Max Barrows, Outreach Director of Green Mountain Self-Advocates describes "Nothing About Us Without Us" the motto of the disability self-advocacy movement.

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We believe disability is an equity issue.

And we work to create a space where people with disabilities and their families, are fully included in their homes, schools, and communities.Ìý

OUR MISSION:

  • To connect Vermonters with disabilities with services and resources to participate fully in the communities of their choosing.
  • To connect learners with classes, scholarship and opportunities to make disability a professional priority.
  • To connect the dots through research into how things are, and how people with disabilities want them to be.

WHAT WE DO:

WE PROVIDE SERVICES:

WE TEACH:

  • We offer a graduate certificate in disability studies, taught by and with people with disabilities.
  • We're home to the innovative and nationally recognized Think College VT program, that provides students with disabilities supported access to an undergraduate education at ¶¶Òõ̽̽.
  • We partner with people with disabilities in creating courses with other departments, such as in the Special Education department.
  • We work to use Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies to promote inclusion, diversity, and self-determination.

WE RESEARCH:

  • We conduct research to improve disability services and advocacy policies. In 2022, our research Ìý(video) was instrumental in creating new legislation around early childhood education.
  • We partner with researchers in our college, university, and other organizations in prioritizing disability advocacy in research.
  • We share our own and other people's research in multiple accessible formats.

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OUR VALUES:

  • Disability is one form of diversity and it requires cultural and linguistic competency. Diversity is essential to everyone's success.
  • All services and supports for children and youth should be family-centered.
  • All services and supports for adults should be person-centered. Individuals and families should have personal choice and control over their lives.
  • All children should live in safe homes with their families. As people mature they should have the opportunity to live in homes of their own with appropriate community supports.
  • All supports should be within the community.ÌýIndividuals and families needing supports should exercise control over funding, delivery, and quality of supports.
  • Everyone should have access to personally meaningful places and activities. Opportunities should be available for everyone to develop networks of meaningful relationships.
  • Effective change stems from a strengths-based approach, rather than a problems approach. That means first looking for the positive rather than the negative, and building from there.
  • Prevention, rather than crisis intervention.

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What's a UCEDD?

The CDCI is Vermont’s , otherwise known as a UCEDD. That means we're one of 67 centers nationwide funded by the .

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Funding:ÌýThis project is supported in part by grant number 90DDUC0062, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201.​​ Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.​

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CDCI's Copyright Policy

The CDCI respects copyright, and commits to using materials with consent, giving credit when asked, and being transparent about fair-use.Ìý

The CDCI licenses all our materials including websites, videos, podcast episodes and reference guides, withÌý.

This license is often abbreviated as "CCÌýBY-NC-SA 4.0".Ìý

This means that we welcome you to use and reproduce our materials for non-commercial purposes ("NC") as long as you give us credit ("BY"). It also means that you cannot claim copyright over those materials; this is called "Share-Alike" ("SA").

If you have questions about copyright and our materials, please contact us, or email Audrey Homan directly.

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CDCI's Accessibility Policy

Question mark in a circleCDCI aims to make all its websites and digital materials meet the AA-level of accessibility as specified by the .

At a minimum, that means we commit to:

  • Videos with captions
  • Audio with transcripts
  • Images with meaningful alt-text or an image description
  • Best practices in web design

But we also welcome questions and requests around accessibility that goes beyond those guidelines.Ìý

If you'd like the materials on this website in a different format, would like materials presented in a specific way, or have other questions about accessibility, please email Audrey Homan.