Center for Disabilities Studies

LENDing a hand: Learning to lead for those in need UD graduates in health and education fields who participated in CDS’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program cite empathy, patience and flexibility as qualities they developed as trainees that help them effectively support individuals with disabilities now. LEND trainees embed with families that have children with developmental disabilities to get first-person experience of their daily lives.

Weeklong career exploration opportunities offered to UD students with disabilities Students with disabilities from the CDS-run Career and Life Studies Certificate, Summer CLSC and Spectrum Scholars programs connected remotely with professionals from UD, Delaware state agencies and local businesses.

CDS panel: Delaware voting options, legal protections empower those with disabilities Voting and disability law experts at a CDS event said the pandemic and other challenges shouldn’t prevent Delawareans with disabilities from casting ballots in the Nov. 3 election, thanks to remote and in-person voting options and legislation that mandates polling place accessibility.

Access to instruction for all: Center for Disabilities Studies training for Delaware educators promotes flexibility, inclusion The Adapting Curriculum and Classroom Environments for Student Success (ACCESS) Project, based at CDS, is reprising its seven-week training for Delaware educators on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in remote instruction. ACCESS first offered the webinar series on UDL – an educational approach centered on meeting students’ different learning needs – in spring 2020 to help educators adjust to teaching during a pandemic. The new series has been updated with new digital tools and discussions of equity.

Electronic absentee voting back on, commissioner reveals at accessible elections forum Delawareans with disabilities and other absentee voters once again have the option of receiving and marking their ballots with tablets or smartphones, state Election Commissioner Anthony Albence revealed at a virtual forum hosted by the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies yesterday.