Mental Health Crossroads

In this episode, we once again caught up with the Boston University Research Team, including Ariel Schwartz, Jesse, Alix, and Jenna. What makes this team unique is the involvement of young adults self-advocates in every step of the research process, using a method called participatory action research. In this episode, they talk about they recent project into how young adults choose to disclose their mental health status in the workplace and the results of that decision. This is the last episode in the MHDD series, but please follow our new podcast: DDNJ Author Insights https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/ddnj/ for more great podcasting.   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode we hear from David Jones, who is the Director, Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (OIDD) and Acting Director, Office of Disability Services Innovation (ODSI); Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.   Prior to joining ACL in July 2020, David served in two federal agencies focused on disability employment and programs. At the U.S. Department of Labor, David oversaw the administration of Disability Employment Initiative grants and technical assistance contracts to help strengthen the capacity of American Job Centers serve people with disabilities. At the U.S. Department of Education, David monitored state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies and was a Program Officer for two Protection and Advocacy programs (PAIR and PAAT). Prior to his career focus on the disability mission work, David served within the Inspector General (IG) community for three federal agencies and the United Way of America. Originally from Pennsylvania, David holds a Bachelor's Degree from Bucknell University and a Masters of Public Administration from George Mason University.   Transcripts of this episode are available in English and Spanish.   https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/wioa     Visit our website at www.MHDDcenter.org for more information about our work.   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"    

In part two of our two-part interview with Margaret Gilbride, JD, CT, we talk about grief and loss and how these experiences can impact people with IDD.    Margaret is the Director of Transition, Employment and Aging at The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities. She is a graduate of Indiana University Law School and a certified death educator. Margaret has worked in the disability field for thirty years in a variety of capacities, primarily focused on either increasing access to competitive employment for transitioning youth and adults with significant disabilities or acknowledgment and support for the grief shouldered by people with I/DD as a result of multiple life losses, including deaths of loved ones. She serves as President of National APSE and is Immediate Past President for New Jersey's APSE Chapter. Additionally she is a Governor's appointee to both the New Jersey Commission on National Community Service and Volunteerism and the State Rehabilitation Council. She successfully completed a previous appointment to the New Jersey Governor's Advisory Council on End-of-Life issues. For the last twelve years Margaret has been researching and training on the impact aging as well as grief and loss have on people with developmental disabilities as well as bioethical issues in healthcare and end-of-life treatment particular to this population.   Transcript are available in English and in Spanish.       Resources mentioned in this interview include:   http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/RespondingtoGriefReactionsIDD.pdf http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/RitualizingGriefIDD.pdf http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/GriefIDDResourceList.pdf http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/HelpingGriefIDD.pdf   Visit our website at www.MHDDcenter.org for more information about our work.   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In part one of our two-part interview with Margaret Gilbride, JD, CT, we talk about grief and loss and how these experiences can impact people with IDD.    Margaret is the Director of Transition, Employment and Aging at The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities. She is a graduate of Indiana University Law School and a certified death educator. Margaret has worked in the disability field for thirty years in a variety of capacities, primarily focused on either increasing access to competitive employment for transitioning youth and adults with significant disabilities or acknowledgment and support for the grief shouldered by people with I/DD as a result of multiple life losses, including deaths of loved ones. She serves as President of National APSE and is Immediate Past President for New Jersey's APSE Chapter. Additionally she is a Governor's appointee to both the New Jersey Commission on National Community Service and Volunteerism and the State Rehabilitation Council. She successfully completed a previous appointment to the New Jersey Governor's Advisory Council on End-of-Life issues. For the last twelve years Margaret has been researching and training on the impact aging as well as grief and loss have on people with developmental disabilities as well as bioethical issues in healthcare and end-of-life treatment particular to this population.   Transcript are available in English and in Spanish.       Resources mentioned in this interview include:   http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/RespondingtoGriefReactionsIDD.pdf http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/RitualizingGriefIDD.pdf http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/GriefIDDResourceList.pdf http://rwjms.umdnj.edu/departments_institutes/boggscenter/links/documents/HelpingGriefIDD.pdf   Visit our website at www.MHDDcenter.org for more information about our work.   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this second part of our interview with James Steed, he talks about his personal background, mental health, and how he got involved in self-advocacy work. James Steed is a self-advocate from Pocatello, Idaho who has lived all across the western U.S. James was one of the founders of the self-advocacy movement in his home state of Idaho, and is the former chair of the Idaho Developmental Disabilities Council. James currently lives in Utah, and is a member of the Utah UCEDD Community Advisory Council and is a member of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center Advisory Board. Full transcripts are available in English and in Spanish. Visit our website at www.MHDDcenter.org for more information about our work.   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode Matt Wappett interviews James Steed about his personal background, mental health, and how he got involved in self-advocacy work. James Steed is a self-advocate from Pocatello, Idaho who has lived all across the western U.S. James was one of the founders of the self-advocacy movement in his home state of Idaho, and is the former chair of the Idaho Developmental Disabilities Council. James currently lives in Utah, and is a member of the Utah UCEDD Community Advisory Council and is a member of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center Advisory Board. Full transcripts are available in English and in Spanish. Visit our website at www.MHDDcenter.org for more information about our work.   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode, host Tatiana Perilla interviews Loui Lord Nelson, Ph.D., owner and lead consultant at The UDL Approach, about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how this contributes to mental health.   Loui Lord Nelson, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized educational consultant in the area of Universal Design for Learning and is the host of the popular podcasts UDL in 15 Minutes and UDL Research in 15 Minutes. A former special educator, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship with CAST and Boston College. While there, she wrote the best-selling book Design and Deliver: Planning and Teaching Using Universal Design for Learning which was based on her work as the UDL Coordinator for Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation in Columbus, Indiana from 2007 – 2012. The second edition of that book will come out in February of 2021. Since 2013, she has provided long-term training and workshops across the US and internationally including Austria, Australia, Belgium, Japan, Malawi, Singapore, and Uganda. Other publications include a co-authored a chapter for the book Research-based Practices for Educating Students with Intellectual Disability titled “The role of technology in implementing universal design for learning” and a co-authored book titled, Culturally Responsive Design for English Learners: The UDL Approach. Her third book about UDL is interactive. It is titled A Tree for All: Your Coloring Book of UDL Principles and Practice. Building on that theme of interaction, she also created a card game called Go Fishing with UDL. Loui lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with her husband and 5 (yes, 5) cats and enjoys running, reading, and traveling.   www.cast.org www.udl-irn.org www.theudlapproach.com www.mhddcenter.org English Transcript Spanish Transcript     *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode Matt Wappett interviews Julie Christensen about employment and mental health. Julie J. Christensen, MSW, PhD, is the Director of Policy & Advocacy and Interim Executive Director at the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE). She also currently serves as the Senior Disability Policy Advisor for the Harkin Institute at Drake University. Prior to joining APSE, Dr. Christensen was the Director of Iowa’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at the University of Iowa, where she held a research faculty appointment in the Carver College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Christensen received her undergraduate degrees in advertising and music from Syracuse University, and a Masters in Social Work from Roberts Wesleyan College and her Ph.D. in Health Practice Research at the University of Rochester. APSE website Transcript (English) Transcript (Spanish) *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"  

