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New START Programs in California
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The START model continues to grow in California! The first two pilot teams, CA START San Diego and CA START San Andreas, began in 2019 and four additional programs were added the next year. This year, several additional regions of the state are in the early stages of implementation, and will join the existing teams of:
CA START San Andreas
CA START Alta
CA START East Bay
CA START San Diego
CA START Westside
CA START SCLA
We welcome the following new CA teams to the START network:
CA START Redwood Coast
CA START Golden Gate
CA START North Bay
CA START Valley Mountain
CA START Central Valley
CA START TriCounties
CA START Lanterman
CA START Harbor
CA START East LA
These teams are in varying stages of implementation and will all begin taking referrals during the next few months. The National Center for START Services is excited about the expansion CA START. We are grateful for the partnership and collaboration between NCSS, the state Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS), the regional centers, and the providers. We look forward to learning together as we strive to support individuals and families in California! View a map of all California programs on our website in Locations > California > Map of California Regional Center Service Areas
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On May 23, 2022, Andrea Caoili, Dr. Jen McLaren, and Dr. Beasley presented at the 2022 APA Annual Meeting in New Orleans! Their presentation, "Promoting Health Equity for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: The Integrated Mental Health Treatment Guidelines for Prescribers," provided an overview of the IDD-MH Prescriber Guidelines that NCSS developed with funding from the WITH Foundation.
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Cultural and Linguistic Competence (CLC) Tip
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Pride month is a time of celebration for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community - including the many LGBTQ+ people with disabilities. It is also an opportunity to recognize the challenges to equity and inclusion that are still faced by many in the LGBTQ+ community, which can be even greater for LGBTQ+ people of color and LBGTQ+ people with disabilities (Mokhtari, 2021). These barriers can be particularly pervasive for LGBTQ+ people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, whose experiences are compounded through the lens of intersectionality.
So, what can we do?
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Excerpt from Pauline Bosma’s article, Supporting LGBTQ+ people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Pride month is a great time for all of us to show acceptance and support for LGBTQ+ people with IDD. Here are some things that you can do:
- Listen and believe what they say about their gender and sexuality
- Have an open mind — there are many different ways that people identify and their identities might change over time
- Send messages of support and acceptance
- Teach them about gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ+ identities so they can figure out who they are and have the words to describe their feelings
- Support them to determine for themselves how they want to express their gender and sexuality
- Call them by the names and pronouns that they want you to use
- Connect them with a support network of LGBTQ+ people, including people with IDD, like the Rainbow Support Groups
- Give them the education and resources they need to be in healthy and happy romantic and sexual relationships
What you say to people and how you treat them really matters. Pride month is a time when many people feel inspired to come out and tell others about their LGBTQ+ identity or ask questions about the LGBTQ+ community.
(Bosma, 2022)
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Related trainings available from NCSS
Sexuality & IDD-MH by Dave Hingsburger, M.Ed.
Sexual Identity Panel Discussion with Micah Peace, Rémy Jodrey, & Connie Senior. Moderated by Jill Hinton, PhD & Respondent Dave Hingsburger, M.Ed.
Ten Lessons: What People with Autism Have to Teach the Rest of Us About Sexuality and Gender by Dan Shapiro, MD (Password: Start1)
Sources Cited:
Bass, B. & Nagy, H. (2021, October 9). Cultural competence in the care of LGBTQ patients. NIH National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK563176/
Bosma, P. (2022). Supporting LGBTQ+ people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Elevatus Training. Retrieved from https://www.elevatustraining.com/supporting-lgbtq/
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Have a healthy and happy week,
National Center for START Services
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