College of Education > News > 2010 > June > Center for Disability Research and Service offers resources for region

Center for Disability Research and Service offers resources for region

June 2010  

In keeping with its mission of building a "better future for all,'' Auburn University's College of Education now offers additional resources to help Alabama citizens with significant disabilities realize their hopes and dreams.

The newly-created Auburn University Center for Disability Research and Service, an extension of the college's Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, Counseling/School Psychology housed in the Dawson Building, will focus on improving the lives of persons with significant disabilities by developing initiatives in autism and developmental disabilities, assistive technology, program evaluation and employment and community support.

"The center will become a nationally recognized research hub regarding autism and will conduct research on the most significant disabilities relative to gaining access to education, employment, housing, transportation, health care and leisure," Auburn president Jay Gogue said.

Dr. E. Davis Martin, department head and Department head and Wayne T. Smith distinguished professor, said the center's multifaceted nature will enable it to provide meaningful assistance to individuals with significant disabilities in living independently and realizing their goals.

"We're trying to develop a model that will allow us to better assist those with the most significant disabilities to work, live and play in the communities of their choice,'' Martin said.

Martin also said the center will strive to build a national reputation for advancement in each of the fields it serves, and will be interdisciplinary in nature with many of its research and service activities to include counseling, kinesiology, speech, psychology and human services. The new center's research relating to autism spectrum disorder will expand on the work previously conducted by the Auburn University Autism Center, a program of the College of Education. The Autism Center, which was been absorbed by the Center for Disability Research and Service, had been housed in the Dawson Building.  

The new center will also collaborate on projects with the Auburn Transition Leadership Institute , also within the College of Education, which helps young adults learn how to live independently and reach their professional and educational goals.  

The center's program evaluation unit will gather information from consumers and stakeholders and provide feedback to state agencies serving persons with disabilities.

"Such feedback is vital for shaping policy and future research in best practices,'' said Holly Brigman, the center's coordinator of program evaluation.

One of the center's current projects focuses on the development of assistive technologies, which aid persons with disabilities. The department recently began collaborating with students in the Department of Industrial Design to develop assistive technology, said Scott Renner, who coordinates assistive technology for the center.  

Industrial design and rehabilitation students are paired with a person with a disability and they work together to develop new product concepts. The design of these technologies aims to improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities.

The center will also host assistive technology classes in the spring and summer, as well as in-service training for professionals throughout the year.

In October, Auburn's Office of Professional and Continuing Education and the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services will sponsor the first Alabama Assistive Technology Expo and Conference, or ALATEC.

"(This) will provide an opportunity to see firsthand the latest in assistive technologies, practices and services for persons with disabilities that will increase the ability of such persons to access education, employment, housing, transportation, health care, leisure and recreation in the community of choice," Renner said.

ALATEC will also provide an opportunity for vendors, persons with disabilities and their families or loved ones, and professionals to exchange and gather information relative to the accessibility and availability of assistive technology.

"We hope to reach educators, students and parents," said Dr. Margaret Flores, an assistant professor of special education and the center's coordinator of autism and developmental disabilities. "We're acquiring more and more pieces (for assistive technology) and we're looking to bring in consumers."

Last Updated: May 17, 2011