In this episode, host Tatiana Perilla interviews Maria (Conchita) Hernandez Legorreta. Conchita was born in Mexico and grew up in California. She advocates for the rights of students who are blind and their parents in the public-school setting in the United States and abroad through a lens of intersectionality focusing on social justice. Conchita received her Bachelor's degree from Saint Mary’s College of California, majoring in International Studies, Spanish, and History. She then went on to Louisiana Tech University where she received her Master’s in Teaching with a focus on teaching students who are blind. As well, Conchita earned a master’s certificate in working with students who are deaf-blind from Northern Illinois University. She is currently a Doctoral student at George Washington University pursuing a degree in Special Education. Conchita has been published in Future Reflections and Rooted in Rights. Conchita keeps up with research in special education and serves as a peer reviewer on the Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research. Conchita conducts workshops on best practices for educators and professionals in the field of disability and advocacy in the United States and internationally. Conchita worked in the rehabilitation field in Nebraska where she set up innovative programming for adults with disabilities. Conchita is the founder and Chair of METAS (Mentoring Engaging and Teaching All Students) a non-profit organization that trains educators in Latin America that work with students with visual impairments and other disabilities. In this role she engages lawmakers in policy discussions around people with disabilities and inclusion. Conchita is also a co-founder of the National Coalition of Latinx with Disabilities that seeks to amplify the voices of Latinx individuals in the disability rights movement. Currently, Conchita works as the Maryland Blind and Low Vision Specialist. Conchita strives to be a voice for change for educators, professionals and advocates to make full inclusion a reality for people with disabilities in Latin America.   Full transcripts are available in English and in Spanish.   Twitter: @Conchitahdz Article in Refinery 29 Disability Visibility podcast Tuesdays with Liz: Disability and Employment Allure Magazine The Heumann Perspective Rooted in Rights     *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"  

This week, executive director of the CPD and member of the MHDD team, interviews Mary Giliberti about mental health and policy. Make sure to check out the Mental Health America website for tons of great resources mentioned in this episode. Full transcripts are available in English and in Spanish below. BIO:Mary Giliberti is the Executive Vice President of Policy at Mental Health America. Mary focuses on federal policy to promote prevention, early intervention, integration, and recovery. Prior to joining MHA in 2019, she was the Chief Executive Officer of The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She also has worked in the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Serves and as disability counsel to the United States Senate Health, Education and Labor Committee. After graduating from Yale Law School, she clerked for Judge Phyllis Kravitch on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and received a Skadden Fellowship to work at the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. Links: English TranscriptSpanish Transcript MHA websiteMHDD website   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode we interview Sue Reeves, the director of the Aggies Elevated program. Aggies Elevated is a federally designated Comprehensive Transition Program (CTP) at Utah State University that offers a two-year certificate in Integrated College and Community Studies for young adults with intellectual disabilities. Sue discusses how faculty and staff at Utah State University organized this program and some of their successes. Recently, Sue was awarded a grant to set up a new CTP program at Utah Valley University. She discusses how these programs help students with intellectual disabilities manage their mental health and develop skills needed to graduate college and transition into the workforce.A full transcript of the interview is available here in English and in Spanish.Bio:Sue Reeves holds a BS in Journalism and a Master's degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, a Licensed Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, and is completing requirements for licensure as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor. She is the director of Aggies Elevated, an inclusive two-year certificate program for students with intellectual disabilities, at Utah State University. She became interested in the intersection of mental health and intellectual/developmental disabilities as an MRC intern with Aggies Elevated. In her spare time, she tends to rabbits, chickens, a cat named Dog, and her partner on their farm at the south end of Cache Valley. Links https://diverseeducation.com/article/197099/https://aggieselevated.usu.edu/https://www.mhddcenter.org/  *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode Tatiana Perilla from the MHDD-NTC has a conversation with Mark Smith, from the Munroe-Myer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He shares his path to his current professional role and many of the things he has learned in his career. Full transcripts of this interview are available in English and Spanish. BIO: Mark A. Smith first and foremost is the sibling to and parent of family members with disabilities. He received his Bachelors Degree in Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in 1989 and his M.S. in School Psychology from the University of Nebraska in 1995. Prior to joining the Nebraska University Center on Disabilities at the Munroe-Meyer Institute as an Assistant Professor in 2003, Mark served as School Psychologist in local school districts and as a Behavioral Therapist with disability providers and private clinics. Mark’s primary area of interests to date have included early childhood services, Special Education, Family Support, leadership, and Disability Policy and Legislation at the local and national levels. Over the past 45 years of working in disability services, Mark has been involved in directing and evaluating several projects designed to improve community resources and services for individuals with disabilities and their families, including relocating individuals from institutional to community care. He has also been involved in writing, teaching, and developing and providing training on a wide variety of disability related issues and has engaged in policy analysis and development at the state and national level as a member of the AUCD and DEC Policy Committees and Executive Boards. His research interests include systemic change initiatives designed to promote community inclusive practices in support of individuals with disabilities and their families, general disability policy and programming, community planning for inclusion and accessibility for individuals with disabilities who are members of marginalized groups. Mark and his family live in Omaha, Nebraska and enjoy cycling, going for long walks with their dogs, and playing music. Links:English transcriptSpanish transcriptMark's profile and contact informationMHDD National Training Center  *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road" 

