AAMR F.Y.I.
October 2002, Vol. 2, No. 4
Please feel free to forward AAMR F.Y.I. to friends and associates.
Dear AAMR Friends and Colleagues:
IN THIS ISSUE:
SESSIONS (R-TEXAS) AND CAPPS
(D-CALIFORNIA) SPONSOR DIRECT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION ACT
On September 24, Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Congresswoman Lois
Capps (D-California) joined representatives of the American Network of Community
Options (ANCOR) to announce a resolution that urges increased national attention
on recruitment and retention of direct support professionals. Called Direct
Support Professional Recognition Act, the resolution recognizes that there is
an acute shortage of trained direct support workers, and more than 8 million
Americans who have mental retardation or developmental disabilities will be
affected as a result. AAMR is a co-sponsor of this resolution.
Visit www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/index.shtml to read the official language of the resolution.
NEW 7th EDITION OF THE
STATE OF THE STATES NOW AVAILABLE
Need the complete picture on disabilities spending in the U.S.? The new 7th
edition of Disability at the Dawn of the 21st Century and The State of the States
has more than 500 pages of statistics and analyses tracking every public dollar
spent on disabilities programs and services in the 50 U.S. states and DC. The
new edition extends and substantially expands the book’s historical, analytical,
and comparative focus to include a cross-disability perspective. It also examines
how the declining economy will impact the future of developmental disabilities
services in the U.S.
Visit www.aamr.org/Bookstore to learn more about the book.
NEW REPORT CITES THE AAMR DEFINITION
OF MENTAL RETARDATION AS MOST WIDELY USED DEFINITION IN THE U.S.
The Kansas University Center for the Study of Family, Neighborhood and Community
Policy released a 256-page report titled Usage of the Term "Mental Retardation":
Language, Image and Public Education examining the past and current use of the
term "mental retardation" in government programs. The report found
that the AAMR definition of mental retardation is the most widely used definition
in the U.S. The report, which also cites the AAMR language opinion survey of
1999, examines how textbooks and research articles present the term mental retardation;
what terminology international organizations are using; to what extent "mentally
retarded" is viewed as pejorative; and to what extent changes in the use
of the term mental retardation represents federal and state policy shifts.
Visit www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/index.shtml to read the report.
HOW WILL RESEARCH ADVANCES AFFECT
PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY?
This white paper by Duane Alexander, MD, Director of the National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development, is now available for you to read online
at www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/index.shtml
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FREE ONLINE
ISSUES ALERT FOR AJMR AND MR JOURNALS
Did you know that you can sign up to receive an email every time a new issue
of the American Journal on Mental Retardation (AJMR) or Mental Retardation (MR)
is posted online?
Visit http://aamr.allenpress.com/aamronline/?request=get-static&name=issue-alert
to sign up for this free feature!
SHOULD AAMR CHANGE ITS NAME TO THE
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION ON INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES?
Read what past AAMR president Steven F. Warren has to say in favor of the Association’s
name change and what Richard Garnett, past president of Texas AAMR has to say
against the name change at www.aamr.org/pro_memo.shtml
and www.aamr.org/con_memo.shtml
TRAINING ON NEW DEFINITION OF
MENTAL RETARDATION IN WASHINGTON, DC
AAMR will hold training seminars on the newly released 10th edition of Mental
Retardation: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Support in Washington,
DC on October 3-4. The training programs will provide an overview of the book,
and guide researchers and practitioners on how to implement the new definition
of mental retardation.
Visit http://www.aamr.org/Events/index.shtml
to learn more.
AAMR F.Y.I. is compiled by Anna Prabhala, Editor. Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to annap@aamr.org
© Copyright 2002 American Association on Mental Retardation
AAMR F.Y.I. may only be redistributed in its unedited form