AAMR F.Y.I.
November 2005, Vol.5, No.11
Visit http://www.aamr.org/FYI/ to access current and past issues of this monthly newsletter.
Dear AAMR Friends and Colleagues:
CHANGES IN PRESCRIPTION COVERAGE WILL AFFECT MORE THAN 500,000 PERSONS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL
DISABILITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
More than half a million people with developmental disabilities in the United
States currently receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits. For these individuals,
current Medicaid drug benefits end on December 31, 2005 as a result of a new
federal legislation. This dual eligibility is being replaced by a new Medicare
drug benefit starting January 1, 2006.
To learn more about how this legislation affects families, caregivers, and advocates,
read Ensuring Continuity of Care for Dual Eligibles: A Guide to Transition
From
Medicaid to Medicare’s Prescription Drug Coverage prepared by The Arc of
the United States and United Cerebral Palsy at http://thedesk.info/PartD/MedicarePartDBrochureFinal050928.pdf
NATIONAL FORUM TO ADDRESS END OF LIFE CARE FOR PERSONS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES
"Aging and End of Life Issues: A Special Forum," to be held in Washington,
DC from December 1-2, 2005 will explore how to support individuals with intellectual
disabilities as they face the complexities of growing old and experience issues
pertaining to end of life care and death. Sample topics explored include hospice
care; challenges faced by older and sibling caregivers; grief and grief support
among persons with intellectual disabilities; quality palliative care; and
how to communicate end of life wishes with people with intellectual disabilities.
The forum is organized by the American Association on Mental Retardation and
the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Aging with
Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
To read a program agenda, visit http://www.aamr.org/Events/aging_program.shtml
To download a registration form for the forum, visit http://www.aamr.org/Events/pdf/registration.pdf To learn how to register online, visit http://www.aamr.org/Events/aging.shtml
AUSTRALIA TESTS TWO NOVEL APPROACHES TO RAISING AWARENESS OF HEALTH CONCERNS
OF PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AMONG GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
A University of Queensland project designed to enhance general health care access
for persons with intellectual disabilities reports significant increases in immunizations,
detection of vision impairment, hearing testing, and advocacy. The project, backed
by $779,500 in funds from the National Health and Medical Research Council consists
of a Comprehensive Health Assessment Program (CHAP), a general practitioner (GP)-based
health review process, and an Ask Diary project in which adolescents with intellecutal
disabilities and their parents recorded their interactions with their GPs.
Read more at http://www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=8108
NEW RESEARCH EXPLAINS WHY CHILDREN WITH AUTISM HAVE PROBLEM SOLVING DIFFICULTIES
Scientists at the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne, Australia, have discovered
that children with autism have less activation in the deep parts of the brain
responsible for functions such as attention, reasoning, and problem solving,
supporting evidence that autism has a biological cause.
Read more at http://www.hfi.unimelb.edu.au/
NEW RESOURCES FOR PROFESSIONALS
IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES NOW AVAILABLE FROM AAMR
The Supports Intensity Scale (SIS), an assessment tool that gauges the daily
support needs of a person with an intellectual disability, is now available
as a stand-alone electronic scoring application on CD-ROM. The SIS CD-ROM enables
professionals to score the 85 items ranked by SIS electronically and can be
completed
on any computer running on a Windows operating system. Learn more at http://www.siswebsite.org/site/pdf/SISe-optionswebsite.pdf
A new booklet containing a detailed description of items ranked by the Supports
Intensity Scale is now available at http://www.siswebsite.org/page.ww?section=News&name=Press+Release+Detail&pressrelease.id=13.
The authors of SIS have also published a Frequently Asked Questions on how
to score
SIS at http://www.siswebsite.org/galleries/default-file/Frequency&FAQ.pdf To
learn more about SIS, visit www.siswebsite.org
National Goals for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities edited by K. Charlie Lakin and Ann P. Turnbull assesses the status of America
with regards
to its fulfillment of goals for persons with intellectual disabilities. Based
on a federally sponsored conference in Washington, DC, this book describes
current knowledge in 12 areas that touch lives of persons with intellectual
disabilities.
To read a table of contents and an introduction to the book, visit http://www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/pdf/NationalGoalsfm.pdf
Health Promotion for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities:
The State of Scientific Evidence edited by Wendy M. Nehring summarizes current
research on major topics affecting the health and well being of persons with
intellectual disabilities. The book provides a basis for developing interventions
and solutions to eliminate health disparities among persons with intellectual
disabilities. To read a table of contents and an introduction to the book,
visit http://www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/pdf/HealthPromotionfm.pdf
AAMR F.Y.I. is compiled by Anna Prabhala, Editor. Please submit comments, suggestions, tips, and news to annap@aamr.org
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