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About

The NCED serves as Nevada's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). The UCEDDs were established and funded by the Developmental Disabilities Rights Assistance and Rights Act (DD Act). UCEDDs work to accomplish a shared vision that foresees a nation in which all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, participate fully in their communities. Independence, productivity and community inclusion are key components of this vision.

The Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities (NCED) is located in the College of Education at the Â鶹´«Ã½AV and serves as Nevada's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD). The UCEDDs were established and funded by the Developmental Disabilities Rights Assistance and Rights Act (DD Act). UCEDDs work to accomplish a shared vision that foresees a nation in which all Americans, including Americans with disabilities, participate fully in their communities. Independence, productivity and community inclusion are key components of this vision. The DD Act funds 67 Centers at universities in every state and territory. Through their unique make up UCEDDs:

Serve a wide audience:

• People with disabilities, members of their families, state and local government agencies and community providers.

Provide a wide variety of projects:

• Provide training, technical assistance, service, research and information sharing.
• Have played key roles in every major disability initiative over the past four decades.
• Many issues, such as early intervention, health care, community-based services, inclusive and meaningful education, transition from school to work, employment, housing, assistive technology and transportation have been directly benefited by the services, research and training provided by UCEDDs.

This national network of centers is represented by the

Advocacy and Family Support

Currently, the NCED has four projects focused on Advocacy and Family Support: 1) People First (NCED supports 8 local chapters), 2) AmeriCorp VISTA (volunteers with and without disabilities), 3) Partners in Policymaking (collaborative project with Nevada Family TIES) and 4) 360 Family Support (NCED assists the Nevada Parent Encouraging Parent in project evaluation.

Assistive Technology and Accessibility

Three NCED projects provide assessment, equipment, training, and technical assistance in assistive technology (AT) and accessibility:

1. Nevada Assistive Technology Resource Center (equipment loan and AT information),
2. Assistive Technology Assessment Project,
3. ADA Nevada (technical assistance, site assessment in accessibility and universal design).

Education of Children with Disabilities

Four NCED projects focus on education and services for children with disabilities:

1. University Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment is a multidepartment program that offers interdisciplinary assessment and follow-up for children with Autism;
2. Annually, the NCED conducts a statewide survey of parental satisfaction of Nevada Early Intervention Services;
3. NCED provides technical assistance in serving children with disabilities in Early Headstart; and
4. NCED provides statewide support and coordination for the Nevada Department of Education training activities.

Employment and Transition

In the spring of 2010, in collaboration with numerous state agencies, service providers, and the Nevada Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities, the NCED conducted three regional policy summits on the employment of individuals with disabilities. During 2010-2011, the NCED will be coordinating and facilitating the activities of work groups developed from the summits. Also included in the area of employment and transitions, Think College Nevada is a multiagency collaborative effort to develop post-secondary education experiences for students with intellectual disabilities that emphasize career and job skills.

Positive Behavioral Supports

Nevada Positive Behavioral Supports (NvPBS) works with Nevada school districts on the development of building-based school-wide positive behavior support programs. In addition, project personnel also provide training and technical assistance in working with individuals with challenging behavior.

Leadership Preparation and Disability Awareness

The NCED offers an 18-credit undergraduate minor in Disability Studies to students from a variety of majors. In addition, NCED faculty members participate in a range of university and community disability awareness activities.

Inclusion and Accessibility

Representatives from the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities value and respect the rights, perspectives, and voices of people with disabilities and their families. Whenever possible, Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities projects will meaningfully include people with disabilities and their families in the design, implementation, and evaluation of our projects and programs. Our programs promote opportunities for equitable participation (physical, electronic, financial, cultural, and linguistic) in society. This includes particular focus on accessibility of all aspects of programs and communities, recognizing that unique supports may be appropriate to ensure that people with disabilities are equitably included in their communities. The values of Inclusion and Accessibility are central to all of our core values, our mission statement, and our vision statement.

Excellence

As part of the Â鶹´«Ã½AV, representatives of the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities are expected to independently and collaboratively meet the stated teaching, research, and service obligations and standards of the University and of the academic community. Representatives for the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities will establish programs and collaborate with community partners to address the needs of communities in Nevada, consistent with the University’s status as a land grant university, and maintain a personal awareness of and willingness to modify existing projects and programs in response to best or promising practices for improvement of teaching, research, and service activities. 

Education

As professionals, representatives of the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities are expected to provide knowledge translation, information and referral, and support to people with disabilities and their families and to the communities that the Center serves through individual and group technical assistance, common training, university courses, and clinical consultations. This work will be guided by high-quality research and interdisciplinary work that is focused on increasing overall knowledge and transferring that knowledge to students, people with disabilities and their families, service systems, policymakers, and communities across Nevada. 

Advocacy

As professionals, educators, and advocates, representatives from the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities will amplify the voice of people with disabilities and their families in their communities across the state by providing educational and programmatic services focused on equitable access to opportunities and by engaging with community advocacy groups that share a similar mission and purpose with the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities. 

Leadership

Representatives for the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities are expected to contribute to the building of the Center as a statewide hub for resources, programs, and services that benefit people with disabilities and their families.

Accountability

Representatives of the Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities, both independently and collaboratively, are to make themselves aware of the resources, programs, and services offered by the Center and by other state partners in order to serve people with disabilities and their families throughout the state of Nevada. Representatives are expected to be adaptable to the changing conditions of the University, the Nevada System of Higher Education, and to the changing conditions of the communities throughout the state of Nevada, and for the individuals and families that the Center serves and to work with a perspective that is inclusive, promotes equity, and embraces diversity. Representatives are further expected to contribute to the Center’s leadership by being accountable for their actions, acting with integrity and honesty, engaging others in a collaborative, productive, and positive manner, and embracing change in order to adapt to changing internal and external conditions.