fall 2009
The new DVD
release of Dan
Habib’s awardwinning film
Including Samuel
features all new
extras, including
extended
interviews, a
discussion on
inclusion by subjects in the
film, the New Hampshire Public
Television Outlook Special The
Impact of Including Samuel, 17
language translations, and more!
Including Samuel is available for
educational, instructional, and
institutional use for $180. A DVD
is also available for personal use
only for the new, low price of $25.
Both can be found online at
www.iodbookstore.com.
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The IOD produces a variety of
publications, including Vision &
Voice, which communicate the ways
we are connected to individuals and
activities in New Hampshire and
across the country. If you would
like to be added to our mailing
list, e-mail contact.iod@unh.edu
or call 603.862.4320.
What’s Inside
New Project to Serve Transitioning Youth. . . . . .2
Mental Health in Schools Conference. . . . . . . 2
Did You Know?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
IOD Welcomes Two New Staff Members . . . . . 4
Transportation in NH to Undergo Analysis. . . . . 4
Jan, internationally known for her work in
the disability field, was one of three finalists
for the position. As associate professor of
education and founding director of the IOD, she
received the UNH Alumni Association’s most
prestigious award, the Pettee Medal, in 2007,
for extraordinary achievement and distinguished
service to the state, the nation, and the world in
2007. She also has received the UNH Excellence
in Research, and Excellence in Public Service
awards. Jan founded the Institute on Disability
in 1987 and has successfully competed for more
than $100 million in federal and state funding.
She will be leaving her position as director to
assume this new position.
“Dr. Nisbet has demonstrated creativity and
leadership in a number of arenas,” said Provost
Aber. “The institute she leads addresses some
of the most difficult questions that we face
in advancing the quality of life for those in
challenging circumstances. In leading her team,
she has worked effectively with agencies at the
state and federal level, and has demonstrated the
ability to judge her own success by the success
of those who work with her. She understands
opportunities for support, as well as the
regulatory hurdles that need to be addressed.
She will be able to help all of our faculty
achieve their goals in scholarship and research.”
world where all people,
including those living
with disabilities, are
fully engaged members
of their communities
and where support
is available to help
individuals and families
achieve independence,
productivity and a
satisfying quality of
life.
“I am so pleased to be offered this important
position,” said Jan. “I decided to apply for
the position after serving as co-chair of the
President’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Research
with [Physics Professor and Institute for the
Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space Director]
Amitava Bhattacharjee. The entire process was
a wonderful learning experience and inspired
me to want to, as Mahatma Gandhi said, ‘be the
change you wish to see in the world.’ UNH is a
place filled with brilliant and tenacious scholars
working in departments, centers, institutes, and
field-stations trying to advance knowledge;
and many are working to address some of the
most difficult and pressing issues facing our
communities across the world. I look forward
to supporting these aspirations and helping to
resource them.”
For more information on Jan’s new role at
UNH, visit www.iod.unh.edu.
Under Jan’s guidance, the IOD set as its vision a
Including Samuel Airs on Public TV Nationally
Dan Habib’s award-winning documentary
film Including Samuel, about his family’s
commitment to including Samuel in every
aspect of life, will be broadcast this fall on
public television stations nationwide.
Many stations broadcast Including Samuel
during the month of October, which was
Disability Awareness Month. The program
has already aired in New York City, Houston,
Boston, and Los Angeles, and is scheduled to
air in Chicago in early November. National
broadcast of
Including
Samuel is
supported by
the National
Inclusion
Project and CVS
Caremark All
Kids Can.
I NSTITUTE ON D ISABILITY / UCED
10 WEST E DGE D RIVE
S UITE 101
D URHAM NH 03824
Including Samuel
by Dan Habib
University of New Hampshire Provost and Vice
President for Academic Affairs John Aber has
named IOD Director Jan Nisbet as UNH’s senior
vice provost for research.
800315
Bookstore Spotlight
Nisbet Named UNH Senior Vice Provost for Research
Shot and
produced over
four years with
support from
the IOD, Habib’s 58-minute film documents
his family’s hopes and struggles as well as
the experiences of four other individuals
with disabilities and their families. Including
Samuel is a highly personal, passionate film that
captures the cultural and systemic barriers to
inclusion.
Since Including Samuel was released on DVD
in 2008, Habib and the IOD have shared the film
with communities, universities, conferences,
film festivals and independent theaters
nationally and internationally. The film has
also been featured on NPR, in the Washington
Post, and in the Boston Globe. Good Morning
America called it “a very, very riveting film.”
For a complete listing of local television
broadcast dates and times, go to
www.includingsamuel.com/television.