In this episode Matt Wappett hosts a conversation about policy with Rylin Rodgers from AUCD. Rylin Rodgers is the Director of Public Policy at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities where she works on federal policy and legislative issues that affect people with developmental disabilities and their families. Prior to working at AUCD, Rylin served as the Training Director and Family Leadership Coordinator for the Riley Child Development Center (Indiana's LEND), and was a founding board member of Family Voices Indiana. Both as a parent and as a professional, Rylin has extensive expertise on topics including special education regulations, public and private health care financing and family/professional partnerships. English Transcript Transcripción en Español Links:AUCD Policy Page   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this month’s episode focuses on disability, mental health, and domestic violence. We address these topics (abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including sexual assault), so if you are sensitive to these topics, please be aware of that. Jill Anderson and Cheryl Atwood are our guests - Jill is the director of CAPSA which is a non-profit domestic violence, sexual abuse, and rape recovery center and Cheryl is the director of Options for Independence, a center for independent living in Utah. They’ve worked together to improve response to domestic violence cases involving adults with disabilities. We have linked multiple resources below, which we mention in this episode.Transcripts:EnglishSpanishLinks:CAPSA https://www.capsa.org/Options for Independence http://www.optionsind.org/This is the National Domestic Violence Hotline website. They have a phone number and their website is available in English in Spanish. Also, this link lists their different options for contacting an advocate for individuals who are Deaf.APS map that website for each state and reporting phone number.State statues on mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect, and adult protective servicesLaw enforcement and disability:The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and DisabilityRuderman Family Foundation ReportNAMIUnited States Civil Rights CommissionUtah Crisis Response Bios: Jill Anderson is the Executive Director of CAPSA, a non-profit organization providing services to and empowering individuals and families impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault. Jill began her career working with at-risk youth in youth corrections and mental health organizations. It was during her time volunteering for CAPSA that she quickly became passionate about working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Since that time she has dedicated more than 25 years to serving survivors and working to prevent abuse from happening in our community. In 1997, Jill became the Executive Director of CAPSA, and through Jill’s vision and inspired leadership, CAPSA has grown from a one-home shelter to a full organization providing comprehensive services that meet the complex needs of survivors. In addition to spearheading facility expansion, including building a new victim support center, shelter, and a transitional housing subdivision (Independence Place), Jill has enhanced programs and expanded the capacity of CAPSA to provide critical 24-hour services. Jill has served on a number of Boards and Committees over the years working with non-profit organizations and on state and federal level policy issues. In 2013, she was named Resident of the Year by the Herald Journal, and in 2016, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Utah State University’s Center for Women and Gender. Jill is committed to empowerment-based, survivor-informed programs & processes and, above all else, strives to empower individuals and families to use their knowledge and strength to create safe and stable homes for themselves and their children. Cheryl Atwood is the Executive Director of OPTIONS for Independence, the Northern Utah Center for Independent Living. Cheryl has worked in the Independent Living field for over 32 years and is committed to the Independent Living philosophy, which means every person, regardless of disability, has the potential and the right to exercise individual self-determination. Through work on Department of Justice, Office on Violence against Women funded grants, Cheryl has implemented programs and supports for people with disabilities who have experienced violence or sexual assault. Cheryl has served on various state and local committees and is currently a member of the Association for Independent Living of Utah, Neighborhood Housing Solutions, and the Bear River Health Department. Through service on these boards and her own personal experience, she represents people with disabilities well.*Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

