Welcome to the latest edition of TCDD Extra, a newsletter published every two months with a selection of recent disability news, resources, training, advocacy opportunities, and more. This newsletter highlights TCDD activities and initiatives but may also share information from other organizations.
Table of Contents
Supporting and Celebrating Family Caregivers
November is National Family Caregivers Month, which celebrates family caregivers, including those who care for people with developmental disabilities (DD). Led by the Caregiver Action Network, the 2025 theme of the national observance is “Plug-in to Care.” The theme focuses on connecting family caregivers to vital support tools, trusted networks, and educational resources.
Without family caregivers, many Texans with DD wouldn’t have support to live in their communities and make decisions about their lives. For family members, the caregiving relationship can be rewarding. But it often involves physical, financial, and emotional challenges. This month, we encourage you to learn more about family caregiving and call attention to barriers faced by family caregivers.
Here are a few resources to get started:
- Strengthen the Care You Give is a statewide awareness campaign to help Texas caregivers access reliable support. To learn more and find resources on caregiver self-care, education, training, and collaboration, visit TexasCaregivers.org.
- The Aging Texas Well Strategic Plan provides a comprehensive outlook on issues impacting older Texans and promotes strategies to address those issues at the state, community, and individual levels. Developed by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the strategic plan (PDF, 39 pages, 576 KB) identifies priority areas for older Texans and highlights future needs, including increased support for family caregivers.
- Aging and Disability Resource Centers are located across Texas and provide support and information for caregivers and care recipients. The centers provide contact information for respite providers, education, training, and more. Centers also partner with community organizations that help with things like personal care, transportation, and housing assistance. To find a center in your area, use the search tool on the HHSC website.
- The U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) supports programs and research to improve the lives of people who care for family members with disabilities as well as older adults. To find resources and information on topics ranging from caregiver support programs to respite care, visit the ACL website.
- The National Council on Aging has a National Family Caregivers Month webpage that includes information and videos on family caregiver support. The page also provides sample messaging and images you can use to raise awareness on social media.
Tools to Involve People with DD in Research Projects
Strategic Education Solutions recently published a series of online resources as part of a TCDD-funded project to ensure people with DD are actively involved in research projects on disability issues. The resources include training courses, videos, learning games, toolkits, and more. Strategic Education Solutions, in partnership with The Arc of Greater Beaumont, is creating training resources for people with DD to participate in research projects on issues that affect their lives.
Risk Factors and Myths on Substance Use and DD
Dr. Kim Fulda with the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (UNT Health Fort Worth) recently contributed to two blog posts for the Self-Advocate Network website to raise awareness of substance-use disorders among people with DD. In the blog posts, Fulda:
- highlighted common risk factors for substance abuse among people with DD, including loneliness and mental health challenges; and
- explained persistent myths about substance use and people with DD.
The posts also include details on how to get involved in a TCDD-funded project led by UNT Health Fort Worth to develop clinical practice guidelines and promote improvements in the prevention, identification, and treatment of substance-use disorders among people with DD.
Quotable
“Including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities isn’t just about offering opportunities; it’s about recognizing ability, purpose, and potential in every person.”
— Tonja Sparks, volunteer services manager at Ronald McDonald House Fort Worth, on creating inclusive volunteer programs for people with disabilities. Earlier this month, TCDD shared a story about Parker Crim, a 19-year-old man with Down syndrome living in Fort Worth, who volunteers with local nonprofits to develop job skills and gain work experience. The story offered insight into how volunteering and skill-building can create pathways to jobs for people with disabilities.
Applications Due for Bobcat RISE Program at TXST
Applications for the Bobcat RISE (Resilience, Independence, Self-Determination, and Empowerment) program are open until Dec. 5. Led by the College of Education at Texas State University, Bobcat RISE is a TCDD-funded program that supports students with DD interested in post-secondary education who are ready for independent but supported living on a college campus. Along with classwork and campus activities, Bobcat RISE students have opportunities to gain employment skills through other university departments.
Creating Inclusive Heath Care Without Assumptions
Baylor College of Medicine is leading a TCDD-funded project to ensure health care professionals provide people with DD with competent, inclusive, and patient-centered care without assumptions about patients’ abilities or goals. Through the college’s Transition Medicine Clinic, the project has developed a curriculum and provides supervised clinical training to educate students across multiple health care professions.
Recently, the project posted a video about adaptive communication for health care providers of patients with DD. The video features people with DD, family members, and caregivers sharing their communication needs and preferences.
The project is part of a TCDD initiative to increase health providers’ knowledge of the experience of people with DD and their families while improving self-direction, accessibility, and effectiveness of treatment and support. To learn more, visit the Baylor College of Medicine website.
Sunset Commission Invites Comments on TCDD
The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is inviting the public to comment on TCDD’s mission and performance as part of a review process required by the Texas Sunset Act. The Sunset Commission welcomes comments on whether TCDD is still needed and if TCDD is fulfilling its mission. The commission is also interested in ideas to improve TCDD’s operations. The Texas Sunset Act requires that all state agencies and programs be reviewed on a periodic basis — generally every 12 years. For more information on the Sunset review process and how to provide comments, visit the TCDD website.
The Sunset commission is currently reviewing 16 state agencies. Other agencies under review include HHSC, the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities, and the Texas Workforce Commission.
