Utah Disability Today

Grant Will Boost Accessibility for Victim Services

Nationwide, people with disabilities experience violence at nearly four times the rate of people without disabilities. The need for services is great, but sometimes inaccessibility stands between help and the people who need it.

A three-year, $600,000 project funded earlier this fall by the U.S. Department of Justice and led by Utah Assistive Technology Program Director Bora Lee seeks to tear down accessibility barriers. It provides training and connects service providers to appropriate assistive technology devices that help people with disabilities live independently throughout the state of Utah.

UATP, part of the IDRPP, partners with the National Federation for the Blind of Utah and the Sego Lily Center for the Abused Deaf.

Pictured: UATP Director Bora Lee, Ed.D

$1.6M DOD Grant Enables Researchers to Expand Digital Mental Health Support for Dementia Caregivers

IDRPP's Center for Mental Health Promotion and Tailored Research, Evaluation and Continuous Improvement teams lend their expertise to a Department of Defense caregiving grant.

For more than 11 million Americans who provide unpaid care for a loved one living with dementia, the daily emotional, mental, and physical demands can feel overwhelming. Among them are hundreds of thousands of active-duty service members, military spouses, and veterans who carry the heavy responsibility of dementia caregiving.



To help meet this critical need, an interdisciplinary team of researchers across the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences has secured a $1.6M grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to expand accessible digital mental health interventions tailored specifically for family members caring for a loved one with dementia.

Pictured: IDRPP researchers Heather Kelley, Ph.D and Ty Aller, Ph.D, and Alzheimers Disease and Dementia Research Center Director Beth Fauth, Ph.D

Birdability Week Highlights Accessible Birding

The world of birding is vast and varied. So is the world of disability. So how do you bring them together?

Birdability Week is a good place to start. The weeklong series of free virtual events runs from October 19-25. People of different abilities will come together to talk about accessible birding as an individual, and adapting events as a group.

Read advice from Birdability Executive Director Cat Fribley, and discover resources you can use, right now, today, to create a more accessible birding experience.

Pictured: Birdability Executive Director Cat Fribley.

39th National NRCP Virtual Conference

February 19-21, 2027

Online

Early Bird registration available until December 31, 2026

Join us from anywhere and connect with like-minded professionals nationwide! We are looking forward to another successful conference in February 2027, with inspiring presentations, engaging discussions, and energizing keynotes to celebrate the essential work of our nation's paraeducators, interveners, and related service providers.

Registration is open now! Early bird discounts are available through to the end of 2026, and group discounts are available for teams of three or more. We hope you will join us!

Utah Assistive Technology Program Mobile Repair Van Visits Rural Utah!

The Utah Assistive Technology Program regularly holds travel days across the state of Utah to provide minor repairs, maintenance to wheelchairs, and to loan assistive technology from UATP's AT Library. Do you need UATP's services? Click the button below.

Counties Served: Beaver, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Washington, Wayne.

Beyond the Job: Culture, Community, and the Employment Journey

Utah's Multicultural Disability Network

Beyond the Job: Culture, Community, and the Employment Journey

Presenter: Amber Marsh

Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026

12:00-1:00 PM

LINKS FROM THE FIELD

Federal Government reverses stance on integration of people with disabilities

(NPR)

Bipartisan resolution honors 27th anniversary of landmark decision supporting people with disabilities

(Press Release, Office of Congresswoman Debbie Dingell)

AI can play a role in workplace accommodations, but it's complicated.

HR Executive

For a look at past IDRPP trainings, visit our YouTube channel.

NEWS FROM AROUND IDRPP

And that's a wrap for Top Sports T-Ball! A huge thanks goes out to our volunteers who helped facilitate our fun evenings. Thank you for coming out and playing with us.