Claire Watson, PhD, MSPH: “It is over 3,350 miles from Western New York to Edinburgh Scotland, but that distance was shortened and the world made a little smaller through my experiences with Special Olympics. I’m Dr. Claire Watson, a university professor and Special Olympics Clinical Director for Health Promotion.”

Ellen Poole: “Remember that time when you just couldn’t find the right words for the situation? Whether that be I love you, I’m sorry, or thank you. Now imagine that time was every time. The individuals that we love, support, and empower face this every day. Music, with its universal appeal, has the power to transcend barriers and touch the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).”

Stephanie Lowell and Jonathan Gardner: “OHC is an experiential learning program that teaches medical, nursing and allied health professional students the essential skills and mindsets to provide high quality care to individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).”

David Cox, EdD, MBA: “The journey towards meaningful access to higher education for individuals with disabilities was not a natural progression; it was achieved through relentless advocacy and systemic changes. There were key milestones in the ongoing evolution of freedoms for people with disabilities.”

Craig Escudé, MD, FAAFP, FAADM: Annie Sullivan’s League Awardee - “Rachel Semel’s journey into the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities began not with a formal career plan, but with a mitzvah project when she was just 12 years old. Inspired by her mother, she began teaching swimming lessons to children with disabilities at her local YMCA. “‘t was the best part of my week,’ Rachel recalls.”

Vanessa Rastović, JD: “In healthcare, compliance is often treated as a defensive strategy — a way to avoid penalties, pass audits, and keep regulators at bay. For millions of Americans with disabilities, however, compliance is not simply about risk reduction. It is about whether they can access care at all.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: HELEN receives "stacks" of journals and selectively earmarks what we feel are "must read" articles of interest for our readers. It's a HELEN perk! This edition: “The Justice Department Sues Uber for Denying Rides to Passengers with Service Dogs, Wheelchairs” and more.

HELEN Journal believes there is an abundance of Posters that could lead to organizations, institutions and providers adopting promising, evolving and novel programs based on learning about them at conferences.

Mid-SEPTEMBER Edition: “Collaboration between Dental and Behavioral Team”; “Comparative Effectiveness Research on IDD at PCORI”; “Dental Root Resorption in Cri-du-Chat Syndrome”; “Disability Thread in Medical Education Curriculum”; “Educating Residents A Novel IDD Curriculum”

Ashley-Shae Benton MD, Sarah Parks MD, Corrie Harris MD / Photos: Positive Exposure: “Spinal cord injuries (SCI) alter life in an instant, changing not only the bodies of those who experience them but also their communities. Within these stories of life-changing injury lie powerful narratives of resilience and advocacy. In Kentucky, two very different journeys—one of a young mother who found her voice after injury, and one of a child whose family uprooted their lives for her care—demonstrate how courage and community transform life beyond injury.”

Steven Perlman, DDS, MScD, DHL (hon): “Where is the Army from the World Health Organization (WHO), The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), public health leaders, and the countless number of public health physicians and dentists who are not behind the effort to eradicate the practice of ‘infant oral mutilation’ (IOM)?”

Rick Rader, MD, FAAIDD, FAADM, Editor-in-chief, Helen Journal: “The editorial offices of HELEN were energized with excitement to learn that the State of Alabama was dedicating a statue to our hero, Helen Keller. This coming October, statues of both civil rights activist Rosa Parks and Helen Keller are scheduled to be dedicated on the grounds of the Alabama State Capitol.”

Ellen Bannister: “SAME/FAME (Self-Advocates as Medical Educators / Family Advocates as Medical Educators) brings together people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), their family caregivers, and health professions educators to co-design and co-teach health care training that is centered on lived experience.”

David A. Ervin, BSc, MA, FAAIDD and Douglas Golub, BA, MS, SHRM-CP, DrPH(C): “This is the final installment of a five-part series on artificial intelligence (AI) and its emerging role in home and community-based services and healthcare for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). This final article explores how AI can be implemented in ways that are ethical, inclusive, and practical, drawing on lessons from our previous installments, the current state of technology, and real-world use cases to show how targeted, well-designed applications can maximize benefits while minimizing risks.”

Neil Romano and Sara Weir Rogers: “For far too long, our government has failed to believe in the economic potential of people with disabilities. The lack of belief in Americans with disabilities is more than symbolic — it’s structural. It’s visible in the tangled web of contradictory programs, outdated regulations, and policies that punish ambition and trap millions of disabled Americans in a cycle of poverty and dependence.”

Poster Presentations are a great way for students, researchers and faculty to showcase their hard work on a project.  HELEN Journal believes there is an abundance of posters that could lead to organizations, institutions and providers adopting promising, evolving and novel programs based on learning about them at conferences. We urge HELEN Journal readers to visit our Poster Presentations periodically and to contact the presenters for further information.

This Edition: “Administration Options for Once-Daily Valbenazine”; “Advanced Care Planning for Individuals with ID”; “An Evaluation of Lack of Return to PCARE at PDM”; “Boosting Student Knowledge of Disability Resources”; “Caring for Children with Medical Complexity”

EDITOR’S NOTE:  There are literally thousands of journals published around the world that relate to the disability community.  It is virtually impossible to capture even a fraction of them. HELEN receives "stacks" of journals and selectively earmarks what we feel are "must read" articles of interest for our readers. It's a HELEN perk!

This edition: “House Passes Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act”