This is the last episode of our first season. Producer, Alex Schiwal has a conversation with our season one host, Jeff Sheen. They discuss highlights and lessons from season one, Jeff’s background and future plans, and changes to expect for season two. BIO: Jeff Sheen received his B.S. in Sociology with a Minor in Social Work from Utah State University in 1999. He completed his MSW Degree at the University of Utah in 2002 and his Ph.D. in Disability Disciplines at USU in 2017. Prior to joining the Social Work faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2020, Jeff served as the Associate Director of Research and Training at the Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD) at USU where he began working as a social work practicum student in 2001. Jeff’s primary area of interest to date has been in interdisciplinary macro practice and community development, especially related to the disability field. Over the past 20 years of working in the disability community Jeff has been involved in directing and evaluating several projects designed to improve community resources and services for individuals with disabilities and their families. He has also been involved in developing and providing training on a wide variety of disability related issues and has engaged in policy analysis and development at the state and national level as the Chair of Senator Hatch's Disability Advisory Committee and member of the Utah Statewide Independent Living Council and CPD Policy Team. Jeff has previously been an adjunct instructor for the Departments of Special Education and Rehabilitation Counseling, Psychology and Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology at USU. His research interests include systemic change initiatives designed to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals with disabilities and their families, general disability policy and programming, inclusion of young adults with intellectual disabilities in postsecondary education, community planning for inclusion and accessibility for individuals with disabilities and other marginalized groups, and mindfulness-based interventions for parents of children with disabilities. Jeff and his family love living in Cache Valley and enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities including paddle boarding, canoeing, hiking, adventure motorcycle riding and just sitting by the river or under a tree. Links: English TranscriptSpanish Transcript www.mhddcenter.org *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"    

Speaker Bio: Emma Shouse GartonEmma Shouse Garton is the Public Information Specialist for the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities and has worked for the Council since 2011. She helps coordinate the Council’s communications efforts (including its social media, website, publications, and community outreach events) to inform Tennesseans with disabilities and families about the issues that impact their lives. Emma also has 24 year old younger twin brothers, Evan and Brendan; Evan has autism and lives in a supported living apartment with the help of a provider agency. Emma leads the Tennessee Adult Brothers and Sisters (TABS) statewide sibling support network for brothers and sisters of individuals with disabilities, launched by the TN Council and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities over a decade ago. She also serves as co-chair of the Chapter Development Committee of the national Sibling Leadership Network (SLN). TABS is TN’s chapter of the SLN. Emma graduated from Belmont University with degrees in social work and sociology and lives in Nashville, TN with her husband T.J., about half an hour from Evan and the rest of her family. She is passionate about helping people with disabilities and their family members – especially siblings – find the support they need to live the lives they want. Contact Information: emma.shouse@tn.gov; 615-253-5368 Transcripts: English, Spanish MHDD Center Website Tennessee Council on Developmental Disability Article  Psychology Today article   *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road" 

In this episode we talked with the Project ECHO team based in Alaska, out of the Center for Human Development at the University of Alaska - Anchorage. An ECHO is Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, and this ECHO is focused on mental health and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Faith Kelly is the Coordinator for this ECHO project, and we also talked to several clinicians that have been involved in the project and working in clinical roles for many years. TranscriptLinks:Project ECHO AK What is an ECHO?Center for Human DevelopementBIOS:Marti Romero, Psy.D., LPC-SDr. Romero is a licensed psychologist and the Clinical Director at Assets, Incorporated – a non-profit organization in Anchorage, Alaska that provides treatment and supports to individuals who experience intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DDs) and/or severe and chronic mental illness. She has dedicated her 30 year career to serving this underserved population. Dr. Romero received her B.S. in Sociology from San Diego State University, and her Masters and Doctorate degrees from Alaska Pacific University. She became interested in working with this population while studying for her undergraduate degree as she worked in an institutional setting for individuals who experienced I/DDs and severe behavioral challenges. She started her career doing direct supports and in so doing has developed a passion, and staunch advocacy for the work she does and the people with whom she works.In 2014/15 Dr. Romero seized the opportunity while completing her doctoral dissertation, to research the training provided to masters level clinicians (or lack thereof), to provide behavioral health services to individuals with I/DDs. In addition to this research, and from her experiences working with and supervising many clinicians over the years, she knew the training was sparse – especially in Alaska. As part of her dissertation, she developed an in depth training curriculum for clinicians who would be willing, and interested in serving this population. She has since utilized this training to assist clinicians, through a variety of venues, gain the skills needed to effectively provide behavioral health services to individuals who experience I/DDs.Dr. Romero is a life-long Alaskan, who enjoys spending time with family and friends; fishing, camping, hiking, playing softball – generally most things in the great outdoors.Laronsia ‘Ronnie’ ReynoldsRonnie was born in Florida and relocated to Anchorage, Alaska, in 1982. She attended Alaska Pacific University and completed her undergraduate degree and obtained a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology. Ronnie has worked the past 25 years in the non-profit sector performing various roles in Anchorage community health agencies. She has extensive experience working with children and adults who experience varying abilities, diagnosis, and challenging behaviors. She has worked successfully with those experiencing symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, transitions, Dementia, serious mental illness, severe emotional disturbances, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Adapting therapeutic treatment strategies and approaches has been key in her work. When not working, Ronnie enjoys spending her time with family and friends. She particularly enjoys being in the outdoors during the Summer and Fall seasons. She also enjoys playing sports and all types of word and board games. She believes there is nothing like doing work you are passionate about…….it makes it fun and not just a job. BreeAnn Davis was born and raised in Alaska. Professionally she has worked for a tribal social service agency for the past 7 years. Personally she is the parent of 4 children, two who experience a co-diagnosis of both a developmental disability and a mental health diagnosis. She has an AAS in Disability Services and a Children’s Behavioral Health endorsement through the University of Alaska. She also has an ACRE certificate and is a certified Career Development Coach. She is currently serving on the advisory board for the National Mental Health and Developmental Disability (MHDD) National Training Center. In her personal time, she loves to garden and volunteer in her community. Summer LeFebvre’s (LCSW BCBA LBA) 20 years of practice has been focused on working with individuals and families that have experienced complex trauma. Summer is the Clinical Director of the Effective Behavior Intervention (EBI) clinic at the University of Alaska Center for Human Development. The EBI program specializes in providing technical assistance and training in the development and use of person centered applied behavioral science interventions. In her role at the EBI program Summer has worked for six years across urban and rural Alaska within school districts and for health care providers who serve people adults, youth and children experiencing combinations of substance use disorders, behavioral health and developmental disabilities. Summer has a Master's in Social Work from the University of Alaska, Anchorage in 2005, a postgraduate certificate in Positive Behavioral Support from Northern Arizona University in 2014 and is Licensed Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Alaska.Faith Brainerd Kelly joined the team at the Center for Human Development in Anchorage, Alaska, in early 2019. After studying fine art at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, Faith headed North to Alaska where she worked in the field of disability support services for nearly 20 years. Raised in a large and loving family in Maine, she is grounded in the values of human rights and self-determination. For the past several years, Faith has served as a board member for the Key Coalition of Alaska, an organization promoting equality for Alaskans who experience disabilities through direct interaction with the state government. As for that art degree – Faith gets creative these days figuring out how to walk 3 dogs without tripping over their leashes. *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode, the last of our month of check-ins with our previous guests, we heard from Micah Peace. Micah is part of the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Mental Health (IDD-MH) Research Partnership. We have linked that interview below. Micah talks a lot about the importance of slowing down, listening, boundaries, and how this global situation is shedding light on long-standing issues. We enjoyed hearing from them and hope that our listeners can take a moment to consider what you're doing in your own life to take care of yourselves.BIO: Micah Peace is an Autistic, multiply disabled educator and community organizer from Louisville, KY. Grounded in an Intersectional, interdisciplinary approach as well as their own personal experiences of Disability, Micah strives to foster collaboration between Disability service providers and the Disability Community to promote true access, inclusion, and empowerment through creativity, acceptance, and collaboration. They are a founding member of the Kentuckiana Autistic Spectrum Alliance (KASA), an affiliate group of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network serving the Louisville Metro Area, including Southern Indiana. Link to transcriptLink to group interview *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

