Don’t miss “The Way Forward: Living Well During Covid” featuring a panel of national experts.
These experts in COVID-19 and IDD will give a much needed perspective on how to navigate the days and months ahead.
AADMD Urges CDC to prioritize people with IDD for Covid-19 Vaccines
On February 22, 2021 AADMD led the effort, along with 17 additional organizations, to encourage the CDC to prioritize people with IDD for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Currently, there is significant variability in how individuals with IDD are prioritized in vaccine allocation frameworks. We ask that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide a centralized framework for vaccine allocation with clear guidelines regarding risk that includes adults with IDD. - Letter to the CDC, NCBDDD & NCIRD from AADMD & Partners
Although we have yet to get an official response from the CDC, news outlets, such as Disability Scoop have covered the effort. We hope this advocacy effort will continue to pick up steam. Continue to check back for updates.
You can read our full letter here.
Thank you to our invaluable partners in this effort: Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group - USA, National Task Group, ACCSES, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, ANCOR American Network of Community Options and Resources, AAIDD, Autism Society of America, UC UCEDD, National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, Natl Asscn of County BH and DD Directors (NACBHDD), National Down Syndrome Congress, National Down Syndrome Society, The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities, The Sibling Leadership Network, American Academy for Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM), The Arc of the United States
Special thanks to our Policy Committee: Dr. Emily Johnson, Dr. Allen Wong, David Ervin, Dr. David Fray, Dr. Vincent Siasoco, Dr. Rick Rader, Dr. Seth Keller & Dr. Benjamin Margolis.
AADMD Launches "Our Covid-19 Stories" Website
A new website to share your story.
As part of our Covid-19 response, AADMD has joined forces with Positive Exposure, NADSP, NDSS, Child Neurology Foundation, NTG and Reena to document the stories of people with IDD, their healthcare providers and caregivers during the pandemic. This is a unique moment in time because we won’t know the lasting effects, if there are some, and how life will look post-pandemic. We're documenting our experiences for a healthy future.
We encourage your organization to join us as a partner - visit our website to find out how.
Join our Virtual Launch Party!
Wednesday, November 18th @ 6pm Eastern
Made Possible By
President Trump Appoints AADMD’s Dr. Rick Rader to National Council on Disability
In a White House press release on September 15th, President Trump announced his intent to nominate and appoint individuals to key administration posts — including AADMD’s very own External Affairs Ambassador Rick Rader, MD.
Big Win for Advocacy Efforts!
ADVOCACY UPDATE - Advocacy leads to action!
We raised our voices and helped make a change! Thanks to advocacy efforts by the AADMD and beyond, hospitals and state agencies must now modify “no visitor” policies to accommodate patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In an update on June 9th, the Center for Public Representation released a statement:
Today, in response to a complaint filed by CPR and partners challenging discriminatory hospital “no-visitor” policies, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services announced a resolution making clear that federal law requires hospitals and the state agencies overseeing them to modify policies to ensure patients with disabilities can safely access the in-person supports needed to benefit from medical care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read their full statement here.
In April, the AADMD released a policy statement addressing the potential detrimental outcomes of blanket “no visitor” policies for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We started a petition to gain public support for changing those policies. To date, the petition nears 47,000 signatures and is supported by 57 organizations. Over the past weeks, we’ve reported states and hospital systems amending their policies, considering them “small victories”.
We’re calling this one a huge victory - a federal response and clear statement that hospitals must ensure patients with disabilities have access to the caregivers and direct support professionals they need.
We encourage you to celebrate with us and consider this a step forward in addressing healthcare disparities for people with disabilities. While it can’t protect our vulnerable population from COVID-19, this resolution removes one obstacle to getting them the best possible treatment.
This resolution also sets a precedent. We hope that when the next global health crises or pandemic strikes - whenever that may be - it will be met with a more equitable healthcare approach for all.
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Why do we advocate?
To change policy and systems of care, it takes persistence, passion — and it takes time.
Recently our friends at Rush University Medical Center and Georgetown University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities produced a documentary None of Us Want to Stand Still that reveals the reality of how poorly people with IDD are treated in the healthcare system - and what one university is doing to change that. Watch this video in our Advocacy section or click the link below.