Center for Disabilities Studies Director Beth Mineo discusses what it takes to make Delaware beaches and seaside towns more accessible to visitors with disabilities. Also advocating for improvements are CDS Community Advisory Council members Brigitte Hancharick, Terri Hancharick, and Kristin Harvey, and Emmanuel Jenkins, faculty with the CDS-run Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program.
Cathy Kanefsky, CEO of the Food Bank of DE and Wendy Strauss, recently retired executive director of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens and former member of CDS’s Community Advisory Council, were appointed to the President’s Committee on People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Two UD faculty members have received a $1.9 million grant for development of higher-quality tactile aids for people with visual impairments. Charles Dhong, assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UD, and collaborator Jared Medina, associate professor in UD’s Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences received the grant from the National Eye Institute in collaboration with the National Federation of the Blind.
University of Delaware’s Ashley Pigford, associate professor of graphic and interaction design, develops assistive technology that addresses daily activities like eating, writing and mobility. Collective giving efforts help Pigford create and deliver these devices to families at no cost to them.
For her “Outstanding Research on Autism in Higher Education,” Jessica Monahan, research manager with the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies’ Spectrum Scholars program, has won an inaugural Excellence in Autism Support award from the College Autism Network.
