Background

Generational analysis is a method of understanding societal changes, behaviors, and attitudes through the lens of different age groups. It examines how historical events, technological advancements, cultural shifts, and economic conditions shape the values and perspectives of people born within a specific timeframe. Generations are typically identified by birth years and shared experiences. Commonly recognized cohorts include Generation Alpha, Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers. The following generational birth years and experiences are defined by the Pew Research Center.

Generation Alpha refers to those born as early as 2010. This is the first cohort born entirely within the 21st century. Members of Generation Alpha have the defining shared experience of the COVID-19 pandemic during their formative years.

Generation Z includes people born from 1997-2012. Members of this generation are often thought of as “digital natives” or “born digital” because the internet has always been a part of their lives.

Millennials were born between 1981-1996. This generation’s defining historical moments are the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and entering the workforce during the 2008 economic recession. As of 2019, Millennials outnumbered Baby Boomers, becoming the largest generational cohort.

Generation X includes people born between 1965-1980. It is the smallest generation by population, due to lower birth rates. As members of Generation X grew up, they witnessed the women’s liberation movement, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the AIDS epidemic, and the dot-com bubble crash in the 1990s.

Baby Boomers include people born between 1946-1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This generation’s name and time frame come from the dramatic increase in birth rates post-WWII until 1964, after which the birth rate declined. Since it is tied to birth rates, this is the only generation with definitive dates. Defining historical moments for the Baby Boomer generation include the civil rights movement, the space race, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate scandal.

Each generation develops unique characteristics and behaviors based on the environment and events they experienced during their formative years. These differences can affect views on work, family, technology, politics, and social issues, as well as perceptions about DD and preferences for supports. Experiences can vary widely by individual. However, generational analysis can provide a framework for understanding how different age groups shape and are shaped by the world around them, offering insights into both historical patterns and future trends.

Project Description

TCDD will fund a project to better understand the:

• disability experience and self-perceptions;
• preferred learning styles for education and training;
• and preferred methods of advocacy of individuals with DD and family members across generational ages and life experiences.

This information will inform advocacy strategies, training curriculum formats, and outreach and dissemination efforts to improve overall engagement across the diverse disability community in Texas. The project will focus on gathering information from individuals with DD of all ages. This will include a review of existing literature on generational behaviors as well as collection of new data. Methods may include one-on-one interviews, focus groups, surveys, or other strategies to gather input from individuals with DD.

The project will explore generational differences among individuals with DD in the following ways:

• Summarize the literature on culture, attitudes, self-perceptions, advocacy, and engagement practices of people with disabilities across generations.
• Build survey and data collection tools to collect information from Texans with DD about self-perceptions of disabilities, self-advocacy practices, and engagement practices.
• Evaluate data and describe similarities and differences across generations as they relate to self-perceptions of disabilities, self-advocacy practices, and engagement practices.
• Provide recommendations for modifying existing advocacy education and training models to incorporate the preferences and practices across generations.

The project will explore generational differences among parents and family members of individuals with DD in the following ways:

• Summarize the literature on culture and attitudes of parents and family members of individuals with disabilities across generations.
• Summarize the literature on advocacy and engagement practices of family members with disabilities across generations.
• Build survey and data collection tools to gather information from parents and family members of Texans with DD about:
  • attitudes, beliefs, and caregiving strategies.
  • past, current, and preferred advocacy and engagement practices (This may be organized by life stages.)
  • preferred learning methods, such as in-person classes or virtual classes.
• Evaluate data and describe similarities and differences across generations as they relate to attitudes, beliefs, caregiving, advocacy, and engagement strategies.
• Provide recommendations to incorporate learning preferences and practices across generations into existing advocacy education and training models.

Applicants must also explain how they will include diverse regional and cultural perspectives that include those who may not speak English as a primary language. All data collection and recruitment materials must be reviewed and approved by TCDD.

Participants

This project will gather information from individuals with DD, their parents, and other family members. Applicants may use representative samples to describe key outcomes and trends. Applicants should identify and report specific strategies to recruit and include individuals with DD across age groups from diverse racial, gender, socioeconomic, and cultural groups in Texas and the intersectionality of each. Participants who speak languages other than English may be recruited.

Applicants for this grant must:

• Identify the methodology for collecting information from people with DD and their family members across age, racial and ethnic groups, languages other than English, gender, socioeconomic, and geographic areas of the state.
• Explain how they will identify and recruit participants and how the program will be made available to people with DD and family members across age groups.
• Describe how they will collect participant demographic data.
• Describe how they will collect individual stories to provide examples and document current and preferred advocacy and engagement practices.
• Describe how the collected data could be incorporated into future advocacy training curriculum.

Outcomes and Outputs

This project must collect participant data and provide TCDD with, at a minimum, the following information:

• Number of participants in the program, including those with DD and their family members
• Demographic characteristics of program participants
• Attitudes and self-perceptions of disabilities among participants
• Past, current, and preferred language and disability terminology
• Past, current, and preferred advocacy strategies
• Preferred learning methods
• Summary of similarities and differences across generations as they relate to self-perceptions of disabilities and perceptions of caregiving
• Summary of similarities and differences across generations as they relate to self-advocacy and engagement practices
• Recommendations for modifying existing advocacy education and training models to incorporate the preferences and practices across generations
• Other variables relevant to a generational analysis

Grant Award and Term

TCDD has approved funding of up to $250,000 per year for one organization for up to two years. Funding is provided to TCDD by the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, per the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. For projects conducting work in federally designated poverty areas (PDF, 6 pages, 935 KB), non-federal matching funds of at least 10% of total project costs are required. For projects conducting work in non-poverty areas, non-federal matching funds of at least 25% of total project costs are required.

How to Apply

To apply, please complete an RFA submission form. Once we receive your form, we’ll email you an access code to the online application.

Applications for this RFA are due by 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday, Oct. 18. Late applications will not be accepted. Applications submitted on time may be reviewed at the February 2025 Council meeting. Review dates are subject to change.

For more information on our application process and grant requirements, visit our How to Apply webpage.