News & Policy

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Endorsements

The Board of AAIDD has endorsed the following reports and declarations:

Aging

My Thinker’s Not Working: A National Strategy for Enabling Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Affected by Dementia to Remain in Their Community and Receive Quality Supports
Report of the National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices (2012)
Endorsed by AAIDD Board of Directors August 15, 2012

Toronto Declaration on Bridging Knowledge, Policy and Practice in Aging and Disability
Drafted by the Participants of Growing Older with a Disability (GOWD) Conference, a part of the Festival of International Conferences on Caregiving, Disability, Aging and Technology (FICCDAT) (2012)
Endorsed by AAIDD Board of Directors June 17, 2012

Civil & Human Rights

Joint Statement on the Universal Civil and Human Rights of People with the Most Significant Developmental Disabilities
A declaration that people with disabilities have the same civil and human rights as their peers without disabilities. Those rights are not modified, lessened, or “balanced” against other considerations because of their support needs.
Endorsed by the AAIDD Board of Directors April 8, 2020

Communication

Communication Bill of Rights

Position of the National Joint Committee for the Communication Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities (as updated 2016)
Endorsed by the AAIDD Board of Directors July 10, 2019

See also: Brady, N.C., Bruce, S., Goldman, A., Erickson, K., Mineo, B. , Ogletree, B.T. , et al. (2016). Communication services and supports for individuals with severe disabilities: Guidance for assessment and intervention. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 121 (2), pp. 121-138. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-121.2.121

Community Living

Community Living and Participation for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: What the Research Tells Us
A joint letter from AAIDD and AUCD issued on July 24, 2015 on the anniversary of the ADA

The Community Imperative
A statement drafted by volunteers in the field (2019)
Endorsed by the AAIDD Board of Directors September 11, 2019.

Health Care

A National Roadmap for Disability-Inclusive Health Care
A consensus document championed by the Institute on Exceptional Care's ABC3 Coalition on key sectors, goals, and action steps to coordinate national strategies that aim to prepare general clinicians in multiple health professions to serve people with IDD equitably and effectively (2023).
Endorsed by the AAIDD Board of Directors November 8, 2023

Core Competencies on Disability for Health Care Education
Competencies developed by the Alliance for Disability in Health Care Education and the Ohio Disability and Health Program designed to integrate disability-related content and experiences into health care education and training programs (2018)
Endorsed by the AAIDD Board of Directors June 24, 2018

Including Individuals with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities and Co-Occurring Mental Illness: Challenges that Must Be Addressed in Health Care Reform
Position paper of NADD (October 2013)
Endorsed by AAIDD Board of Directors January 11, 2014

Devaluing People with Disabilities: Medical Procedures that Violate Civil Rights
Report of the National Disability Rights Network and Disability Rights Washington (2012)
Endorsed by AAIDD Board of Directors June 17, 2012

Technology

The Rights of People with Cognitive Disabilities to Technology and Information Access
A Declaration on equal rights of people with intellectual disability to technology and information access (2013)
Endorsed by the AAIDD Board of Directors February 20, 2013

See the video on the Declaration created at the 13th Annual Coleman Institute National Conference on Cognitive Disability and Technology, October 2, 2013