couple carrying cardboard boxes in living room

Supported Decision Making (SDM)

Supported decision making (SDM) is one alternative to guardianship. It a tool that allows people with disabilities to make their own decisions and build their own lives with support from a team of people they choose. A person using SDM can select trusted advisors, such as friends, family members, or professionals, to serve as supporters, who agree to help the person with a disability understand, consider, and communicate decisions, giving the person with a disability the tools to make her own, informed, decisions.

Where to Start?

Sample Supported Decision-Making Agreements: 

 

Services of Entitlement

Select a Category:

Advocacy

Education

Employment

Evaluation

Funding

Insurance

Savings

Pre-ETS

Vocational Rehabilitation

It may be challenging for families, caregivers, individuals with ASD, and others to navigate support systems and services. In order to best support individuals, families, providers, and communities statewide as they learn to navigate life with ASD or a related disability, HANDS in Autism© together with the NeuroDiagnostic Institute and IIACC partners reached out to organizations and asked directors and professionals to share about the noted service or program they oversee or facilitate in order to support awareness of, access to, advocacy for, and/or navigation within as individuals, families, and teams statewide are connected. Hear what they had to say below.

Category: Advocacy

IN*SOURCE

Special Education Parent Support

Indiana 211

Connecting you with professionals in mental health & addiction, health care, housing assistance, tax assistance, food & clothing, education & employment, and more

Category: Education

The Indiana Education Scholarship Account Program (INESA)

INESA, managed by the state treasurer’s office, will allow eligible parents/guardians to establish an education scholarship account (ESA) that can be used for their child’s education expenses.

Category: evaluation

Indiana Dept. of Education and Indiana IEP Resource Center

Video Series: Simulated Intake for Parent Referral for Preschool Evaluation

Category: Savings

Indiana ABLE

INvestABLE Indiana helps individuals save, while preserving their SSI and Medicaid.

Category: Pre-ETS

Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Employment services program for Indiana students in transition (ages 14-21) and adults with disabilities

Listing of Pre-ETS Providers by County

The Arc of Indiana

On oversight of delivery of Pre-Employment Transition Services

Category: Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)

Indiana VR Services by The Arc of Indiana

What to expect with VR

Working with Indiana VR Fact Sheet
Local VR Offices Directory

Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services

This short video describes the VR process, eligibility, and the services VR can provide if you need some help to learn new skills, find a job, or start a career.

 

 

Novel Coronavirus Resources

Every day there is new information coming out about the novel (new) coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Some of this information is science-based and factual, while some is rumor or fiction. When looking for information, it is best to be careful and to check your sources. The following is a list of reputable sources for information on a local, national, and global level.

Share this page with your colleagues, friends and family as it will continue to be updated with new highlights as they become available.

Indiana

The IN.gov Coronavirus Hub contains links to current press releases from Governor Holcomb, as well as a dashboard containing a county-level breakdown of the number of cases, deaths, and tests being counted in Indiana.

  • from IN.gov: “General questions from the public or healthcare provider inquiries about COVID-19 may be directed to the ISDH COVID-19 Call Center at the toll-free number: 877-826-0011 (8 a.m. to midnight, daily)” 

Be Well Indiana: “This site is an initiative of the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA). All external links have been provided by and vetted by DMHA leadership.Information on this website is up to date and subject to change.”

Be Well Crisis Hotline (Indiana 2-1-1): “Counselors and resources now available 24/7 at Indiana 211 – The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration today announced the launch of the Be Well Crisis Helpline, a confidential resource available through Indiana 211 that will allow Hoosiers to call and speak with a trained counselor 24/7. The free Be Well Crisis Helpline was established by FSSA’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction in direct response to the elevated levels of stress and anxiety Hoosiers are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

United States

The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) has a Coronavirus page which branches out into guidance for different situations and answers questions about staying safe and healthy.

The World

The World Health Organization (WHO) Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic page is compiling information about the disease from across the globe to better understand the situation.

Medical Journals & Articles

Resources for Individuals with ASD and More

Professional Learning Community

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A professional learning community (PLC) is a network of groups that enable sharing and integration of diverse knowledge, experiences, perspectives, attitudes and practices.  This networking enhances creative thinking, resource development and sharing, idea generation, and program improvement. Shared passion, interest, understanding and work towards common goals fosters greater inclusion, diversity, and capacity for implementation than working in isolation.

 

While members will all bring varying levels of knowledge and experience, the value of the PLC is a safe learning environment, thriving on diversity and inclusion, in which all contribute, grow and learn. In a productive PLC, members share common interests, engage in joint activities and discussions, and exchange, critically evaluate and reflect on information.  They further develop and share resources to support and act on shared goals by developing new knowledge and tools for building capacity through dissemination and implementation leading to meaningful outcomes and progress.

PLCs are flexible, dynamic, and inclusive. They embrace learning. As a result they can create a change within an organization or larger community through:

  • New opportunities through sharing and valuing multiple perspectives
  • New solutions as a result of the inclusive environment that fosters inquiry, innovation and knowledge generation
  • Ongoing support of members to help develop capacity, innovation, risk taking, and community transformation as well as connect people, ideas, and actions towards meaningful progress and outcomes for individuals and families.

Ask for More Info or Join

Access Community Site

To access the Community Site:

  1. Submit the request to join (above)
  2. Create an IU guest account at https://ams.iu.edu/guests/GuestHome.aspx
  3. Send an email to hands@iupui.edu with the email address used for the account.
  4. Once added to the site, you will receive an automatic email invitation

Community Norms

We operate around the following governance principles:

  • participation
  • transparency
  • responsiveness
  • consensus orientation
  • equity and inclusiveness
  • effectiveness and efficiency
  • accountability, and
  • rules of engagement.

As part of the PLC:

  • Be open to all with an interest and who abide by community norms
  • Encourage the ongoing education of members and the deepening of expertise among members