Two free screening toolkits, intended for use
by young people and adults who would like to
host broadcast viewing parties, are available
for download at www.includingsamuel.com.
Mental Health in
Schools Conference
New Project to Serve Transitioning Youth with ASD
The IOD, in collaboration with the
Endowment for Health, the NH
Department of Education, the National
Alliance on Mental Illness NH, and the
Graduate Program in Community Mental
Health at Southern NH University,
presented “Mental Health in Schools:
Supporting Students with Emotinal
and Behavioral Disorders” in October.
This conference was an opportunity
for educators, mental health providers,
family members, policy makers,
community based organizations, and
researchers to come together to begin
to talk about the very real issue of how
to support children and youth with
emotional and behavioral disorders in
schools and communities.
Following SPECS training, a planning facilitator
will assist students and their families to form
a group of supportive individuals—including
school and adult services representatives—who
will conduct meetings to develop a personalized
plan for meaningful community participation
following high school. These plans include
employment and/or post-secondary educational
elements. Once plans are in place, the facilitator
In response to the need for better supports
will initiate an eight-month process of career
and increased family participation during
exploration with students, their families, and
the transition process, the UNH Institute on
participating schools. This phase includes
Disability and the Center
activities such as job
for Community Inclusion
shadowing, volunteer work
“Young adults need lots of experiences, and college
and Disability Studies at
opportunities to try things out visits.
the University of Maine
and explore their interests,
are conducting a two-year
“Young adults need lots
project on family-centered
as well as opportunities to sit of opportunities to try
transition planning for youth down with people who care
things out and explore
with ASD. Forty youth
about them and begin to their interests, as well as
between the ages of 16 and
opportunities to sit down
18 from high schools in New shape a vision for the future.”
with people who care about
Hampshire and Maine and
them and begin to shape a
their parents will participate.
vision for the future,” said David Hagner, Ph.D.,
Project participants will work through three
the project’s principal investigator. “We hope
project components designed to empower
to show that this kind of approach to transition
leading roles in the transition planning process.
produces better outcomes than the traditional
The first component involves a series of six
focus on assessment and placement.”
training sessions called SPECS (Specific
For more information on the FamilyPlanning Encourages Creative Solutions)
Centered Transition Planning project and
for family members. These evening group
how to get involved, visit www.iod.unh.edu.
sessions will inform families about post-school
options for their children and teach strategies
for negotiating, advocating, and building
Keynote speaker Stephen A. Norton from
the NH Center for Public Policy Studies
presented the findings of the “Mental
Health Services in NH’s Schools”
report and its implications for the state.
Workgroup facilitators from the NH
Children’s Mental Health Community of
Practice helped participants to reflect and
encouraged continued dialogue.
For more information on the
Children’s Mental Health Community
of Practice and how to get involved,
contact Deb Grabill at
debra.grabill@valley.net.
2
Did You Know?
The coordination of mental and
physical health care is sorely lacking
in New Hampshire. Based on recent
research completed by an IOD-led
collaborative, evidence continues
to build around the growing risks to
effective care for those living with
mental illness. While community
mental health centers face potential
cuts to services, emergency facilities
are seeing increasing hospitalization
rates for mental illness and substance
use disorders. At the same time, most
physical care doctors report a lack of
expertise in a range of mental health
areas, leaving the health care system
woefully unprepared to meet the
complex health care needs of those
living with mental illness.
– Findings drawn from the IOD’s
new research brief: New Hampshire’s
Prescription for Mental Health Care
For more information and to
download the full report, visit
www.iod.unh.edu/pmhs.html.
Feedback
Have a comment, suggestion, or
story idea? We value your input.
E-mail contact.iod@unh.edu or
call 603.862.4320 to let us know
how we’re doing and how we can
better serve you.
Share the IOD with a friend:
Please let friends or colleagues
know about us. Pass us along!
Young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders
(ASD) frequently transition from high school
to adult life lacking the skills and supports
needed to participate as full members of their
communities. The result is social isolation
and dependency on families or disability
support services. The increased frequency of
ASD diagnoses has only made this issue more
difficult for families and service organizations to
handle.
partnerships with service providers.
Highlighting IOD Donors
Building Leadership Capacity in Manchester
and Amherst
A generous grant of $7,500 from the Norwin
S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation is
helping to fund expanded participation in the
New Hampshire Leadership Series among
Manchester and Amherst residents and support
for program alumni in the area. The Leadership
Series provides leadership and advocacy training
for individuals with disabilities and their family
members, building a corps of active community
residents working to enhance the quality of life
for all residents.
