Current Center News

COVID-19 Vaccine Resources for the Developmental Disabilities Community

COVID-19 is a disease caused by a virus that spreads easily and can make people very sick. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine protects against COVID-19, and is an important tool to help stop the pandemic. People with developmental disabilities, their families, and supporters play an important role in preventing COVID-19 by getting a vaccine.

The Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities has developed two new resources to provide information about COVID-19 vaccines and help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities understand what to expect. Available in English and Spanish.

COVID-19 Vaccine Facts for the Developmental Disabilities Community provides information about COVID-19 vaccines, including:
• When, where, and how to get the vaccine
• What to expect when getting the vaccine
• What to expect after getting the vaccine
• How to continue to stay safe before and after getting the COVID-19 vaccine

Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine: A Social Story for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities helps readers understand why it’s important to get a COVID-19 vaccine and what to expect before, during, and after vaccination. Direct Support Professionals, family members, and other supporters can use this social story to prepare people with intellectual and developmental disabilities for getting a COVID-19 vaccine by printing or sharing on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

View COVID-19 Vaccine Resources for the Developmental Disabilities Community

Registration is Open for the Spring 2021 Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series

The Boggs Center’s Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series is a community and continuing education program provided for professionals, policymakers, individuals with disabilities, and family members to enhance their knowledge and skills in innovative approaches and state of the art practices for people with developmental disabilities. The Spring 2021 Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series features national experts on autism and transition, disability advocacy, job development, and mental health needs.

• Preparing Families to Support Youth on the Autism Spectrum as They Transition to Adulthood
  Presented by Julie Lounds Taylor l Friday, April 16, 2021 l 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM l Webinar
• Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering Disabled People in Disability Advocacy
  Presented by Emily Ladau, BA l Friday, April 23, 2021 l 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM l Webinar
  

• Beyond Traditional Job Development: The Art of Creating Opportunity
  Presented by Denise Bissonnette, MEd l Friday, May 14, 2021 l 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM l Webinar

• Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
  Presented by Andrea Witwer, PhD l Friday, May 21, 2021 l 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM l Webinar

The webinars are free of charge. Space is limited and advanced registration is required.
Learn more and register for the Developmental Disabilities Lecture Series

The Boggs Center’s “Year at a Glance” Provides Snapshot of Work in FY2020

As New Jersey’s federally designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, The Boggs Center promotes inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all aspects of community life through community and student training, technical assistance, research, and informational materials. The Boggs Center’s “Year at a Glance” report provides a snapshot of the Center’s work in Fiscal Year 2020.

View The Boggs Center’s “Year at a Glance” report for FY2020

For a more detailed look at the Center’s efforts to fulfill its mission as New Jersey’s federally designated UCEDD and LEND program during FY2020, including new activities and programmatic adaptations in response to COVID-19, view The Boggs Center’s Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020.

The Boggs Center Shares Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020

Each year as I write to share the contributions of The Boggs Center and our collaborations with all of you, I appreciate what we have been able to accomplish together and also am always aware of how much more there is to be done. Looking back on the past year has, for all of us, been a very different and difficult experience. Little in any of our collective experience has prepared us for the loss and disruption in every family and community, things that have been experienced even more devastatingly in the lives of people with disabilities, their families, and the supporters and systems that work on their behalf.

From July 2019 up to early March, we continued to provide the educational programs, technical assistance to communities and systems, research and information that have been the hallmark of our partnerships and mission. In March, with the onslaught of the pandemic, all our lives changed.

This report reflects the dedication and efforts of everyone at The Boggs Center in the ways that, as individuals and as an organization, we have worked to convert our programs and activities in virtual and remote formats that continue to support the disability community while keeping everyone safe. We are gratified to have so many people attend the DD Lecture Series virtually, utilize our new "Just in Time Webinar Series" and to have been able to teach our fellows, students, and community trainings remotely. Developing and curating resources on COVID-19 targeted to people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers has been one of our highest priorities. We are gratified that we have been able to involve medical students from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in these processes.

In listening sessions with our federal DD Act partners, Disability Rights New Jersey and the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities, the expressions of concern in the community, as well as our Consumer Advisory Council, have guided our actions and direction. Please let us know what other things would support our community.

In the disability community, we have always been aware of how interdependent we all are. Our collective efforts to support public health and safety measures, as all our efforts at The Boggs Center, are devoted to enhancing the common good. For all those who have lost loved ones, are struggling with illness, separation from services and economic loss, our hearts are with you.

We strive for ways to support our community now in the amidst of the pandemic and looking ahead to the time when we can be in each other's presence and continue to create support and opportunities for people with disabilities, families, and those who work on their behalf.

With warm good wishes,

Deborah M. Spitalnik, PhD
Professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine and Community Health
Executive Director, The Boggs Center and NJLEND

View The Boggs Center's Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020

Robert Wood Johnson Medical School