Center on Disability and Development at Texas A&M University

Congratulations to Heart of Texas GEAR UP TAMU and these amazing students!

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Another amazing employer providing opportunities for rural youth to have work-based learning experiences!

Awesome work The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University team!

🌟EMPLOYER SHOUT OUT🌟 Thank you Christiansen Brothers Construction for welcoming our student and showing him all the ins and outs of the construction process🙌🏼 He was able to experience office work and time on the worksites 💪🏼 Thank you also for being flexible with his work schedule 🙏🏼 You are greatly appreciated by iGROW🤍

Whoop!! Welcome to the team Angie! We are THRILLED to have you join us and the The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University team here in Central Texas!

🌟The iGROW team is excited to announce Angie Hodde as the new Central Texas Program Coordinator🌟

Angie is an alumni of Texas A&M University and received her Master’s in Education from Prairie View A&M University. Angie has served the field of education for 19 years. Within those 19 years she has served as a classroom teacher and an educational diagnostician. In addition, she has served as the district transition coordinator and the transition employment designee (TED) with Giddings I.S.D.

Angie grew up in the small rural community called Burton, TX and continues to reside there with her husband of 17 years, Sam. They have 2 children, Natalie 14 and Preston 8 who keep their family very busy!

“Personally being raised in a small rural community, it is an honor to have the opportunity to serve our students in rural areas and help provide them with the amazing resources and skills that are offered through the iGROW program. I am so thankful for this opportunity and cannot wait to take on this new role in a program that has such a positive impact on the future of our students with disabilities.”

💛We are ecstatic to have Angie on our team! Her experience in transition, living in a rural community and working in both large and small school districts will be a great addition. Very excited to see her support and grow our Central Texas site.🙌🏼

iGROW is a four-year pre-employment and leadership training program in partnership with Texas A&M Center on Disability and Development and TWC’s Vocational Rehabilitation Program, for rural county students with disabilities. The purpose of the program is to prepare students to transition into postsecondary education and/or competitive integrated employment. iGROW currently has sites in Central and East Texas. iGROW will begin replication in West Texas this fall.

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Welcome to the CDD Family Kortni! We cannot wait to see the impact of The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University in West Texas!

🙌🏼iGROW is expanding to West Texas this FALL!!!🙌🏼

🪴🤩the iGROW team is thrilled to welcome Kortni Collins as the West Texas Program Coordinator🥹🪴

Kortni Collins is an alumni of McMurry University and received her Master’s in Education from Sul Ross State University. She has had a wide array of experiences in her education career including coaching, teaching 6th-12th Sciences, K-12 special education, 6th-12th school counseling, and served as the Student Hireability Navigator for Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas.

She is married to her high school sweetheart, Chad and is the proud Mom of 3 “kids” Brayli (19), Blane (19), and Cyla (9). They live in a small farming community in West Central Texas, where they are the 6th generation of their family to call Eula home. As a family they enjoy showing steers, cheering for the Eula Pirates and the Angelo State Rams Ultimate Frisbee Team (RUF), participating in sports, all things 4H, and exploring Texas State Parks and the mountains of Colorado.

“I believe you find the most resilient, well rounded, and blessed kids in rural Texas communities. Helping rural students to dream beyond the city limit sign and allowing them to explore the possibilities for their future, while watching as God’s plan unfolds, is one of my favorite and the most rewarding things about being an educator. I am excited to be part of iGROW and to play a small role as these students’ dreams become reality.”

🤍We are so happy to have Kortni on our team & learn from her experiences in the rural school districts & workforce board! We cannot wait to see the opportunities she brings through iGROW for the students & families in West Texas.🤍 Welcome Kortni 👍🏼

iGROW is a four-year pre-employment and leadership training program in partnership with Texas A&M Center on Disability and Development and TWC’s Vocational Rehabilitation Program, for rural county students with disabilities. The purpose of the program is to prepare students to transition into postsecondary education and/or competitive integrated employment. iGROW currently has sites in Central & East Texas.

