- Insurance Resource Center for Autism & Behavioral Health
- Child and Adolescent NeuroDevelopment Initiative (CANDI)
- Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (CANDO)
- Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Program
- Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research (CDDER)
- Health Surveillance for Adults with Intellectual Disability
- Oral Health Disparities
- MA DDS Prevention Conference
- Preventive Health Screenings for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities
- Mortality Review
- Quality Assurance Reports
- Webinars
- Pica
- Constipation and Bowel Obstructions
- Substance Abuse in the Workplace
- Dysphagia, Aspiration, and Choking
- Oral Health Practices
- DDS Safe Transportation of People in Wheelchairs
- Falls Prevention and Intervention Strategies
- Human Rights Training for Self-Advocates
- Human Rights: What Families Need to Know
- Identifying, Healing, and Preventing Pressure Ulcers
- MAP Training Resources
- Adjunct RIA Training Materials
- Clozapine Therapy Training
- DDS MAP Training Resources
- DMH/DCF MAP Training Resources
- Instructions for Virtual Certification Testing
- MAP Curriculum and Adjunct Training Materials
- MedSoft© Version 7.0
- Responsibilities in Action Curriculum and Training Materials
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Fall 2017
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Fall 2019
- Semiannual MAP Trainer Webinar Spring 2018
- Spring 2020 MAP Trainer Webinar
- TestMaster Universe
- Warfarin Sodium Therapy Training
- Mandated Reporting of Abuse and Mistreatment
- Recognizing and Reporting Financial Abuse
- Widening the Circle: Expanding Opportunities for Friendship
- Risk Management in Developmental Disabilities
- Understanding and recognizing dementia in IDD
- Aging with Intellectual and Developmental Disability Trainings
- Adapting to Age-Related Changes in the Home, Day Program, and Community
- Aging and Disability Resource Consortia
- General Aging
- Dementia and IDD
- Launching a Memory Café
- Life Sustaining Treatment Policy
- Guardianship and Aging in Intellectual Disabilities Part I
- Guardianship and Aging in Intellectual Disabilities Case Studies Part II
- Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)
- End of Life Definitions
- Five Wishes
- Fostering Social Inclusion and Community Engagement
- Presentations & Publications
- Our Team
- Division of Neuroinformatics
- Healthy People/Healthy Communities
- INDEX
- Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND)
- Neurobehavioral Science and Neurogenetics
- Pathways to Inclusive Health Care Program
- Sibling Support
- Laboratory for Equity in Autism Dissemination (LEAD) Lab
The Book Club
Larry Tummino, DDS
The Book Club
At a recent conference on Shared Living there was a panel consisting of caregivers, agency staff and individuals being supported who shared their stories about how people came to live together and what life has been like for all involved. Much was shared about how the matching process worked and how transitions were done to help people settle in together. I asked a question about people getting to become more involved in the community through the connections of caregivers.
A woman named Joan raised her hand and shared the following: I am involved in a book club that meets regularly at the library. My daughter who also lives with me will stay home with Mary so I can attend. Mary is in her seventies and is deaf and blind. One day my daughter wasn’t able to do that for me. I asked Mary (using hand signing) if she would like to go to book club with me. Mary quickly asked, “do they have anything to eat?” I said, “we always have cookies and coffee” to which she quickly replied, “I want to go.” So off we went. Mary sat next to me and munched away but also occasionally signed with me to find out what people saying about the book.
When we got home my daughter was back and Mary could not wait to tell her about book club. She said (hand signed) there was a story about a woman who had left home at a young age and did not return until her father was dying. She went on to say it was just like her – – she left home and went to a school (Fernald) and did not see her father until he was almost dead. Now Mary goes to book club with Joan all of the time.
And the other people in the group are asking how hand signing works.