AAMR F.Y.I.
January 2004, Vol.4, No.1

Visit www.aamr.org/FYI/ to access current and past issues of this monthly newsletter.

Dear AAMR Friends and Colleagues:

We wish you all a Happy New Year!

IN THIS ISSUE:

LETTER FROM PRESIDENT ANN P. TURNBULL ON THE UPCOMING AAMR LEADERSHIP MEETING IN JANUARY AT http://www.aamr.org/About_AAMR/pre_letter.shtml

HISTORIC MENTAL DISABILITY LEGAL CASE COMES TO AN END
The landmark Wyatt v. Stickney case filed in 1970 on behalf of resident Ricky Wyatt at the Bryce hospital in Alabama alleging that the state's mental health facilities were inhumane, came to an end 33 years later, with Judge Myron Thompson ruling on December 5, 2003 that the state was now in compliance with the settlement agreement. Over the past three decades, Alabama has made significant strides in developing community services and creating a quality assurance system.

Clarence J. Sundram, nationally renowned expert on institutions and community programs, writes an article for AAMR F.Y.I. on the historic significance of Wyatt v. Stickney. Visit http://www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/Wyatt.html to read the article.

NEW STATE OF THE STATES TRACKS DISABILITY SPENDING IN THE U.S. FROM 2000 THROUGH 2002
The State of the States study is historically well known for its meticulous tracking of public dollars spent on disability programs and services in the United States . The latest edition of the study, published by AAMR, gives a roundup of disability spending from 2002 through 2002, including trends in revenues and spending.

Call 301-604-1340 or email aamr@pmds.com to order the book. Limited copies available.

CHILDREN WITH SEVERE COGINITIVE DISABILITIES SUFFER FROM SIGNFICANT PAIN, SAYS NEW STUDY
Children with severe cognitive impairments experience pain frequently, mostly not due to accidental injury, says a new study conducted by researchers at the Pediatric Pain Research Laboratory in Canada . The study also found that children with the fewest abilities experience the most pain. Participants in this study included 94 children and adolescents with mild to moderate mental retardation.

Findings from this study have been published in the December 2003 issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/157/12/1219

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS AAMR? A LOOK AT AAMR PUBLICATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE IN 2003
Year 2003 revealed yet again that there is a high level of interest in information and research on intellectual disabilities abroad. Thanks to the efforts of AAMR's international rights advisor, Alice McElhinney, at least 5 AAMR publications were translated into Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and French, including two publications on the issue of quality of life— Handbook on Quality of Life for Human Service Practitioners (2002) and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Quality of Life (2000), both of which were co-authored by Robert L. Schalock. An Italian language American Journal on Mental Retardation was launched in 2003 and the Association's classification manual Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification and Systems of Supports published in 2002 will soon be translated into Hebrew, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Italian. A French language Mental Retardation has already been published.

If you'd like to know more about these initiatives or if you have any queries on translation rights, email books@aamr.org

NEW www.grants.gov IS A ONE-STOP PORTAL FOR INFORMATION ON ALL FEDERAL GRANTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Now you can search and apply for grants funded by the U.S. government online at www.grants.gov . This new web portal launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has more than 800 available grant programs involving all 26 federal grant-making agencies, and these agencies together award more than $360 billion in grant funds.

Read a press release on the site launch at http://www.grants.gov/assets/GrantsgovLaunchAnnouncement.doc

PRESENTATIONS FROM THE NATIONAL STATE DIRECTORS ON DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SERVICES (NASDDDS) MEETING NOW ONLINE
The annual NASDDDS meeting of the state directors of developmental disabilities services held in Virginia in November 2003 featured discussions on contemporary issues facing disability professionals today. These include items such as Ticket to Work and the role of state directors, approaches to assurance and quality improvement, building a system of crisis services and supports, and community workforce development. You can now read these presentations online at http://www.nasddds.org/Meetings/2003_Annual_Meeting/2003_AM_presentations.shtml

The NASDDDS conference also featured a presentation on the new Supports Intensity Scale, a new supports planning tool published by AAMR.

CULTURAL CONTEXT AND INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES—READ MORE IN THE FEBRUARY 2004 ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL MENTAL RETARDATION
The February 2004 issue of the journal Mental Retardation contains interesting cross-cultural perspectives on mental retardation, including articles on the c ultural context of caregiving among Puerto Rican and non-Latina white mothers, South-Asian Indian cultural orientations toward mental retardation, attitudes of American and Israeli staff toward people with intellectual disabilities, and perspectives of Latina mothers on service systems.

This issue of Mental Retardation will be available online on January 6 at http://aamr.allenpress.com/aamronline/?request=index-html

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR THE ROBERT GUTHRIE AWARDS IN BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR GENETICS
The Health Promotion and Prevention Committee of AAMR is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2004 Robert Guthrie Award for Advances in Biochemical and Molecular Genetics. Nominations should be sent in by February 2, 2004.

To read more, including how to apply, visit www.aamr.org

AAMR F.Y.I. is compiled by Anna Prabhala, Editor. Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to annap@aamr.org

Access past issues of AAMR F.Y.I. at www.aamr.org/FYI/. To subscribe, visit http://www.responsetrack.net/aamr/sign_up

© Copyright 2004 American Association on Mental Retardation

AAMR F.Y.I. may only be redistributed in its unedited form.