EXCELLENT work The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University!

Texas high school students living in rural communities spent 5 weeks this summer in a paid work experience (PWE) placement. This project is a partnership between TAMU and Texas Workforce Commission - Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) in collaboration with local school districts and employers. It certainly takes a village and we are GRATEFUL for these opportunities and the hardworking students as well!

FREE WORKSHOP!

“EMPOWERING BRAZOS VALLEY FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS TO SUPPORT AND
EDUCATE CHILDREN WITH SPEECH AND/OR LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENTS OR DELAYS”

Speakers:
• Dr. Marcia Montague
• HauKei Lam MS, CC-SLP
• Dr. Lei-Shih Chen

Register via this link or the QR code below: tx.ag/Km3wUBr

Please share!

🚨REGISTRATION CLOSES IN ONE WEEK! 🚨
Join BattleGround to Breaking Ground for a weeklong training program providing participants with knowledge of essential agricultural production concepts and education on topics such as basics of livestock production, farm safety, equipment selection, and natural resource management, as well as farm tours in several production areas. 🌾
👉Click the link in the bio to register!

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Excellent work!

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The WACO Project and HOPS Program students have arrived for the summer! What a fabulous group who is ready to learn about college and work!

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Thrilled to be part of the TREA this year! Sharing more about the CDD and The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University at 3pm today!

The rural employers have been amazing partners with The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University!! Thank you Weise Farms!!

Whoop! Awesome end of week one of paid work experience (PWE) The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University!!!

Exciting New Opportunity for Central Texas Churches

Baylor University’s George W. Truett Seminary, Center for Developmental Disabilities, and Center for Church and Community Impact are partnering together to offer a new project – Bridges to Belonging: Accessible Ministry with Youth and Young Adults. This project is focused on equipping churches to welcome and support young people (aged 13-25) with disabilities, mental health challenges, and chronic illnesses. Churches within a 3-hour radius from Baylor University are invited to apply to join in this exciting work by participating in a Congregational Learning Community.

Bridges to Belonging is accepting applications through July 16th. The first Congregational Learning Community will run from Fall 2024 to Spring 2026. If your church is interested in applying, please visit our website to access the application and more information at bcdd.soe.baylor.edu/bridgestobelonging.
Truett Theological Seminary Diana R. Garland School of Social Work

We are so incredibly proud of the work happening in rural communities! Wishing the students an awesome first day of work this summer!

The The IGROW Project at Texas A&M University Project has an amazing 2024 Summer Institute last week! They are ready to work collaboratively with each other to provide Pre-ETS to students who live in rural communities across Texas. Well done team!

Thank you to Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation for your partnership and support!

"Oh, that's it?" Simple Strategies for Supporting Aggies on the Spectrum (and ALL Aggies!)

In this Spectrum in Aggieland presentation, Texas A&M faculty member Dr. Erinn Whiteside will share simple strategies used to support Aggies on the autism spectrum. These strategies, which are also helpful for ALL individuals, are shared as small changes you can make before and during instruction to help support all learners in your classroom. Statistically, you are likely to have an autistic student on your roster. Come learn how to support them!

About Dr. Erinn Whiteside: Dr. Whiteside is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of special education. Before coming to Texas A&M University for the professor position, she worked in behavior support clinics, she provided in-home behavioral services, served as a paraprofessional and then an elementary special education teacher for several years, and a school consultant for challenging behavior. Her areas of interest include supporting challenging behavior, promoting the application of ABA principles in schools, and supporting pre- and in-service special educators. At A&M, she teaches courses on assessment and IEPs, supporting behavior needs, instructional strategies, low-incidence disabilities, and applied behavior analysis. Check out Dr. Whiteside’s 2021 Voice of Impact talk, “Communication: Translating Others’ Behavior” on YouTube

https://youtu.be/FuOWAobNi_8?si=cevUX_RfG_mfni6l

Did you miss our Accessibility in Aggieland partnership with Living Well when we shared more about living with ADHD as an adult? No worries! We shared the video below!