This week we followed up with Destiny Watkins, a disability rights advocate and member of the IDD-MH Research Partnership. We wanted to check in with Destiny to see how she is doing and discuss some of the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting her and others with disabilities. We hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation with Destiny.Link to TranscriptLink to group interview Destiny's Bio:I have many lived experience of Physical/Development/Mental Health challenges. I am a DoTerra Wellness Advocate. I played a central role as an advisory board member of the Intellectual/Developmental Disability and Mental Health (IDD- MH) Research Partnership (PCORI Tier A P2P award: #7675658-A), I helped design the techniques we used to better understand the needs and experiences of young adults with IDD and co-occurring mental health conditions. I have done several national presentations and webinars to share what we learned. I was also an advocate for our group at a national expert panel held by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). I was also part of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) national conference and annual reauthorization. I have made multiple presentations about mental health advocacy and natural approaches including for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the START National Training Institute and I was also on a few other advisory boards for peer mentoring intervention also with Boston University. I am a primary member as a co-investigator for “Reconciling the Past & Changing the Future: Engaging young adults with IDD-MH and researchers in CER/comparative effectiveness research”.I also am involved in other projects around the country since my past project are connected and involved in project like The Arc Of United States and Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) I also am a self-advocate in my local city hall engineering and planning/development with helping improving ADA accessibility and also when I travel for conferences and expert panels presentations.I also bring awareness of wheelchair accessibility and how to be more aware of people with many disabilities not just visual disabilities. *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode we followed up with Jeff Sheen's longtime friend, Justin Olson. He is a disabiliy rights advocate from Salt Lake City, Utah. We wanted to check in with him and see how he is managing his work and how he is doing with the disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic. Justin mentioned several things he is doing right now and some virtual events which are linked below.Please click here for a transcript of the episode. Make sure to visit our website www.mhddcenter.org and follow us on social media @MHDDcenter.Best Buddies Virtual Walk https://www.bestbuddiesfriendshipwalk.org/ on June 20th, 2020.

We had the opportunity to talk to the Boston University Mentoring and Research Team, a project we discussed with Ariel Schwartz in a previous episode (linked here). Marianne, Jesse, Timur, and Alix (bios below) talk to us about their experience being researchers and peer mentors for this project, how it has impacted them, and how they have used this project to assist peers. We enjoyed hearing from all the members of this group* and have included a full transcript (linked here) if you have any trouble with the audio.  *We recorded this group interview prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. MHDD website BIOS:Marianne “I am 22 years old I worked as a researcher at Boston University. My job was to mentor a young adult and then put together data about mentoring when it was over. I really enjoy having coffee!” Jesse“I enjoyed coming to work. I helped Ariel with the Meeting Wrap Up each week. Outside of BU, I do not get upset very much. I am open to doing more tasks than most other people are.” Timur  Gizatullin“I am a researcher at Boston University and have been working there since September 2018.  It’s been a wonderful experience so far.  I live in Newton, MA, and have lived there for most of my life.” Alix Herer“I worked at Boston University on a research project, by making a peer program for young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and mental health challenges. On my researching team everyone had real life experiences in the project because they went through some of these challenges growing up.  During my time at Boston University I got to, make worksheets for my mentees, I got get to know my mentee by meeting one a week for 10 weeks and a weekly check in, I taught them about mental health, and I also collected a lot of data and got to put that into the research project to make the program better.  I really enjoyed being a part of this project because I was able to help someone who was similar to me. Some things I really  enjoy are photography, going to the beach and collecting sea glass, and I also love cooking.”  Participatory action research (PAR)Website for PAR team:https://aaspire.org/ Inclusive research information from Australia: https://www.cadr.org.au/images/1759/inclmainrapidreview.pdf *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

