Last month, investigators from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), partnering with researchers from the University of New Mexico, published an article in the American Journal of Public Health entitled "Prevalence and Causes of Paralysis—United States, 2013." The article estimated and characterized the number of people living with paralysis in the United States.

September is National Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Awareness Month. The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), one of ACL’s newest divisions, funds the NIDILRR’s Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems (SCIMS) Program. The SCIMS program was established in 1970s, and conducts research on recovery and service delivery outcomes individuals with SCI.

The original Rehabilitation Act became law just before the First World War and little change was made to it over the next five decades. In contrast, the landmark legislation that passed in 1973 altered the course of history in fundamental ways. When the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 became law, I was just starting my freshman year in high school. My parents and I worked hard for years to win the right, or at least the chance, for me to attend the same school and classes as every other kid in my town.

Last month, ACL hosted a staff professional development workshop to learn about an example of a long-term services and supports system embracing person-centered thinking, planning, and practices.  The District of Columbia's No Wrong Door system has incorporated the approach throughout all aspects of home and community-based services for older adults and people with disabilities, including independent living and behavioral health services.

ACL’s Administration on Aging announced the release of $1,050,000 to the nationally-recognized senior advocacy organization Justice in Aging to create a new National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER). The NCLER will support ACL’s ongoing efforts to protect the rights, financial security, and independence of older adults.

ACL is excited to announce the first-ever grant to establish a National Resource Center for Self-Advocacy (NRCSA) to empower people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for enhancing their voice on issues important to their well-being and daily life. Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE) will lead the effort in partnership with several organizations.

Each year in September we pause to honor our nation’s senior centers. The 2016 National Senior Center Month theme, Find Balance at Your Center!, highlights how senior centers are providing programs that focus on the whole person allowing seniors to live healthier lives and stay involved in their communities.

ACL recently awarded grants to eight states to support lifespan respite care programs with the goal of improving the delivery and quality of respite services available to families across the age and disability spectrum. Maryland and Mississippi were awarded new state grants totaling $400,000 for three-year projects. The funding will be used to plan, establish, and expand lifespan respite care systems that provide new and planned emergency respite services, train and recruit respite workers and volunteers, and assist caregivers with accessing needed services.

September 11 is National Grandparents Day. Since 1978, the first Sunday after Labor Day has been designated as a day to pay tribute to our nation’s grandparents. Grandparents are our important connections to the past and they help to lay the groundwork for our futures.

UCEDD Fall 2016 Diversity Grants AIDD awarded FY2016 National Training Initiative funding totaling over $1 Million to 22 UCEDDs. The grants seek to build cultural competence capacity within and increase the diversity of leadership, staff, and governing bodies across the DD network. They also seek to increase the number of people from underrepresented communities who benefit from AIDD-supported programs and to improve the recruitment and employment of people from underrepresented communities within the UCEDD network.