Center for Disabilities Studies

The Delaware Network for Excellence in Autism (DNEA), based at CDS, and other centers in UD’s College of Education and Human Development are supporting educators with training and technical resources on remote instruction. The DNEA shifted its training sessions for educators online and is creating guides for explaining Covid-19 to children with autism. The Delaware Academy for School Leadership and Professional Development Center for Educators are also sharing expertise and resources.

Delaware ended its pilot of an internet-based voting system for people with physical disabilities and others voting absentee after a damaging study found cybersecurity vulnerabilities. CDS Director Beth Mineo said that the system’s billing as a way to increase accessibility was “really unfortunate,” because it came at the unacceptable cost of election security. Delaware returned to its preexisting absentee voting system – which includes an option to submit ballots via email that cybersecurity experts also criticize.

Students and staff in CDS’s Career and Life Studies Certificate (CLSC) and Spectrum Scholars programs are demonstrating their flexibility and resilience as they adapt to digital learning and socializing. Students are continuing to participate in coaching and mentoring sessions, attend clubs and hone self-advocacy skills. Staff are finding creative ways to move instruction online, though some offerings, such as CLSC internships, are proving hard to replicate.

Delaware is piloting an internet-based voting system for people with physical disabilities and others voting absentee in the June primaries that CDS Director Beth Mineo says can provide a convenient, private way to cast a ballot. Mineo cautions that the system, designed by Democracy Live and using Amazon Web Services secure cloud technology, must be trusted or else the votes of people with disabilities may be called into question. While Delaware Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence describes the system as “ideal,” cybersecurity experts contend any online-based system is vulnerable to hacking.

CDS’s interim director of health and wellness, Brittany Powers, offers recommendations to people with disabilities and their caregivers on how to navigate the coronavirus pandemic in a new posting at the Center’s Inclusion blog.