Virginia Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

Children with autism often have difficulty using effective communication, socializing with others appropriately, and difficulties understanding others. These deficits make it difficult for children with autism to find success in the classroom without the appropriate supports in place. 1 in 59 children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and it is 4 times more common in boys than girls. Sensory based approaches can be used to meet the needs of children with autism. However, it is important that providers utilize evidence-based practices when implementing sensory based approaches with children with autism.

Learn how trauma impacts early childhood development and gain new tools to use with clients. In Part I, participants learned how chronic stress impacts brain development and creates pathways built for survival. In Part II, participants will learn functional strategies they can implement with the families they serve. Participants will learn how to address trauma within their roles as early interventionists as well as practical strategies to use with the families.

Two-part webinar series hosted through Talks on Tuesday Webinars, available for viewing and continuing education credit hours at: https://www.veipd.org/main/sub_2020_talks_tuesdays.html

Children and young adults with developmental disabilities are less likely to participate in physical activity with most not meeting the recommended physical activity guidelines. Furthermore, physical activity participation continues to decline as an individual ages with only 17.5-33% of adults meeting recommended guidelines. Individuals with developmental disabilities are at high risk for experiencing co-morbidities such as obesity, cardiovascular and metabolic health conditions, and are at a high falls risk. Physical activity and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle result in positive outcomes both physically and emotionally. Based on this information, I decided to implement an exercise program at my sister’s day support program, Maxwell’s Place LLC. The program director expressed difficulty finding activities that everyone could participate in due to the varying functional levels. Their clients have a range of disabilities and diagnoses including hearing/visual impairments, cognitive impairment, coordination deficits, and use of assistive devices. I designed an exercise program that focused on strengthening large muscle groups as well as address balance that would work for a group of 22. All the activities can be modified for individuals that use a walker or cane. I also included large pictures so those that are hearing impaired can reference the picture instead of listening to instructions. I plan to attend the program to assist with directing of the exercises the first time to help problem solve best room set up to ensure safety of all clients and employees. By providing a comprehensive, yet simple, exercise plan Maxwell’s can continue to implement the program on a daily basis, which will benefit all the client’s in the long term. The exercises are also easily adaptable to accommodate any new clients they receive.

Our leadership project presents the results of a qualitative research study that investigated the post-secondary experiences of adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD). People with IDD report low employment rates and low higher education rates, as well as poverty rates almost double that of the general population. However, recent focus on positive psychology and self-determination theory highlight the strengths and achievements of those with IDD. With a positive psychology and self-determination theory lens, we interviewed three adults with IDD who experienced success in at least one of three areas: employment, post-secondary education, and independent living. Through their stories, we sought to find what supports, incidents, and people do they believe were helpful to their successes after high school. We found that several evidence-based practices were important to our participants’ successes in each area. We also identified several themes which included: challenges faced, self-advocacy, ability over disability, more alike than different, and benefits of post-secondary education. In our presentation, we will discuss the details and findings of our study as well as our plan to inform the public on the possibilities that inclusion brings when people with IDD are welcomed into the workplace, higher education, and independent living situations.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) students with disabilities are having a growing number of adverse school-related issues and mental health issues, such as expulsion and trauma (Koyanagi & Alfano, 2013; Trainor et al., 2019; US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2016). The collaboration on mental health during post-secondary transition planning is essential because CLD students with disabilities are at an increased risk of mental health issues, which could impact their ability to maintain employment, pursue further their education, and live independently. The purpose of this review is to understand the current interventions and practices of special education teachers and VR counselors' collaboration on mental health with the ability to support (a) social, (b) emotional, and (c) behavioral aspects for CLD students with disabilities during transition. This systematic review will be used as a resource for service providers, teachers, researchers, and students.

This leadership project focused on educators and parents use of language-supportive strategies to support child language development in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. A systematic review of the literature reported the following four strategies to have significant and positive associations with growth in child language development; (1) modeling (direct modeling and vocabulary modeling), (2) expansion, (3) wh-questions (open-ended and close-ended), and (4) scaffolding (generalizing, reasoning, predicting, co-participating, and reducing choices). I created an in-depth power point explaining, defining, and providing the research behind these four strategies. Alongside the research I created video clips of how to effectively implement these four language-supportive strategies during shared book reading for parents and literacy time for educators. I provided videos of ineffective implementation of these strategies to provide parents and educators examples of common errors when using language-supportive strategies as well as a comparison to the effective implementation. I disseminated the PowerPoint and videos to 10 kindergarten educators as well as five pre-school parents. Additionally, I provided flashcards for the parents and educators with examples of each language-supportive strategy as a quick reference tool. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to provide an in person coaching session for the 10 educators. However, all educators and parents have the PowerPoint as well as the videos and flashcards and plan to pass them forward to friends and school personnel. This leadership project aimed to provide educators and parents with tools and references that they can return to in order to ensure they are frequently using language-supportive strategies to create a rich language environment for their children in the home and school.

