Info Briefs
Guides, Plans and Manuals
Disability Knowledge and Identity Self-Assessment
Based off of feedback from members of the Independent Living Community, NCLD/Y is pleased to announce the print/web release of The Disability History and Identity Self-Assessment, and Answer Key. This self-assessment was adapted for programs empowering youth with disabilities through the use of the history of the disability rights movement to find out what students know already, what they want to know more about, and include a short section where a young person could discuss their own personal experience with identifying how they feel about their disability. Written by young people with disabilities and grounded in the five areas of youth development and leadership, this tool is not only sure to be an enjoyable exercise for the youth in your program, but also adult staff!
Download Disability Knowledge and Identity Self-Assessment:
Download Disability Knowledge and Identity Self-Assessment - Answer Key:
Nothing About Youth with Disabilities
Without Youth with Disabilities: A Guide to Legislative Advocacy.
A major focus of NCLD/Y’s work incorporates the celebration of disability
history as part of America’s
history. As a result NCLD/Y is pleased to be the technical assistance center
working with youth-led coalitions around the country, working to have
disability history and awareness integrated as part of K-12 public education
for all students. To date, five state laws have passed (WV, ID, NC, WA, and FL)
with many more to come. This Guide is a result of the work we’ve done in
preparing youth with disabilities, in those five states and beyond, to be effective
legislative advocates and to create policy change on the local, state, and
national level.
Users of this guide will learn
- How to determine a good issue
- How to create an effective strategy for change;
- How to decide what type of campaigns is most useful;
and,
- How to build and sustain relationships with people in
power, in position to enact the change you want!
Download A Guide To Legislative Advocacy:
Plotting the Course for Success: An Individual Mentoring Plan for Youth with Disabilities.
Spinning off of our sister center’s Paving the Way to Work: A Career Focused Mentoring Guide for Youth with Disabilities, this plan guides mentors and mentees through a number of activities to help them think about a young person’s developmental needs and goals, and what sorts of activities, experiences, and connections can help them achieve them. Not only does this plan outline specific activities and action items for the mentee, but it also enables the mentor to have an opportunity to express how he or she would like to see himself or herself grow in the relationship. Driven by youth with disabilities and grounded in the research based fields of youth development and leadership (learning, connecting, thriving, working, and leading), this plan will guide mentors and mentees as they “plot the course” to help youth and emerging leaders make a successful transition from youth to adulthood.
Read this guide as a PDF or Word document
Youth-Focused Assessments
Learning to Lead?: A Self-Assessment for Youth, and Are They Learning to Lead?: A Self-Assessment for Staff.
First document, focusing on the needs of youth with disabilities, intends to help an emerging leader look at how they're growing in terms of achieving outcomes identified in the field of youth development and leadership in the five areas of learning, connecting, thriving, working and leading. The second document focuses on giving staff of youth development and leadership programs an opportunity to evaluate how their program is helping youth achieve outcomes in these research-based areas. Together, these two publications are very content rich resources for those of us working to improve youth development and leadership experiences for youth with disabilities in both generic, and disability specific programming.
Learning & Scholarship Opportunities:
| Below is an updated list of various opportunities for college students with disabilities. You can find more information about these programs as well as many other programs for middle and high school students with disabilities at http://www.ncset.org/youthtowork/. |
ED ROBERTS POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN DISABILITIES STUDIES
Application for this postdoctoral program at the University of
CA-Berkeley. This program is funded by the National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research. The goal of this program is to
train postdoctoral and professional scholars, in any discipline, to be
leaders in disability studies and rehabilitation research and
mentorship. There are three full-time, nine-month residential Ed Roberts
Postdoctoral Fellowships a year; the Stipend is $30,000.
For more information go to http://www.dpi.org/en/resources/current_news/01-19-05_erpfds.htm
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VSA Arts: ARTIST REFLECTIONS ON HOW ART TRANSFORMS OUR LIVES
VSA arts invites artists to reflect on the many ways art transforms our
lives, focusing on the influence of education and disability. Open to
artists (ages 22 and over) who are committed to their artistic progress
and who have a physical, cognitive, or mental disability. For eligible
media and entry forms in English, Spanish, French and ASCII:
http://www.vsarts.org/transformation
www.vsarts.org/transformation
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