List of Programs

The University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) provides programs to support the full inclusion and self-determination of people with developmental disabilities and their families.

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AEIOu Research Project

AEIOu Research Project

AEIOu Research Project

Anne Bradford Harris
abharris3@wisc.edu
No website

The purpose of this project is to examine the language skills of young children longitudinally up to five years of age who are deaf and hard of hearing. The study examines the language strengths and weaknesses of these children as reported on standardized measures to identify factors that are predictive of successful language outcomes. Data collection is complete, analyses are continuing.

 

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Partnership Program (PP)

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Partnership Programs (PP)

Young girl with aac device and therapist

AAC Partnership Program Staff
Email: aacpartnershipprogram@waisman.wisc.edu
Website: AAC-PP

The AAC-PP is a statewide program designed to expedite clients’ access to evidence-based, high-quality AAC evaluations and treatment by building the capacity of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) across Wisconsin. The AAC-PP offers online learning modules and one-on-one coaching by CASC staff to support SLPs in the AAC assessment and speech generating device (SGD) acquisition process. ECHO- AAC is part of the AAC-PP, as an online community and learning opportunity designed to provide AAC-related content from experts in the field, to create a network of AAC providers to engage in case-based collaborative problem solving, and to support ongoing successful implementation of speech generating devices across settings.

Autism Treatment Programs

Autism Treatment Programs (ATP)

Autism Treatment ProgramMolly Murphy
608-890-3622
Email: memurph3@waisman.wisc.edu
Website: Autism Treatment Programs (ATP)

The Waisman Center Autism Treatment Programs (ATP), in partnership with UW Health, offer focused behavioral treatment to individuals with autism and their families. Parent Coaching is the key service.  Parents learn and practice strategies to reduce challenging behavior, teach alternatives skills and enhance family relationships.  Individual treatment is offered supplementary to Parent Coaching.  Individual treatment provides additional practice on select skills that are then carried over to family interactions and activities. The treatment approach is founded on the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), and additional evidence-based strategies. Starting Together, for children ages 2-4 years, offers Parent Coaching and individual treatment during every day play activities and daily routines, guided by The Early Start Denver Model (ESDM). In Growing Together (ages 5-26) parents join their child, teen or young adult to work toward goals identified by the parent. Limited individual treatment is provided for practice on select skills.  Teens and young adults (ages 13–26) and their parents participate in group psychoeducation in Transitioning Together. During group participants learn strategies for a successful transition to adult life, while parents meet to network, problem solve, and learn about resources and supports.

Children's Resource Center-South

Children’s Resource Center-South

Children's Resource Center-South Tim Markle
(608) 262-8033
Email: tmarkle@wisc.edu
Website: Children’s Resource Center-South

The Southern Regional Center for CYSHCN, funded by the State Maternal Child Health block grant, benefits families with CYSHCN and the providers who support them through providing information, referral and follow up services; promoting a parent-to-parent support network and family leadership development; and increasing local capacity of community-based systems of support.

Communication Aids and Systems Clinic (CASC)

Communication Aids and Systems Clinic (CASC)

CASC ClinicJennifer Seale
Office: 608-263-9909
Email: jseale@wisc.edu
Website: Communication Aids and Systems Clinic (CASC)

The Communication Aids and Systems Clinic provides augmentative alternative communication and computer access services. Interdisciplinary services include direct outcome-focused evaluation and intervention, consultation, technical support, student training, and outreach.

Communication Development Program (CDP)

Communication Development Program

Young boy using a communication devise with therapist

CDP Program Staff
608-262-3039
Email: cdp@waisman.wisc.edu
Web: Communication Development Program

The Communication Development Program provides augmentative and alternative communication and computer access services for individuals living in Dane County, Wisconsin. Interdisciplinary services include direct outcome-focused evaluation and intervention, consultation, technical support, student training, and outreach.

 

Community Outreach Wisconsin

Community Training and Consultation Program

Community Training and Consultation ProgramMichael Truman
Community Training Director
(608) 516-8410
Email: mltruman@wisc.edu
Website: Community Training and Consultation Program

The Community Training and Consultation Program provides service to family members, volunteers, direct care providers, special education teachers, transportation providers, para-professional and professional service providers from all settings providing services in Dane County for people with developmental disabilities. Provision of a variety of training, consultation and educational opportunities individual, small group, and larger audiences related to developmental disabilities.