This is the first grant to the IOD from the
Norwin S. and Elizabeth N. Bean Foundation.
A New Documentary Film on the Inclusion
of Kids with Kids with Emotional and
Behavioral Challenges
Award-winning IOD Filmmaker in Residence
Dan Habib is producing a new film on inclusion,
this time focusing on the unique challenges
and successes related to including kids with
emotional and behavioral challenges in the
classroom and the community. This film will
expand the national dialogue on inclusion
ignited by Including Samuel since its release in
October 2007.
Support for the new film is provided in part by
the New Hampshire Department of Education
and two grants from the New Hampshire
Charitable Foundation: a $25,000 Community
Impact Grant and a $25,000 grant from a donoradvised fund of the Foundation.
Underwriting National Broadcast of
Including Samuel
Thanks to a nationwide campaign to air the
film on local PBS stations, viewers across the
country have a chance to see the powerful
documentary film Including
Samuel this fall thanks to
a nationwide campaign to
air the film on local PBS
stations. To check for
current listings, visit
includingsamuel.com/SeeTheFilm/Broadcasts.
This campaign is being made possible in part
by two generous underwriters. CVS Caremark
All Kids Can has provided $25,000 in
corporate underwriting funds, and the National
Inclusion Project, a program of the BubelAiken Foundation, has provided $30,000 in
sponsorship funding.
To learn more about making a tax-deductible
gift to the IOD, please contact:
Mary Schuh, Ph.D. – Associate Director of
Development and Consumer Affairs
Institute on Disability / UCED
56 Old Suncook Road, Suite 2
Concord, NH 03301
603.228.2084 | mary.schuh@unh.edu
or visit www.iod.unh.edu for easy and secure
online donation.
Person-Centered Planning for Older
Adults: Facilitation Skills Training in
Consumer-Directed Life Planning
This workshop offers an introduction to
person-centered planning, including an
overview of a person-centered system
of care, information on how to facilitate
planning meetings, and tools to use in
the planning process. Additional dates
and locations available in spring 2010.
Dates & Locations:
November 5, 2009 – Courtyard Marriott,
Lebanon, NH
November 20, 2009 – Lake Opechee
Inn and Spa, Lakeport, NH
Time: 9am–4pm
Cost: $25
Presenters: Susan Fox, M.Ed., MA, and
Patty Cotton, M.Ed.
Save the Date
*
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er 4,
2009 * Lake O
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hee
3
In
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Voices of Friendship: How Schools Can
Help or Hinder the Development of
Social Relationships
This workshop will help participants
learn to identify the barriers to friendship
that exist in many schools and classes,
and will present a wide variety of
strategies that schools and families can
use to facilitate the development of
friendships.
Date & Location: November 10, 2009 –
Audubon Society, Concord, NH
Fundamentals of Inclusive Education
Four workshops on the evidence and
practice of including students with
disabilities in the general education
classroom. Additional dates in spring
2010.
Dates & Topics:
November 20, 2009 – Is it REALLY
Inclusion? Core Beliefs and Best Practices
in Inclusive Education
Cost: $99
December 10, 2009 – Promoting
Membership, Participation, and Learning
for Students with Significant Disabilities in
the General Education Classroom
Cost: $135 (includes a copy of the
book “The Beyond Access Model”)
Time: 9am – 3pm
Location: Holiday Inn, Concord, NH
Presenter: Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Ph.D.
dS
an
The Paraeducator’s Toolbox: Practical
Strategies to Support Academic
Achievement for Students with Learning
and Behavioral Challenges
These workshops will provide
participants with effective and
proactive approaches that promote
successful academic outcomes, social
competency, and management of
behavioral challenges. Each workshop
has been specifically designed to
address the complex social, emotional,
and learning needs of students.
Additional dates and locations available
in spring 2010.
Dates:
Preschool & Elementary School –
Monday, November 9, 2009
Middle School & High School – Monday,
November 16, 2009
Time: 9am–3pm
Location: Harbor Homes (The Institute at
Welcoming Light), Nashua, NH
Cost: $95
Presenter: Cathy Apfel, M.Ed.
Time: 9am – 3pm
Cost: $90
Presenter: Carol Tashie
n
2009 Real Choice Conference
This one-day conference will address
public policy and best practices for
ensuring the future of a quality direct
support workforce in home and
community based services. The keynote
presentation on “Valuing Care Work:
Priorities for Public Policy” given by
Nancy Folbre, Ph.D., will be enhanced
by eight breakout sessions on recruiting,
training, and retaining direct support
workers.
