OHSU UCEDD Community Partners Council (CPC)

11/07/2025

New! Check out this free online course to prepare your family for an emergency:

Emergency Preparedness for Families Navigating Disability It is crucial for families and communities to think about the needs of people with disabilities in emergency planning and response. And families can and should do their own planning, thinking about the unique needs that each family member has...

11/06/2025

Parents! An upcoming training will help you show up for those big feelings. From Struggle to Support and Connection -

10/31/2025

Happy Halloween!
from Jan Staehely, UCEDD Staff, Communication Consultant and Blogger:

When October comes around, I usually revel in the cooler weather. I love being able to dress in warm sweaters, Smartwool socks, and to snuggle under the pillow-like weight of my comforter at night without waking up feeling like I’m minutes away from combusting if I don’t throw off my covers. However, I have noticed some spooky things have been happening around here that have been unsettling. I want to share them with you.

Starting in early October, the light above the garage door of my neighbor’s house across the street keeps strobing on and off. They clearly see the issue, but aren’t fixing it, or it’s for the spooky Halloween season. It annoys us all! Especially if I see the flashing light strobing from the corner of my eye as I’m concentrating on my project at hand. The thought has popped into my head, “Hey! What if there is a kidnapped person in that house, and they are trying to signal for help, and we are ignoring it because we think it’s a Halloween scary set-up meant for spooking their neighbors and passersby.” I had this thought because I will flick on and off the outside house lights a dozen or so times to signal my DSPs when they are outside and I need their urgent help. These neighbors are meticulous about fixing things around their house, which makes me think it’s their Halloween decoration for this year.

What is my responsibility here? Do I report my silly suspicions, or do I wait until November first to see if the strobing light stops? What would you do?

Next, I’m in the living-dining room of my home and a light starts flickering. It's daylight. I’m certain the obnoxious light was in the house. I imagine I looked like a mad woman swirling around trying to find the offender, because my housemate started to laugh at me. I found the light in the living room and dashed to turn it off with triumphant relief. What in the freak is happening with the lights around here, I wondered.

A day or so later, while I’m sitting on the toilet, the light above the sink starts flickering in a pattern of blinks, I swear it did! I yelped. When the DSP came to assist me, she questioned me about why I yelled. Just as I finished telling her what I experienced, the light graciously demonstrated what I said had happened. She rushed over and switched off the overhead light with huge eyes!

The flickering lights in my home were easily explained. Our maintenance guy thinks that when the inspector looked at the crawl space above the ceiling they inadvertently loosened some wiring. Isn’t it funny how a season known for spooks can play with one’s mind!

Read more of Jan’s writing at https://jstaehely.wordpress.com/

Photo by Mike Ralph - pexels.com

10/31/2025

Use this guide to help you find resources and understand how getting help could affect your SSI benefits.

10/28/2025

is important for making decisions about your health, care, and lifestyle. Learn how you can advocate for yourself and others:

10/24/2025

The recorded webinar "Sexuality Education for Users" is now available on-demand! https://www.ohsu.edu/university-center-excellence-development-disability/past-events -2250801

In this webinar, special education teachers who work with high school and transition aged youth learn about how to offer s*x ed to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users directly from AAC users themselves.



Image from UK Human Development Institute

[ID: Young adult in green jacket talks with student in blue shirt using AAC device and smiles.

10/21/2025

Do you ever wonder why your child melts down, shuts down, or pushes back? The recorded webinar "Why did my child do that?! Understanding behavior one step at a time for families of children with developmental differences" is now available to watch on-demand: https://www.ohsu.edu/university-center-excellence-development-disability/collaborative-caregiving-community

A series of meetings created to provide parents and caregivers of children with disabilities the opportunity to learn about rotating topics of interest.

10/14/2025

The Oregon Office on Disability and Health has created a series of Resource Navigation Guides to provide information about resources that are available for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Check out all of the guides here: https://www.ohsu.edu/oregon-office-on-disability-and-health/navigating-resources

Explore our new Mental Health Care Resource Navigation Guide! This guide includes information and resources about when and where to get mental health care, anxiety and depression, finding a mental health professional, and more. You can find the guides on our Navigating Resources webpage! Share with your community! https://www.ohsu.edu/oregon-office-on-disability-and-health/navigating-resources

Image Description:

The top half of this infographic has a pale orange background, and the bottom half is white. The title is Primary Care in a dark blue text. There is a square image of the guide’s cover, a mouse cursor next to it and text that reads “You can find this guide on our Navigating Resources webpage!”. A dark orange line separates the two halves. Black text reads “This guide includes information and resources about:”, then dot points for “when and where to get mental health care, anxiety and depression, finding a mental health professional”. Oregon Office on Disability and Health within an Oregon state border and OHSU flame logo at the bottom of the page.

10/12/2025

Wondering how to request a reasonable accommodation at work? Check out this resource form Disability Rights Oregon: https://www.droregon.org/disability-rights-oregon-resources/how-to-request-a-reasonable-accommodation-at-work

If you have a and are qualified to do a job, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to make reasonable accommodations so that you can do your work.

Publication date: 2022 Purpose of this Publication The purpose of this publication is to provide a guide on How to Request a Reasonable Accommodation at Work. This publication is not a substitute for legal advice. Federal and state law can change at any time. Contact Disability Rights Oreg