Community of Practice on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities

Community of Practice on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental Disabilities

Community of Practice on Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Developmental DisabilitiesLeann Smith DaWalt
608-890-1390
Email: lesmith2@wisc.edu
No Website

Ten states will participate in a 5-year Community of Practice. The goal of the CoP is to increase the number, diversity, and capacity of formal and informal leaders to transform their state/territorial developmental disabilities systems by advancing and sustaining cultural and linguistic competence systemically through changes in values, policy, structures, and practices; and responding effectively to the growing cultural and linguistic diversity among people with DD and their families.

 

Community Solutions for Health Equity

Community Solutions for Health Equity

Community Solutions for Health EquityGail Chödrön
608-890-0145
Email: chodron@wisc.edu
Website: N/A

Community Solutions for Health Equity is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) focused on elevating the voices of communities of color and other communities left out of discussions when local health care systems in the United States are creating policy. The national Community Solutions for Health Equity program attempts to address root causes of racism and bias directly by supporting communities to identify a problem that negatively affects the, envision solutions, and partner with health care systems to co-create and implement solutions. This project provides technical assistance and support to a parent-led non-profit community organization, Padres e Hijos en Accion, to lead a community-based effort to make local health care systems more responsive to the needs of Latino families of children with developmental disabilities and other special health care needs in Dane County, through elevating the voices, stories, and priorities of the people who hold the solutions.

Community Training, Intervention, and Evaluation Services (TIES)

Community Training, Intervention, and Evaluation Services (TIES)

Community TIES

Josh Lapin
608-263-5962
Email: lapin@waisman.wisc.edu
Website: Community TIES

The TIES program offers support to children, adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities who reside in Dane County and present challenging behaviors. Family members, guardians, and service agencies often report significant stress in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities who present challenging behaviors and thus may require additional support. The TIES program seeks to enable these individuals to remain in their natural environment, utilizing and teaching non- punitive ways to redirect or modify specific behaviors. The program provides support and consultation in the community based environment where a person’s challenging behavior occurs.

Community TIES Psychiatric Clinic

Community TIES Psychiatric Clinic

Community TIES Psychiatric ClinicJosh Lapin
608-263-5962
Email: lapin@waisman.wisc.edu
Website: Community TIES Psychiatric Clinic

TIES Clinic provides psychiatric care and consultation to individuals with developmental disabilities who are unable to obtain psychiatric care from other providers due to financial situation, behavioral issues, or medical complexity. Patients seen in the TIES clinic are also supported by the Community TIES Program.

 

Crisis Response Program

Crisis Response Program

Crisis Response ProgramAxel Junker
615-265-9428
Email: junker@waisman.wisc.edu
Website: Crisis Response Program

Crisis response services for adult Dane County residents with developmental disabilities are designed to prevent or shorten stays in more restrictive settings. Services include crisis coordination with criminal justice and emergency mental health practitioners, additional support in the person’s home or work place through Crisis Outreach staff, and/or a temporary respite stay at Dane County’s Crisis Home (Safe House) for adults with developmental disabilities.

DD Community Training and Consultation

DD Community Training and Consultation

Provides service to family members, volunteers, direct care providers, special education teachers, transportation providers, para-professional and professional service providers from all settings providing services in Dane County for people with developmental disabilities. Provision of a variety of training, consultation and educational opportunities individual, small group, and larger audiences related to developmental disabilities.

Contact:

Michael Truman
mltruman@wisc.edu

Genetic Systems Integration Hub-Wisconsin

Genetics Systems Integration Hub-Wisconsin

Genetics Systems Integration Hub-Wisconsin

Sara Zoran, MS
(608) 262-0182
Email: zoran@wisc.edu
Website: Genetics in Wisconsin

This project provides a central source for the exchange of information and resources related to maternal child health (MCH) genetics services and programs in WI, maintains the Genetics in Wisconsin website, and facilitates the delivery and evaluation of genetics education for healthcare providers in Wisconsin.

Health Transition Wisconsin

Health Transition Wisconsin

Health Transition Wisconsin Tim Markle
(608) 262-8033
Email: tmarkle@wisc.edu
Website: Health Transition Wisconsin

The Youth Health Transition Initiative provides Wisconsin’s youth, family members, providers, and other community collaborators with information on the movement from the pediatric world to adult health care. Tools, materials, and resources are available to help teens, families, and health care systems in the health care transition process.

Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND)

Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND)Wisconsin LEND Program

Gail Chödrön
608-890-0145
Email: chodron@wisc.edu
Website: WI LEND Program

The WI LEND Program provides inter-professional leadership education in neurodevelopmental disabilities to graduate students and community members, including professionals, family members and individuals with disabilities. Didactic and experiential learning focuses on systems of care, public health and policy, interdisciplinary family-centered practice, research, evaluation and dissemination. The LEND program recruits trainees and provides interdisciplinary leadership training in collaboration with academic programs at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, including the CASTLE Project (Clinical Assessment, Screening, Treatment and Leadership in Evidence-based practices for Children with Autism, 2019-2024), the Masters in Genetic Counseling Studies program located at the Waisman Center, and other Maternal and Child Health-funded training programs in Wisconsin and regionally. Faculty and trainees provide outreach education, technical assistance and direct service to improve the health of children with Autism and other Developmental Disabilities.

LEND Outcomes Study

LEND Outcomes Study

Wisconsin LEND ProgramAnne Bradford Harris
Email: abharris3@wisc.edu
Website: N/A

The primary tool currently used to evaluate the impact of LEND training is the National Information and Reporting System (NIRS) Graduate Long-term Trainee Follow-up Survey, hereafter referred to as the NIRS Graduate Survey. The 14 question NIRS Graduate Survey is administered online 2, 5, and 10 years after completion of LEND training for all LEND graduates.  In this study designed to measure the impact of LEND training using the NIRS Graduate Survey, LEND trainees were recruited to participate in the study to and asked to identify a comparison peer that is receiving similar graduate training, but is not participating in LEND long term training program. Survey responses regarding leadership skills and career attributes are being compared for former trainees and non-trainee cohorts up to 10 years post-graduation from the LEND program.

Longitudinal Study of Wisconsin Adult Long Term Care

Longitudinal Study of Wisconsin Adult Long Term Care

Longitudinal Study of Wisconsin Adult Long Term CareLeann Smith DaWalt
608-890-1390
Email: lesmith2@wisc.edu
Website: Longitudinal Study of Wisconsin Adult Long Term Care

The purpose of this study is to understand changes over time in services and quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who receive adult long term care supports in the state of Wisconsin. Family members and individuals with IDD will complete an online survey once a year for five consecutive years during the study.

Research Engagement with People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Research Engagement with People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

PCORIKarla Ausderau
608-262-0653
Email: kausderau@wisc.edu
Website: The Ausderau Lab

This new grant builds on earlier collaboration with the Special Olympics Health Communities Program that incorporated people with IDD as co-researchers. In this new project, the investigators will create a Toolkit to support the engagement of people with IDD in the development of research.  The Toolkit will be the first of its kind to provide an accessible, structured process to engage people with IDD and related stakeholders as partners in the research enterprise.

Project ECHO

Project ECHOProject ECHO ®

Project ECHO ® is a lifelong learning and guided practice model that is designed to create knowledge-sharing networks.  Waisman Center has ECHOs in multiple areas for different target audiences such as AAC users and their families, primary care providers, speech-language pathologists, teachers, occupational therapists, and social workers.

Find if one of our ECHOS is  right for you: https://www.waisman.wisc.edu/echo/.

Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP)

Waisman Early Childhood Program

Waisman Early Childhood ProgramNancy Saevang
Director, WECP
608-265-9852
Email: saevang@wisc.edu
Website: Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP)

Waisman Early Childhood Program (WECP) is a center based early childhood program that is meeting the needs of a developmentally diverse group of children ages 1 through 6. Approximately two-thirds are developing typically, and one third may have a special education need.

Waisman/UW Health Specialty Clinics

Waisman/UW Health Specialty Clinics

ClinicsPaola Perez, MSSW
Clinics Operations Manager
608-890-4495
Email: pperez@waisman.wisc.edu
Website: Waisman Center Clinics

The clinics provide specialized health care services for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The clinics include: Autism and DD, Cerebral Palsy, Medical Genetics, Newborn Follow- up, Down syndrome, Neuromotor, Pediatric Brain Care, Biochemical Genetics, and Bone Dysplasia. All clinics offer diagnostic and assessment services, and a few clinics provide ongoing treatment and intervention.

WIN - Wellness Inclusion Nursing

Wellness Inclusion Nursing (WIN)

Wellness Inclusion Nursing (WIN)Sherry Schultz
608-264-2622
Email: sherry.schultz@wisc.edu
Website: Wellness Inclusion Nursing (WIN)

Wellness Inclusion Nursing is a community based nursing program that is designed to provide assessment, consultation and training to agencies and staff providing care to individuals with developmental disabilities.

