By Mary Kay Rizzolo, CQL President and CEO
During March every year, people with disabilities, families, loved ones, professionals, organizations, and other groups recognize Developmental Disabilities (DD) Awareness Month. This month is dedicated to the lives of people with developmental disabilities. It’s a time to highlight achievements, honor progress, showcase contributions, and address ongoing challenges. Starting as a presidential proclamation in 1987, DD Awareness Month now provides an annual opportunity for intentional reflection, celebration, and transformation.
To assist the field in raising awareness, improving services, and empowering lives, we’re sharing just a sampling of resources from CQL’s expansive resource library. These include various guides, articles, research, webinars, and more. We hope they will help strengthen your efforts during Developmental Disabilities (DD) Awareness Month.
Ensuring Dignity And Respect
- Ableism and Prejudice Research
Access numerous research articles to find out how ableism and prejudice impacts the daily lives of people with disabilities. - Dignity and Respect – Things That Make You Go … Huh?
Our staff members share ten subtle signs of disrespect that are regularly observed during CQL service activities. - Dignity of Risk
This brief video covers the importance of Dignity of Risk, describing the benefits and value that risk provides to people. - CQL Observations About Respect
Hear everyday examples of subtle behaviors, interactions, and communications that impact the respect of people receiving services. - Presuming Competence
Learn about the concept of Presuming Competence, which means believing people are capable and that they do understand, in this animated video.
Protecting And Promoting Rights
- Using The Three E’s To Impact Rights
Learn about how the “Three E’s” can be used to support people with disabilities in exercising their rights. - Rights Restrictions & Modifications
A short, animated video about how the HCBS Settings Rule applies to rights and rights restrictions in people’s lives. - The ‘Right’ To An Effective Human Rights Committee
This webinar provides insight into creating a Human Rights Committee and ensuring that it protects and promotes people’s rights. - Accruing Resources And Guidance To Support Financial Literacy
Understand the impact of accessing one’s own money and receive resources to support financial literacy. - Supported Decision-Making In Action
Learn more about Supported Decision-Making (SDM) from a recognized expert and hear from people putting SDM into action.
Supporting Advocacy Efforts
- Guide: Your Right To A Community Life
This guide prepares you for advocacy with information about the HCBS Settings Rule and tools for sharing your experience receiving services. - Inclusive Practices To Spark Change At Your Organization
Read about strategies to promote inclusion and participation among people supported in all aspects of organizational life. - Your Services Should Be All About You
This video talks about what services should do for people with disabilities and some of the ways people can figure out what types of services they want. - Tips For Speakers Guide
A guide designed for self-advocates and allies to assist in making effective presentations to a wide range of audiences. - Mad Pride: Reducing Shame, Stigma, and Sanism
Learn about mad pride, why it’s important, and how to celebrate yourself and those you support. - Creating Inclusive Boards And Committees
Ensure that people receiving services are not only on boards and committees, but are also active members.
Facilitating Community Engagement
- Find Your Community
This Capstone article explores best practices for supporting people to engage in the communities of their choosing. - Moving From Community Participation to Inclusion and Integration
Learn about building community through tips, tricks, data, and direct experience from a CQL Accredited organization. - Flourish With Valued Social Roles
Find out what valued social roles are, why they matter, how they relate to quality, and — most importantly — how to empower those roles to flourish in practice. - Increasing the Social Capital of People with Disabilities
CQL shares different ways that organizations can facilitate the social capital of the people they support. - Using The Three E’s To Find Your Community
This one-page infographic highlights how you can use CQL’s ‘The Three E’s’ to help people find their community.
Implementing Person-Centered Practices
- Recognizing and Remedying Common Forms of Over-Support
CQL staff share what they’ve observed about over-support in human services, as well as what best practices should be implemented instead. - Choosing Goals Is Extremely Beneficial, So Why Aren’t People Allowed to Choose?
The aim of this study was to examine the impact of people with IDD choosing their personal goals on their quality of life. - Person-Centered Planning & The Personal Outcome Measures®
Find out how the Personal Outcome Measures® can assist in the development of a person-centered plan. - Provider Quality Improves the Personal Outcomes of People with IDD
We explore how the quality of human service providers impacts the quality of life of the people they support. - Beyond Compliance: Embracing The Values of the HCBS Settings Rule
This webinar shares how you can move beyond mere compliance with the HCBS Settings Rule and put its values into practice.
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About CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership
Since 1969, CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership has been a leader in working with human service organizations and systems to continuously define, measure, and improve quality of life and quality of services for youth, adults, and older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and psychiatric disabilities. CQL offers accreditation, training, certification, research, and consultation services to agencies that share our vision of dignity, opportunity, and community for all people.
Resources To Raise Awareness About Developmental Disabilities!