Date & Location: October 27, 2009 –
Center of NH Radisson, Manchester, NH
Time: 8am – 3:15pm
Cost: $75 for professionals; $25 for
consumers and family members
Keynote Presenter: Nancy Folbre, Ph.D.,
University of Massachusetts
Guest Speaker: Lori Sedlezky, MSW,
University of Minnesota
*Social work CEUs have been
requested; call 603.228.2084 for more
information.
vers Confer
regi
en
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ce
C
Assistive and Universal Design
Technologies
This six-part professional development
series focuses on the development and
implementation of quick and costeffective assistive technology solutions
and embraces universally-designed
technology to support all students.
Additional dates in 2010.
Dates:
October 22, 2009 – Universal Design
Software to Achieve Educational
Success (Session 1)
Cost: $75
Presenter: Neil MacGregor
November 9, 2009 – Technology Tools
for Student Access and Success (Session
2)
Cost: $75
Presenter: Dan Herlihy
Time: 9am – 3pm
Location: Holiday Inn, Concord, NH
*RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering and
Assistive Technology Society of North
America) CEUs are available for an
additional $16 per session if requested.
gth, Hope and Nobility
Stren
Dates: November 18-21, 2009
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
“You’re Gonna Love This Kid: Educating
Students with Autism in General
Education Classrooms” and “Joyful
Learning: Creating Active and
Differentiated Instruction in Inclusive
Classrooms”
Dates: April 12-13, 2010
Presenter: Paula Kluth
For more information and to register, visit www.iod.unh.edu or call 603.228.2084
IOD Leadership
Linda Bimbo, MS – Interim Director
Mary C. Schuh, Ph.D. – Associate Director of
Development and Consumer Affairs
Cheryl M. Jorgensen, Ph.D. – Research Assistant
Professor
Matthew Gianino, BA – Manager of Marketing
and Communications
Susan Fox, M.Ed., MA – Clinical Assistant Professor
Amy Schwartz, MPH – Project Manager
Andrew Houtenville, Ph.D. – Research Director
Executive Committee
Gordon Allen – Executive Director
New Hampshire Developmental
Disabilities Council
www.nhddc.org
Matthew Ertas – Bureau Chief
Bureau of Developmental Services
New Hampshire Department of Health
and Human Services
www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/BDS
Barbara Arrington – Dean
College of Health and Human Services
University of New Hampshire
www.shhs.unh.edu
Santina Thibedeau – State Director of
Special Education
New Hampshire Department of Education
www.ed.state.nh.us
Richard Cohen, JD – Executive Director
Disabilities Rights Center
www.drcnh.org
UCED Partners
Tom Bunnell, JD – Director
Michelle Winchester, JD – Health Policy Analyst
Institute for Health, Law and Ethics
Franklin Pierce Law Center
www.fplc.edu
4
John Moeschler, MD – Program Director
Dartmouth Center for Genetics and Child
Development
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
www.dhmc.org
Consumer Advisory Council
IOD Welcomes Two New Staff Members
The UNH Institute on Disability is pleased to
announce the addition of two new staff members.
will allow her to expand collaboration within the
College of Health and Human Services.”
Tobey Partch-Davies returned to the IOD in July
as a Project Director, and Andrew J. Houtenville,
Ph.D., joined the Institute as Research Director in
August.
Andrew J. Houtenville, Ph.D., brings his
knowledge and ability to the IOD into the newlycreated Research Director position. Andrew is
extensively involved in disability statistics and
employment policy research. He is a co-Principal
Investigator of the Hunter College Rehabilitation
Research and Training Center on Disability
Demographics and Statistics (StatsRRTC), and
he has published widely in the areas of disability
statistics and the economic status of people with
disabilities.
Tobey Partch-Davies rejoins the IOD after
serving for six years as founding director of the
Center for Community Economic Development
and Disability at Southern New Hampshire
University. While there, she served as Principal
Investigator (PI) for several grants through the
National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation
and Research and the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services. She is the project director for
the experimentally-designed REAL Opportunity
Study in partnership with the Burton Blatt
Institute of Syracuse University, and the New
Hampshire Medicaid Buy-In Utilization project
in partnership with Mathematica Policy Research.
Tobey has completed all coursework for her Ph.D.
in Community Economic Development and Policy
from Southern New Hampshire University. She
will be working jointly with the IOD and the
Carsey Institute at UNH.
“We are excited to welcome Tobey back to our
staff,” said IOD Interim Director Linda Bimbo.