Wisconsin Care Integration Initiative

Wisconsin Care Integration Initiative

Wisconsin Care Integration InitiativeGail Chödrön, PhD
608-890-0145
Email: chodron@wisc.edu
Website: Wisconsin Care Integration Initiative (WiCII)

The Wisconsin Care Integration Initiative (WiCII) project aims to increase family-centered, integrated systems of care for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD), with a focus on medically underserved areas and populations. WiCII is partnering with primary care practices to provide family navigation services to medically underserved families of children with/at risk for ASD/DD; increase provider knowledge and skill related to early identification, referral, and supporting families to access services; and increase access statewide to culturally and linguistically competent educational resources to improve family self-efficacy in navigating systems of care. To build provider capacity for early identification, referrals, and care in local communities, WiCII supports a tele-mentoring approach to provide education and case-consultation to practitioners called ECHO Autism (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes).  Safe While you Wait is supported by WiCII and Magic Pebble, and addresses safety concerns and equisp families with the devices and resources they need to ensure their child’s safety in advance of their Waisman Center clinics evaluation appointment.

 

Wisconsin Living Well

Wisconsin Living Well

Leann Smith DaWalt, PhD
608-890-1390
Email: lesmith2@wisc.edu
Website: Wisconsin Living Well

The Wisconsin Living Well project is led by the Board for People with Developmental Disabilities (BPDD), will partner with Waisman University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD); Disability Rights Wisconsin, the Protection and Advocacy organization (P&A); WI Division of Long-Term Supports and Services (LTSS); self-advocacy, family and direct support provider networks; managed care and self-direction agencies and others. Living Well is a 5-year systems change approach composed of two inter-related, evidence-based elements aimed at individuals, families, providers, and communities and delivered as a strategy package: (1) capacity building to increase health/safety and improve quality of life, and (2) a comprehensive monitoring effort. The overall goal is to increase health, safety, independence and well-being of people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) living in the community.

 

Wisconsin Partnership Program- COVID-19

Wisconsin Partnership Program- COVID-19

Karla Ausderau
608-262-0653
Email: kausderau@wisc.edu
Website:

This project aims to elucidate the impact of COVID-19 on the health and wellbeing of people with IDD, evaluate the current systemic and community responses to mitigate those effects, and provide recommendations to guide service delivery for Wisconsin nonprofit community organizations to best meet the needs of individuals with IDD.

Wisconsin Study to Explore Early Development in Autism (SEED)

The Study to Explore Early Development (SEED)

WI SEEDMaureen Durkin, PhD
608-263-7507
Email: mdurkin@wisc.edu
Website: WI SEED

SEED is a nationwide study of autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities. In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wisconsin SEED is now evaluating the impact of COVID-19 on families with young children. This new research will help highlight the impact of disruptions in services (including but not limited to intensive behavioral therapies in children with autism) on long-term health outcomes.

Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism and Other DD (WISADDS)

Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism and Other DD System

Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism and Other DDMaureen Durkin, PhD
608-263-7507
Email: mdurkin@wisc.edu
Website: Wisconsin Surveillance of Autism and Other DD

This is a multiple source investigation to determine and monitor the number of eight year-old children in the population with an autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disability. The Wisconsin study is also investigating cerebral palsy. This is a joint undertaking with CDC and the protocol is being implemented in several other states in the nation.

 

Wisconsin Integrated Transition Implementation

Wisconsin Integrated Transition Implementation

Wisconsin Integrated Transition Planning ProjectLynn Hrabik
920- 833-0051
Email: hrabik@wisc.edu
Website: Wisconsin Integrated Transition Implementation

This three-year project funded by the Administration for Community Living will support the Wisconsin Transition Planning Coalition of engaged stakeholders with lived and professional experience to implement successful transitions to community living for Wisconsin youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD). The goal of the project is for families and transition-age youth with ID/DD in medically underserved Wisconsin communities to receive relevant information and support for Integrated Transition Planning (ITP) by the time the youth turns eighteen years of age. ITP includes integrating planning for health, employment and post-secondary education transitions.

WI Congenital Disorders Program/Newborn Screening Program

WI Congenital Disorders Program/Newborn Screening Program

Congenital Disorders Program/Newborn Screening ProgramDavid Wargowski, MD
(608) 263-8687
Email: wargowski@pediatrics.wisc.edu
Website: N/A

Infants who test positive for a genetic metabolic condition are seen in the Biochemical Genetics Clinic at the Waisman Center. The majority of these conditions are treated with nutrition and infants receive comprehensive care from a team including the following clinicians: metabolic physicians, nurse practitioners, dietitians, genetic counselors and nurses. The Biochemical Genetics Clinic follows individuals from infancy through adulthood to promote lifelong treatment of metabolic disorders for the best outcome.