Ep. 09 Interview with Janet Shouse show notes  In this episode, we had the opportunity to interview Janet Shouse, a program coordinator at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and parent advocate. You may remember Janet from a group interview we did (linked below), but she is involved in so many projects, we interviewed her again about some of the things she is working on.  In this episode, we discuss a toolkit that she helped develop that is for healthcare professionals to better meet the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She discusses some of the other resources that she has helped develop and is full of information and experience.   We thank you for listening to the MHDD Crossroads podcast. Remember to subscribe, listen, and share our podcast and for more great information and resources, follow us on social media @MHDDcenter  Bio:  Janet Shouse works at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center in Nashville, TN, as the program coordinator for the IDD Toolkit, www.iddtoolkit.org, an online resource for medical providers to better serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Janet also serves with TennesseeWorks, a partnership of state agencies and disability organizations aiming to improve the employment landscape for people with disabilities. As part of that work, she writes and edits a blog called “Rise to Work,” www.tennesseeworks.org/blog/. Janet is also involved with the new multi-site Center for Dignity in Healthcare for People with Disabilities, and she is the study coordinator for a Department of Defense Autism Research Grant to create a provider-focused training program to serve adults with autism spectrum disorder. This effort will use the Project ECHO model (live videoconferencing and case-based presentations) to enhance primary care providers’ ability to care for autistic adults. Janet has also been a member of the advisory board of a national research project examining the needs of young adults with IDD and mental health conditions. She is the parent of three young adults, including a son with autism. Janet is connected to hundreds of families of children and adults with disabilities through her work with Autism Tennessee, TennesseeWorks, The Arc Tennessee and the IDD Toolkit.   Link to transcript: https://www.mhddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Interview-with-Janet-Shouse.pdf  Links to resources mentioned in this episode:  IDD toolkit: www.iddtoolkit.org  Here’s the TennesseeWorks website and a few key blog posts:   www.tennesseeworks.org/blog   https://www.tennesseeworks.org/each-of-us-must-help-protect-our-community-at-this-time/  https://www.tennesseeworks.org/the-dignity-of-risk/  Some of the source curriculums: http://psip.vueinnovations.com/  A press-release  https://hdi.uky.edu/project/center-for-dignity-in-healthcare-for-people-with-disabilities 

In this episode we talked to the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Partnership (IDD-MH). This group is made up of researchers, including people with lived experience of IDD and/or mental health concerns.  Members of this group involved in this interview include Destiny Watkins, Micah Peace, Janet Shouse, Jessica Kramer, and Ravita Maharaj; brief bios of each person are included below. The purpose of this group is to learn about and make recommendations to improve access to mental health services for young adults with IDD-MH and we learn about how they became involved in this project and the impact it has had.LinksFull transcript: http://https://www.mhddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IDD-MH-Research-Group-Interview-Transcript.docxstaging2.mhddcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Group-Interview-Transcript.docxArticle by the IDD-MH Research Partnership: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19315864.2019.1636910?journalCode=umid20MHDD National Training Center: www.mhddcenter.org Thank you for listening to the Mental Health Crossroads Podcast - where we explore the intersection of mental health and developmental disabilities. This podcast is produced by Dr. Alex Schiwal and is hosted by Dr. Jeff Sheen. This podcast is a product of the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center, which is a grant from the Administration for Community Living. Remember to like, subscribe, listen, and share wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us on social media @mhddcenter.*Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road" Guest Bios:Destiny:I have many lived experience of Physical/Development/Mental Health challenges. I am a DoTerra Wellness Advocate. I played a central role as an advisory board member of the Intellectual/Developmental Disability and Mental Health (IDD- MH) Research Partnership (PCORI Tier A P2P award: #7675658-A), I helped design the techniques we used to better understand the needs and experiences of young adults with IDD and co-occurring mental health conditions. I have done several national presentations and webinars to share what we learned. I was also an advocate for our group at a national expert panel held by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). I was also part of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) national conference and annual reauthorization. I have made multiple presentations about mental health advocacy and natural approaches including for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) and the START National Training Institute and I was also on a few other advisory boards for peer mentoring intervention also with Boston University. I am a primary member as a co-investigator for “Reconciling the Past & Changing the Future: Engaging young adults with IDD-MH and researchers in CER/comparative effectiveness research”.I also am involved in other projects around the country since my past project are connected and involved in project like The Arc Of United States and Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) I also am a self-advocate in my local city hall engineering and planning/development with helping improving ADA accessibility and also when I travel for conferences and expert panels presentations.I also bring awareness of wheelchair accessibility and how to be more aware of people with many disabilities not just visual disabilities. Micah:  Micah Peace is an Autistic, multiply-disabled educator and community organizer from Louisville, KY. Grounded in an Intersectional, interdisciplinary approach as well as their own personal experiences of Disability, Micah strives to foster collaboration between Disability service providers and the Disability Community to promote true access, inclusion, and empowerment through creativity, acceptance, and collaboration. They are a founding member of the Kentuckiana Autistic Spectrum Alliance (KASA), an affiliate group of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network serving the Louisville Metro Area, including Southern Indiana. Janet:Janet Shouse works at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center in Nashville, TN, as the program coordinator for the IDD Toolkit, www.iddtoolkit.org, an online resource for medical providers to better serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The IDD Toolkit Project also offers online training to help build capacity of clinicians to serve adults with IDD. Janet also serves with TennesseeWorks, a partnership of state agencies and disability organizations aiming to improve the employment landscape for people with disabilities. As part of that work, she writes and edits a blog called “Rise to Work,” www.tennesseeworks.org/blog/. Janet has also been a member of the advisory board of a national research project examining the needs of young adults with IDD and mental health conditions, the IDD-MH Research Partnership. She is the parent of three young adults, including a son with autism Links and resources: Here is the link to the journal article that we published that includes the findings of our survey and storytelling session, as well as our recommendations for research, policy and practice!https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19315864.2019.1636910?journalCode=umid20 Ravita:Dr. Maharaj is a licensed, clinical social worker in the District of Columbia, with extensive experience in program development and implementation for adults with developmental disabilities, mental illness, and substance abuse. Her previous employment includes 12 years at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Institute, Washington, DC, in the position Director/Division Director, and three years as a Research/Evaluation Coordinator at Community Connections, Inc., the largest mental health agency in Washington, DC.Dr. Maharaj earned a doctorate in social work at the Catholic University of America, with a research interest in organizational factors that influence the implementation of evidence-based practices. She also holds an MSW from Howard University and a bachelor's from the University of Manitoba, Canada. Originally from Trinidad, she has worked for over 20 years in human services in Washington, DC.Jessica:Dr. Jessica Kramer, PhD, OTR/L is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida. Dr. Kramer’s research draws upon theoretical concepts and methodologies from occupational therapy, disability studies, education and rehabilitation to: 1) Partner with youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in the development and evaluation of rehabilitation products; 2) Develop community-based interventions that equip youth with I/DD and their families with the skills to identify and resolve environmental barriers to participation; and 3) Design high quality patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) using contemporary measurement approaches. Dr. Kramer uses quantitative, qualitative, and participatory approaches to design projects that harness the optimal method needed to answer complex research questions and meet the needs of multiple stakeholders, including youth and young adults with disabilities, their families, and rehabilitation professionals.​  