“Tobey served as a valuable partner while at
Southern New Hampshire University, and having
her return to the IOD will not only allow her to
focus more closely on her areas of interest, but it
Andrew also serves as Associate Professor of
Economics with UNH’s Whittemore School of
Business and Economics. Andrew received his
Ph.D. in Economics from the University of New
Hampshire in 1997 and was a National Institute
on Aging Post-Doctoral Fellow at Syracuse
University in 1998-1999. He was also a Senior
Research Associate at Cornell University and New
Editions Consulting in McLean, Virginia.
“Andrew’s skill set is a perfect match for the
direction that the IOD is going strategically,” said
Linda Bimbo. “We have already seen increased
enthusiasm about Andrew’s role and work within
the IOD, within the College of Health and Human
Services, and between CHHS and the Whittemore
School.”
For more information on IOD staff, visit
www.iod.unh.edu.
Transportation in NH to Undergo Analysis
Kathy Bates – Somersworth, NH
Regina Bringolf – Hancock, NH
Stacey Brooks – Madbury, NH
Robin Carlson – Rochester, NH
Joyce Chisholm – Concord, NH
Gina Colantuoni – Bow, NH
Bonnie Dunham – Concord, NH
Jocelyn Gallant – Salem, NH
Nathan Gams – Hampton, NH
Michelle Jarvis – Hampton Falls, NH
Dan Louney – Bedford, NH
Julie Smith – Durham, NH
Jim Tobin – Effingham, NH
Maureen Tracey – Merrimack, NH
Pat Vincent-Piet – Concord, NH
Kathryn Wallenstein – Concord, NH
Marian West – Concord, NH
As discussed in last quarter’s Vision & Voice
As part of its purpose, TSNH will build on
newsletter, significant issues exist in New
existing research and resources developed within
Hampshire’s transportation system. The current
and outside of New Hampshire (e.g., The NH
transportation funding structure does not provide
Climate Change Task Force Report, NHDOT
enough resources to meet necessary maintenance
Draft Long Range Transportation Plan, NHDOT
goals. The system’s heavy reliance on oil creates
Multimodal Plan, State Transit Coordination
sustainability problems for the environment
Plan, regional needs assessments from United
and puts a large strain on NH residents’ wallets.
Ways and regional planning commissions)
And, perhaps most importantly, there is a
to educate leaders around a common frame
general recognition that the existing modes of
of understanding of transportation needs and
transportation will not be
opportunities. TSNH will also
adequate in meeting the demands
work with ongoing and forming
“The time for action is
and needs of the state’s growing now...My hope is that the efforts in the state, including
and aging population. These
the State Coordination Council
TSNH
process
can
be
a
problems create challenges that
for Community Transportation
no one organization or sector can catalyst for a new vision and the Transportation Finance
and ways to get there.” Commission.
address alone.
Support the IOD!
In response to this need, the Institute on
Disability, in partnership with AARP and the
Endowment for Health, has initiated a new
project which will gather multiple organizations
around the issue of a sustainable transportation
system. Transportation Solutions New Hampshire
(TSNH) will unite leaders from the public,
private, and non-profit sectors as a collaborative
group to develop a comprehensive vision of a
future transportation system and the necessary
steps to implement it. The resulting cross-sector
coalition of businesses, service providers,
government, and advocates will analyze existing
issues, provide factual information resources,
and initiate policy changes toward a sustainable
transportation system.
As a community oriented nonprofit focused on ensuring that
equal opportunities and a
satisfying quality of life are
accessible to all persons, we
rely on the generosity of
supporters like you to help
further the mission of the IOD. If
you would like to contribute to
the IOD, tax-deductible
donations can be made:
Online
www.iod.unh.edu
Mail
56 Old Suncook Road, Suite 2
Concord, NH 03301
Phone
603.228.2084
An IOD staff member will assist
you with the process and
answer any questions you may
have about your contribution.
“The time for action is now,” said TSNH Project
Director Sönke Dornblut. “The pressures on our
society are multiplying and one of the leverage
points for change is the transportation system.
The current infrastructure and society’s goals
were developed with certain assumptions in mind,
but these assumptions no longer hold. We need
to have changing realities be reflected in the way
we fund and implement transportation of goods
and services here in New Hampshire. My hope is
that the TSNH process can be a catalyst for a new
vision and ways to get there.”
For more information on Transportation
Solutions New Hampshire, visit
www.iod.unh.edu.
IOD Satisfaction Survey
To guide us in our work, the IOD depends upon direct input from individuals connected
to our mission. We invite you to share your thoughts and ideas by participating in our
IOD Satisfaction Survey. The survey is available online at www.iod.unh.edu or
you may request a mailed copy by calling 603.862.4320.