Utah Disability Today

Whispers With Horses: Mixing Mindfulness

With Horse Handling

An innovative training opportunity walks participants through mindfulness sessions while working with horses.

“One great thing about practicing mindfulness concepts with a horse is, it forces you to practice it while doing something,” said Sarah Andersen of USU’s Equine Assisted Services. “So while sitting and being mindful is really good, sometimes, when we start doing something, we forget to stay checked in with ourselves. Horses don't allow us to forget.”

Find out more on our blog, and watch a video of the training in action!

"Baby Bug" Mobility Device Empowers Infants to Move

The Baby Bug, a two-motor power mobility chair for infants, was created by the seating and mobility department at Shriners Children’s Salt Lake City to help babies who are missing crucial developmental milestones because they are unable to crawl or walk independently. With the help of the Baby Bug, children are allowed to experience the cognitive, social, and developmental benefits that mobility provides during a child’s early development.

Find out more on the UATP blog. Plans for building the device are available on Instructables.

5 Tips Before You Apply

We asked our employment experts to give advice to people with disabilities who are searching for their first job. Here are their suggestions on how to prepare, before you or your client even starts an application. Read the blog and watch the video!

DDNJ Podcast: Reimagining Disability

“You can write about problems. You can talk about these issues,” said Paritosh Joshi, an emerging researcher at Teachers College, Columbia University and a guest in the latest DDNJ Author Insights Podcast. “[But] how do you implement them?"

Joshi and Julia Pappageorge, an interdisciplinary educator and researcher based in Chicago at Northwestern University, spoke on the research behind “Reimagining Disability, a Call to Action." Both speakers challenged institutions to stop thinking of disability as a thing to be fixed. Their article appeared in Volume 3, Issue 2 of the Developmental Disabilities Network Journal.

You can read more or hear the whole episode on our blog.

Utah Assistive Technology Program's 35th Anniversary Fair

Come for a day filled with free fun on Saturday, 24 August, 2024 from 10 am to 1 pm at the Logan UATP Lab, Janet Quinney Lawson Building. Activities include a wheelchair obstacle course (wheelchairs provided), art activities, assistive gaming, free treats, raffles for prizes, and more! Everyone is welcome! More details will be provided on the UATP website.

Listening Sessions For People In/Waiting for Services, Families & Professionals

The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI), along with the Utah State University Institute for Disability Research, Policy, & Practice (IDRPP) will be hosting two online listening sessions in August 2024 to hear from people in/waiting for services, their families, and professionals in the aging and disability service network. This is part of an ongoing research study into what is and isn’t going well in the service system. The feedback we receive will be used to help form a set of recommendations to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on how to improve.

Find out more on this flyer.

Sessions 

Attendees will be entered in a raffle to win a $100 gift card! 

• Monday, August 26^th from 2:00-3:30 pm MT: Aging and disability professionals (providers, case managers, Direct Support Professionals, etc.) 

• Thursday, August 29^th from 6:30-8:00 pm MT: Older adults and people with disabilities in/waiting for services and their loved ones 

Accessibility Experiences in Utah Public Health Departments Survey

Your perspective matters!

We are conducting a brief, 15-minute survey to gather firsthand experiences from individuals with disabilities about accessibility in Utah’s public health departments. Your insights will play a crucial role in our research study on how to improve health program accessibility in Utah.

Whether you’ve had positive experiences or faced challenges, we want to hear your stories. After completing the survey, participants have the option to sign up for a 1-2 hour focus group interview that pays $25 in the form of a digital gift card.

Click here to take the survey and make your voice heard

Thank you for contributing to this important initiative!

This study meets USU’s IRB protocol #14464.

Questions? Email Elle at Rebecca.Smith@usu.edu or Dr. Chen at Chen.Chen@usu.edu.

News from Around the IDRPP

Congratulations to TAESE, our Center for Technical Assistance for Excellence in Special Education, for supporting yet another successful Utah State Board of Education (USBE) 2024 Institute on Special Education Law!

2See how laughter benefits your life in this Fox News report featuring our executive director, Matthew Wappett.

And remember Disability Pride Month with the many individuals who shared their thoughts on our Instagram Page. Scroll until you see the Disability Pride 2024 sidebars!