Thriving with ADHD as an Adult | Living Well at Texas A&M

This program presented by Dr. Lauren Craig and will aim to provide information to help participants recognize the signs and symptoms of ADHD and better understand the impacts these symptoms have in an individual’s daily life. Time will also be spent exploring the most common challenges that adults with ADHD may benefit from help or support with, including time management, organization skills, school, and job performance, and improving relationships with others. Lastly, this presentation will aim to provide practical strategies and helpful resources to help individuals better manage their ADHD symptoms.

https://youtu.be/wA2Cx5rpTu8?si=AGVH99yQ_E9pAOrj

Did you happen to miss the 2024 Brazos Valley Disability Conference and Resource Fair this spring? No worries!

Take a moment to watch and listen to our Keynote Speaker, Justin Romack share his presentation titled "Oh, the Places You’ll Go: Fostering Strength, Confidence and Creativity with Disabled Youth and Young Adults"

Disability Resource Conference 2024 - Keynote This is "Disability Resource Conference 2024 - Keynote" by Central • Bryan-College Station on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people…

We are pleased to announce that Registration has opened for our 19th Annual Texas Parent to Parent Statewide Parent Conference! Plan on joining us on August 9-10th, 2024 in San Marcos, TX at the Embassy Suites Conference Center for 2 intense days of immersive learning about topics from advocacy to transition.

Registration Packet (Read First):https://www.txp2p.org/Media/files/2024-Registration-Packet-Final.pdf
19a Conferencia Anual para Padres: Informacion:https://www.txp2p.org/Media/files/2024-Conference-Spanish-Final.pdf

Register Here: https://fs12.formsite.com/txp2porg/kb3za2fstb/index

Exhibitor Registration Here: https://fs12.formsite.com/txp2porg/form21/index

Donors are needed to help Parents and Family members to attend. Cannot attend? But want to help another family in need? Donate here: https://txp2p.networkforgood.com/projects/227505-2024-txp2p-conference

It’s that time!
Summer Camp hosted by the DSABV!!
We have been blessed to be able to extend our 2024 camp to 4 days for each age group.. sssoo excited!!
Application opens today and will close on May 23. Limited spots! All applications will be discussed and determined by the Summer Camp committee.
The link to file an application is

https://forms.gle/nFQGhXiE9Gi4WPgN6

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We 👀 the CDD’s honoree, Elizabeth Danner! Thank you for all you do for Texans, Elizabeth!

Our Dean's Roundtable honored 20 current and former educators, administrators, coaches and counselors who have positively impacted lives in Texas and beyond. Congratulations to this year's honorees. 🏆

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Congratulations to our six Aggie Achieve graduates who just crossed the stage!

These Aggies have worked hard to complete the Aggie Achieve program, established to provide students with intellectual and developmental disabilities a one-of-a-kind college experience, and we couldn’t be more proud of each of them. Gig ‘em, grads!

Families of Autistic Children Engaged Together for Support has updated their website to include the dates of upcoming sensory-friendly movies at Cinemark Movies 18 and XD and their calendar is packed with local summer events! They've compiled the events from City of Bryan, City of College Station, BCS Libraries and the Bush Library- all in one calendar.

Click the link below to access the calendar.

Calendar The FACETS calendar may include events hosted by the Bryan and College Station Public Libraries, the City of College Station/Bryan and local businesses/organizations. ​ ​ *Please note that the...

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What an excellent theme this year!
Association of University Centers on Disabilities

We’ve been waiting to share this with you! The AUCD 2024 Conference theme is “Stronger Together: Creating a More Inclusive World.”

Check out the theme description ➡️ www.aucd.org/event/aucd-2024-conference