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DSANEO Wins NIH Community Champions for Disability Health Challenge
We are thrilled to announce our selection as one of three winners of the NIH Community Champions for Disability Health Challenge for our Project: 21 Smiles, Down Syndrome and Dental Education! The award comes with a $75,000 prize.
From the NIH:
"Dental care is one of the greatest unmet health needs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. DSANEO tackled this disparity through a multi-faceted approach that put self-advocates at the center.
DSANEO recruited and trained four self-advocates with Down syndrome, including one who communicates using an assistive technology device, to develop and deliver presentations to healthcare students and professionals. These self-advocates were paid participants who helped shape the content and tone of the educational materials. Our team also produced a dental education video featuring professional interviews and a filmed mock dental visit, designed to give dental students and practicing dentists practical, respectful guidance on caring for patients with disabilities. Oral health screening events conducted in partnership with dental students and faculty from Case Western Reserve University provided hands-on experience for students while connecting families to dental care.
DSANEO’s approach, centering the voices of people with Down syndrome in professional education, demonstrated the power of self-advocacy in transforming how healthcare providers understand and deliver care."
We are so grateful to Kyle Quinlan, who produced the video, Dr. Suparna Mahalaha, Associate Professor at the CWRU School of Dental Medicine, Jacqueline Cerar, DDS, and our amazing DSANEO families who participated in the video: the Quinlans, the Farleys, and the Beans. And finally, a huge thank you to our incredible self-advocate presentation board: Alex Kowalski, Carmen Farley, Brennan Eggers, and Chris Bean. This project was led by Dr. Laura Cifra-Bean, DSANEO Medical Outreach Director.
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