In this Issue...

• Clubhouse Research: New Results, Resources, and Literature
• Brain Injury Clubhouse Brief
• Advancing Employment for Secondary Learners with Disabilities through CTE Policy and Practice Brief
• For Families or Caregivers: Self-Care is Putting on YOUR Oxygen Mask First
• STAY Tuned Episode 5: The WEIGHT of Weight Stigma featuring Dr. Nana Yaa Marfo
• Tips to Help People Living with Mental Health Conditions Stop Using Tobacco Products: iSPARC Tip Sheet
• Young Adult Blog: Reframing New Year’s Resolutions: A Conversation
• In Case You Missed It

In case you missed the webinar on Clubhouse Research, a YouTube video is available. The webinar covers the latest research on Clubhouses around the world, information on a new research toolkit coming out and the results of the Clubhouse Profile Questionnaire (CPQ). The CPQ 2023 were to be presented at the Clubhouse International Meeting but was postponed due to the hurricanes.

Brain Injury Clubhouses

by Colleen McKay, Jason Young, Cindi Johnson, and Ronald Seel

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported that the number of people living with permanent disability from brain injury grows annually as medical technology has advanced in life saving techniques. However, community-based programs which enable brain injury survivors to live productive lives throughout the entire course of recovery have not grown proportionately to meet this the need.

Brain Injury Clubhouses were developed to address the need for coordinated, long-term, community-based supports for brain survivors in a community-based setting.



The information in this research brief is designed to provide funders, administrators, policy makers, and other stakeholders with an overview of Brain Injury Clubhouses. The brief also provides outcomes associated with participation in a Brain Injury Clubhouse from a recent research study to provide stakeholders with a better understanding of Brain Injury Clubhouses.

This brief provides outcomes associated with participation in a Brain Injury Clubhouse from a recent research study to provide funders, administrators, policy makers, and other stakeholders with a better understanding of Brain Injury Clubhouses.

The brief is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Resource for Working with Young Adults from Transitions ACR

Advancing Employment for Secondary Learners with Disabilities through CTE Policy and Practice

by Colleen McKay, Marsha Ellison, and Emma Narkewicz

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education (CTE) for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V, P.L. 115-224) provides new opportunities for states to serve learners with disabilities in CTE. Perkins V specifies that learners with special population status, including learners with disabilities, need to be prepared for high-wage, high-skill, in-demand employment opportunities or post-secondary education.

It also emphasizes supporting learners with special population status, giving states an opportunity to:



1. Build upon prior equity work to provide greater access to CTE among learners with disabilities.
2. To restructure systems and policies to better support these learners.

To explore how this opportunity has been used by states in their Perkin V plans, UMass Chan Medical School partnered with Advance CTE to survey State CTE Directors for secondary education. This brief summarizes survey results, provides state examples, and offers policy and programmatic considerations.

For Families or Caregivers: Self-Care is Putting on YOUR Oxygen Mask First, Transitions ACR

This tip sheet was written by the Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research's Family Advisory Board (FAB). The tip sheet is written for the parents and care-givers of young adults with serious mental health conditions. It provides explains why self-care is important and offers self-care tips and resources.

A Spanish translation of this publication is available for download.

Products for Young Adults & Their Supporters

S.T.A.Y. Tuned Podcast - Helpful Tips For The New Year

Episode 5: The WEIGHT of Weight Stigma featuring Dr. Nana Yaa Marfo

In this podcast, Nana Yaa Marfo, PhD, a clinical psychology postdoctoral fellow at iSPARC, discusses unrealistic body expectations promoted by social media, food insecurity on college campuses, the impact of weight stigma on young adult mental health, and how the social determinants of health play a role in weight stigma. 

This podcast was funded by a grant from NIDILRR (grant number 90RTEM0005) 

View all of our podcasts and transcripts.

Tips to Help People Living with Mental Health Conditions Stop Using Tobacco Products

by Carol Rennenberg and Colleen E. McKay

Approximately fifty million people living in the U.S. use tobacco products. According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the state is smoking. As of 2017, 13.7% of Massachusetts adults were current smokers, with 13.5% of white adults, 15.7% of Black adults, and 18.3% of Hispanic adults reporting smoking cigarettes.1

One study found that an average smoker may attempt to quit 30 or more times before success is achieved with abstinence from smoking for at least one year. This tip sheet provides general and evidence-based tips on how to help individuals living with mental health conditions cease using tobacco products.

From The Young Adult Blog Corner

Reframing New Year’s Resolutions: A Conversation

by Maggie

Sometimes it's better to make long-term goals rather than New Year's resolutions.

In Case You Missed It

• Creating and Sustaining Youth Advisory Boards (YABs): A Toolkit for Health and Human Services

• Pretrial Risk Assessment: Disparate Impact of Risk Assessments

• Employment Outcomes among People with Disabilities: Vocational Services-Related Determinants

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