 Justin Olson is our guest this episode. He is a disability rights advocate from the Salt Lake City area of Utah. Justin was a founding member of the Becoming Leaders for Tomorrow a grant funded group of young adults created to educate pediatricians about how to better support individuals with developmental disabilities transition to adult medical providers. He is also a long-time staff member of the University of Utah’s (U of U) Best Buddies program and is involved with Best Buddies at the local, state, and national levels. Justin is also a proud fan of the U of U and Utah Jazz basketball teams. He attends games regularly and is one the most enthusiastic fans in the arena. Jeff and Justin discuss his current involvement in the Best Buddies program, past projects he has worked on, and what he does to maintain his mental health. He talks about some of his experiences with hospitalization (and a full video of the panel discussion is linked below). *The MHDD National Training Center would like to note that our conversation with Justin about staying positive and happy is not meant to suggest that depression and anxiety are not serious clinical health conditions that many people experience; we support appropriate therapy, medication, and activities for wellness as part of a comprehensive plan for managing mental health concerns, in addition to the ideas that Jeff and Justin discuss that are specific to Justin’s lived experience.  Links:MHDD National Training Center and past episodes https://mhddcenter.org/voices/Link to transcriptPanel Discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJVgU7aGUZwPsychology today service locatorSAD lamps (and other recommendations for seasonal affective disorder)Apps Justin recommended for keeping in touch with friends:Marco Polo Google Duo *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

In this episode, we talk to Dr. Ariel Schwartz at Boston University. She tells us about her early engagement with the disability community. She discusses the importance of meaningful inclusion of people with disabilities in research, beyond the tokenism frequently present in academic research. Ariel discusses participatory action research and how she has implemented it in work with peer-mentoring, developing relationships with self-advocates and giving them space to actively steer research. We will be interviewing some of the self-advocates that work with Ariel in the coming months, so we can hear directly from them and their experiences in this process.  Guest bio: Ariel Schwartz, PhD, OTR/L is a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University. She has worked with young adults with IDD for over 15 years. Ariel’s research is focused on figuring out how to best include people with IDD in the research process. Including young adults is called “inclusive research.” Ariel wants to learn the best way to do inclusive research, because she believes that people with IDD have a lot of knowledge and experience that can help make research more useful to people with disabilities. Ariel also studies peer mentoring and employment for young adults with IDD-MH.  Links: Transcript of this episode Our website: www.mhddcenter.org Participatory action research (PAR)Website for PAR team:https://aaspire.org/ Inclusive research information from Australia: https://www.cadr.org.au/images/1759/inclmainrapidreview.pdf *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

This month we created a mini-episode - listen for a look ahead into the new year, including upcoming guests and topics. We also talk about new and soon-to-be released resources, trainings, and other content from the MHDD national training center. What we provide for the remainder of this episode, is something we value here at the MHDD National Training Center - information on mental health and resilience. This time of year can be a challenge for anyone, but particularly people living with trauma, mental illnesses, and disabilities. We talk about why this time of year is a challenge, direct you to resources, and leave you with action items that can help manage some of the potential struggles that manifest this time of year. Take a listen - we wish you an enjoyable holiday season and we will back with more content after the new year! MHDD national training center training resource page: https://mhddcenter.org/training/ Transcript of this episode: Mini Episode full transcript NAMI article: https://www.nami.org/Press-Media/Press-Releases/2014/Mental-health-and-the-holiday-blues APA holiday stress resource center: https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/holiday-stress Self-compassion and social support:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656606000353https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aphw.12051 *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

