Group Music Activities for Adults

Having trouble finding music therapy resources for adults with disabilities? Group music activities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities can help. This sourcebook contains 100 age-appropriate group music activities with instructions and adaptations to best fit your group. This practical resource also includes an accompanying CD and sheet music for the beginning therapist or the seasoned veteran.

Want to check it out? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu or try worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Reducing Obesity in Youth with Disabilities

24acorns.org

The rate of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years has more than tripled over the past three decades, and the rate among children ages 6 to 11 years has more than doubled. While that sounds like a staggering figure (and it should), consider that the rates of obesity are even worse among children and adolescents with disabilities. Reversing the U.S. obesity epidemic requires a comprehensive approach that uses policy and environmental change to transform communities into places that promote healthy lifestyle choices for all. To help communities, the CDC initiated the Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention Project to identify a set of strategies that communities and local governments can use for obesity prevention. The 24 strategies created using the expert panel process are divided into six categories: 1) strategies to promote the availability of affordable healthy food and beverages, 2) strategies to support healthy food and beverage choices, 3) a strategy to encourage breastfeeding, 4) strategies to encourage physical activity or limit sedentary activity among children and youth, 5) strategies to create safe communities that support physical activity, and 6) a strategy to encourage communities to organize for change.

The strategies for the prevention or reduction of obesity have been developed from an evidence-base of research that typically excludes participation by people with disabilities. Our “Adaptations to Community-based Obesity Reducing National Strategies” (ACORNS) website is part of a grant funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) to promote more inclusive community-based obesity prevention programs that represent the needs of youth and young adults with disabilities. The obesity-prevention strategy adaptation portal, www.24acorns.org, was created so that persons with disabilities, teachers, clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and more could have a place to contribute their input on how to best adapt the CDC’s obesity-prevention strategies to be inclusive. There, you can submit your suggestions for physical, cognitive, or cultural adaptations to any of our 24 featured strategies.

For more information about the project, contact Jessica Madrigal via email at Jmadri1@uic.edu or via phone at 312-355-5295.

Psychosocial aspects of disability

Psychosocial aspects of disability: Insider perspectives and counseling strategies is a textbook for students and rehabilitation counselors that provides insight into the everyday lives of people with disabilities. Sixteen people with different disabilities give first-hand accounts of their life experiences. With these narratives are guidelines and strategies for counselors, including "do's and don'ts." The book also discusses sociological and societal perspectives toward disability and ongoing treatment issues and ethical dilemmas for counselors.

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check out this title or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Mobile App Monday - Community Sidekick

Looking for a way to track the location of someone in your care who wants to be independent? Community Sidekick can help. This app sends an automated email message with a map link to show a person's location providing the caregiver a virtual tour of the trip. It also provides an easy way for the user to send a quick email message to the caregiver or person who is monitoring the trip.

To learn more about this app, visit: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/community-sidekick/id413107872?mt=8

Nowhere to Hide

Looking for help with kids with learning disabilities? Nowhere to hide: Why kids with ADHD and LD hate school and what we can do about it might be just what you're searching for. Author Jerome Schultz draws on his background as a neuropsychologist, educator, and consultant to discuss how parents and teachers can bring about changes in school and at home to reduce the education-related stress that can impact kids' academic learning, social skills, behavior, and brain function. This book not only offers a new way to look at why kids with ADHD and/or LD struggle at school but also provides strategies to help overcome the obstacle. It also includes tools such as rating scales, checklists, and printable charts.

Interested? Email us at cedir@indiana.edu to check out this book. Or use worldcat.org to find it in a library near you.

Statistics on kids with disabilities

Looking for statistics on school-aged children with disabilities in metropolitan areas? The U.S. Census Bureau has released the 2010 American Community Survey Briefs that contains loads of information. From disability status by type to disability rate, it's included in the brief. Take a look at the entire report at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/acsbr10-12.pdf

Welcome 2012!

Happy New Year! We're back in full swing at CeDIR with not only a new month but a new year. As we look forward to this leap year, let's also take a look back at the new items CeDIR received last month. Check out the What's New page at: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/index.php?pageId=2317