CDS staff, advisors play prominent roles at Del.’s largest disability conference
At the 20th annual LIFE Conference yesterday in Dover, CDS speakers educated audiences about several of the Center’s education and independent living initiatives, while three CDS advisors received awards for their advocacy. More than 500 people attended the day-long event, which is Delaware’s largest lifespan disability conference.
One conference session featured CDS’s Career and Life Studies Certificate (CLSC) program, as CDS Associate Director Brian Freedman, Instructor Melanie Sipko and CLSC graduate Isaiah Boykin discussed the merits of inclusive higher education programs. CLSC, a two-year course of study on UD’s campus, combines coursework and career training to guide students with intellectual disabilities as they prepare for life after school. In another session, CDS School Age Services Unit Director Debby Boyer demonstrated how the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS), born of a collaboration between CDS and the Delaware Department of Education, helps adolescents with autism and other social support needs develop friendships.
CDS Director Beth Mineo and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Specialist Dick Lytton examined Delaware Medicaid’s AAC policy, highlighting ways people with complex communication needs could afford AAC devices. Then CDS Project Coordinator Rochelle Brittingham joined a panel of emergency preparedness specialists to review ways people with disabilities can prepare for disasters and handle their aftermath.
The State Council for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) hosted an awards luncheon to recognize the contributions of three leaders in the disability community. CDS Community Advisory Council (CAC) members Wendy Strauss, executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens, and State Rep. Kim Williams received the State Service and Legislative Service Awards, respectively. Former CAC member Brian Hartman, who recently resigned as director of the Disabilities Law Program, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.