This presentation is focused on the nutritional challenges that children with disabilities experience. The presentation will talk about the most common nutrition challenges and how does this affect their health. This leadership project is intended to provide useful information to parents experiencing this problem with their children, it is hoped that parents in the community can benefit from this information and use this a guide to provide a better healthy lifestyle for their children. We will discuss common nutritional challenges, some of these include, obesity, underweight, picky eaters, medication side effects, genetics, and others. Because we want this presentation to be used as a resource for parents with children with disabilities, nutritional tips will be shared during this presentation. I have also created a brochure that contains this information in English and Spanish, the brochure can be distrusted to parents and professionals working with this population via e-mail on the time being. The brochure, in addition, will include a list of resources that can be helpful to guide parents on where they can receive more professional guidance, resources, and information in general about this topic. Some of the resources include the child and adult care food program, Virginia Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, National school breakfast and lunch information, and Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU (CHOR). It is hoped that parents and helping professionals can use this brochure as guided of information to learn more about nutritional challenges and help maintain a healthy lifestyle for children with disabilities.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth edition) (DSM-V) sets forth criterial for diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For the past several decades ASD has been diagnosed by qualified trained professionals in clinical settings. These clinical observations have been developed into specific screening tools and diagnostic methods for ASD. Because of variability in symptom type, severity, diagnostic decision-making, evaluations are performed by multi-member diagnostic teams which can be overwhelming for patient and their families. Other major drawbacks of this protocol is that it is based on caregivers’ answers to a long questionnaire which leads to delay in receiving a diagnosis or to parents dismay they receive a mistaken diagnosis for a different disorder like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) . To overcome these hurdles researchers have explored digital measuring tools to do an objective rather than subjective clinical observation to predict ASD. My leadership project examines Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to assist in the diagnosis of ASD to improve patient and family experiences. I will create an informational brief for schools and families to highlight this emerging technology in the diagnosis of ASD.

Introduction This study examines the views of case managers on factors that contribute to turnover and retention. The researcher hypothesized that compensation and caseloads would emerge as prominent factors in case manager reports.

Background Case managers support individuals by providing connection to and monitoring of needed services. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are utilizing case management services at increasing rates. At the same time, organizations that employ case managers are struggling to recruit qualified candidates, and the case management workforce is experiencing high rates of turnover. This mirrors a crisis in the workforce of direct support professionals, with the potential to significantly negatively impact the consistency and quality of services and supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Methods The researcher performed qualitative analysis to examine data gathered through in-person interviews with 5 case managers in central Virginia from 2017 to 2018. Audio recordings of responses to questions related to case manager turnover and retention were transcribed and thematic analysis of the resulting text was conducted.

Results Case managers reported multiple contributing factors to turnover and retention. Reported factors associated with turnover were high demands, including caseloads and paperwork; lack of support and understanding from management; low compensation; and lack of upward mobility. Reported factors associated with retention were benefits and rewarding work. 

Limitations This research is limited by the small data set and by the potential impact on case managers of changes to the state’s intellectual and developmental disability service system during the period in which interviews were conducted.

Conclusion Future research should expand on this work to examine a wider population of case managers. At the state and organizational level, the identified factors may serve as avenues to reduce turnover and increase retention. Addressing these areas can positively impact both those providing case management services and the quality of services received by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Through my experience in LEND, I learned about an opportunity to take courses about Infant Mental Health. Unfortunately, due to my schedule, I wasn’t able to attend the courses, but I still wanted to learn more about what infant mental health was. Mental health is such a large topic in today’s society, but I had never heard about infant mental health being an issue. As I have learned more about the subject and how it relates to the relationships and attachment an infant forms with family and/or caregivers, I realized that my role as a physical therapist can be crucial to helping facilitate a healthy relationship by providing families through movement and other activities, especially in infants with severe disabilities. From this interest, my leadership project was born. The purpose of my leadership project is to help healthcare providers understand infant mental health and the role their profession plays in promoting health family relationships. Through implementing my leadership project, I want healthcare providers to be able to recognize the risk factors that can contribute to abnormal bonding between an infant/child and their caregivers, understand how they can play a role in fostering health attachment, and what services/providers they can reach out to and offer to families. My original plan for implementation was through facilitating a round table discussion at the MCHB Making Lifelong Connections conference, however due to COVID-19 concerns, the conference was switched to an online format and my portion was not included. Therefore, I am actively looking for additional opportunities to implement my project, which may include an inservice to outpatient physical therapists at Children’s Hospital of Richmond. I believe that as a Maternal and Child Health providers, being able to understand infant mental health and how to promote healthy relationships is essential to help build a family-professional relationship, especially working with the community with a wide range of cultures and views on disability.

This research assessed how social work field education faculty work to accommodate students with hidden disabilities in field practicum settings at schools of social work of varying sizes around the United States. A qualitative survey was sent to a listserv of field educators (n=22). The researcher performed a simple thematic analysis, grouping codes into overarching themes. Overall, 6 major themes emerged from the data: 1) the importance of student self-advocacy, 2) the need for open communication and collaboration among field agencies, instructors, faculty, and students, 3) challenges around student management of disability 4) ableism in field settings, 5) the importance of planning ahead for a successful field practicum experience, and 6) field agency/instructor considerations. This research begins to fill a gap in the literature on best practices for supporting social work students with hidden disabilities in field practicum settings. Implications are discussed.