This week we hear from Dr. Ty Aller, about mental health and how it intersects with disability, his work on college campuses, in therapy, and at the MHDD National Training Center. Some of the resources mentioned in this episode include: The Happiness Trap 8-week program; https://thehappinesstrap.com/The Happiness Trap, book https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/76053/the-happiness-trap-by-russ-harris-foreword-by-steven-hayes/A Liberated Mind, book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48228223-a-liberated-mind-mr-expACT research and programs at USU: https://www.utahact.com/Transcripts and past episodes of our podcast: https://mhddcenter.org/voices/Transcript of this episode Trainings:Trainings from the MHDD Center (use this page for current webinars and watch for updates for other trainings from our center): https://mhddcenter.org/training/Digital storytelling:The MHDD center is collecting stories about lived experience (and is in the process of producing already collected stories from advocates). If you are an advocate, follow the link at the bottom of our voices page https://mhddcenter.org/voices/ Guest Bio:Dr. Ty Aller is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist that works as the Training Coordinator for the MHDD: NTC and is housed at Utah State University’s Center for Persons with Disabilities (CPD), a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. Prior to joining the CPD, Ty worked as a therapist at a local non-profit organization serving victims of domestic violence and child abuse/neglect. He now owns and operates a private practice in Northern Utah. Ty’s research interests include measuring and implementing mental health literacy programming on college campuses, parent-child relationships and their influence on social-emotional development and projects related to direct service implementation. In his clinical work, Ty focuses on leveraging the strengths of family systems and incorporates components of Acceptance Commitment Therapy and Dialectal Behavior Therapy to help adolescents improve their well-being.*Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

This week we hear from Dr. Verity Rodrigues, a specialist in mental health and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) who is working towards a more accessible and inclusive mental health field. She talks to us about her work with children with ASD and their families, across school and clinical settings. Dr. Rodrigues works directly with educators across Tennessee to help them better understand the signs, symptoms, and opportunities to support individuals with ASD and co-occurring mental health concerns. She also works directly with children and families with disabilities and/or mental health concerns. In addition, Dr. Rodrigues is interested in developing manualized approaches to building and sustaining best-practice classrooms and supporting other system-wide changes to improve access to quality mental health care for individuals with developmental disabilities. The links we mentioned in this week’s episode: Transcript of this episode: Dr. Verity Rodrigues TranscriptTranscripts and past episodes of our podcast: https://mhddcenter.org/voices/TRIAD at Vanderbilt: https://triad.vkclearning.org/ Dr. Rodrigues received her master’s in special education and her doctorate in school psychology, both from the University of Oregon, where she focused on systems consultation and mental health in schools. As an educational consultant and psychologist at TRIAD, she works across TRIAD’s school-based professional development team and runs her own integrated behavioral-health clinic within the Division of Developmental Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. *Music Credit: Music for our podcast is licensed from Marmoset Music. Artist: Johnny Clay; Song "Looking Down the Road"

On this episode of the Mental Health Crossroads podcast, our host Jeff Sheen interviews Dr. Elaine Eisenbaum from Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky. They discuss her educational background, her current projects including the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center, and how they both became involved in the field of disabilities and their interest in disability rights.Some of the links mentioned in this episode are:Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky: https://www.hdi.uky.edu/Voices page on the MHDD website, you can access transcripts of previous podcasts and find a link to share your story about mental health and intellectual and developmental disability through our digital storytelling initiative: https://mhddcenter.org/voices/To access a full transcript of this episode head to:Episode 2 Transcript_Dr. Elaine EisenbaumAUCD (Association of University Centers on Disability) website: https://www.aucd.org//template/index.cfmGuest Biography:Dr. Elaine Eisenbaum serves as a Project Director at University of Kentucky’s Human Development Institute (HDI), a federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). Prior to joining HDI, Dr. Eisenbaum worked at the University of Texas, Texas Center for Disability Studies, where she taught disability studies courses while obtaining her PhD in Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Eisenbaum’s scholarly work aims to create intervention models focused on improving health outcomes and well-being for people with disabilities. Her research interests include universal design, health disparities among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, co-occurring mental illness and intellectual disabilities, transition, and eugenics and disability history. Currently, Dr. Eisenbaum is Project Director on a 3-year Administration for Community Living grant, building a National Training Center on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, which will include universally designed web-based trainings. Music is "Looking Down the Road" by Jonny Clay

In this first episode of the Mental Health Crossroads podcast, we talk to Dr. Matt Wappett from the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University about some of the challenges faced by people with both intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and mental health issues. Dr. Wappett highlights the new Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center, a collaborative project designed to increase awareness of these issues and prepare direct support workers and clinicians across fields to address the needs of this population, while also elevating the voices and experiences of people that have identified themselves as having IDD and mental health issues.Links to resources discussed in this episode are included below:1. Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities National Training Center: www.MHDDcenter.org2. Center for Person with Disabilities at Utah State University: www.cpd.usu.edu3. Center for Human Development - University of Alaska Anchorage: www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-health/departments/center-for-human-development/4. Human Development Institute  - University of Kentucky: www.hdi.uky.edu/5. NADD - thenadd.org/To access a full transcript of this episode head to: Episode 1 Transcript  Music is "Looking Down the Road" by Jonny Clay