December 2023

Utah Disability Today

The official newsletter of the Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice

Phone: (435) 797-1981

You received this monthly newsletter because you are a friend of the Institute for Disability. Keep reading for news, resources, events, and job openings!

NEWS

IDRPP Honors 2023 Spirit of Service Recipients

These are people who show up and do what needs to be done, who go the extra mile without being asked, who are tireless workers, but whose efforts largely go unrecognized. Congratulations to Dave Clark, Sarah Baker, Bora Lee and John Northup! Read more about them on our blog.

WebAIM Director Recognized for Social Impact

Jared Smith and the WebAIM team have helped user experience professionals make the case for improved accessibility to their business leaders, said Sam Kanta, the Social Impact Award's sponsor and the accessibility and UX consultant for The Sustainable Change. Thanks to WebAIM’s research, UX professionals have more than persuasive words. They have real data made available in the annual WebAIM Million report. Read more on our blog.

Pictured: Contributor Emily Downs and her children

Early Intervention Made All The Difference

Contributor Emily Downs shares her experience with early intervention and Up to 3:

"It wasn't just about improving his behavior. It was helping me become a better mom for him and helping me understand how his little brain was working, and I could not have figured that out on my own ...

"Fast forward 8 years and he is a flourishing fourth grader, smart beyond belief, with a personality larger than life, and good friends who don't even know or care about his diagnosis. I honestly don't believe he'd be the kid he is without the help of early intervention for him, and the knowledge and training they gave me to know how to best support him!"

Looking for a Holiday Binge? An autistic reviewer examines "A Kind of Spark."

"Accurate casting may seem like such a small thing to most, but it makes a huge difference in the kinds of ideas the public forms around autism. ... Having actual autistic people play autistic characters is important because they do a much better job of making the characters seem like unique individuals. Too often neurotypical actors resort to a general autistic stereotype when playing an autistic character, rather than acting as the individual that character is."

Aggie Basketball Players lift a child so he can make a basket

News from around the Institute for Disability

IDRPP thanks the Aggie Men's Basketball players who joined Top Sports for the last basketball game of the season. What a fun night!

A wheelchair basketball game turned into an i mpromptu fundraiser for Common Ground Outdoor Adventures. Our Public & School Partnership member was there.

Some of our administrators volunteered to help the Utah Parent Center prepare its giving tree donations. IDRPP also hosted its own giving tree. Thanks to all who participated!