Worlds Imagined: Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

This week concludes Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. Each March, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) and their partners work together to create a social media campaign that “highlights the many ways in which people with and without disabilities come together to form strong, diverse communities.”

The 2022 theme for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, or DDAM22, is Worlds Imagined. The campaign seeks to “raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all facets of community life, as well as awareness of the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live.”

Living with Developmental Disabilities

CDC: 17% of Children Have One or More Developmental Disabilities

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 17% of children, aged 3 through 17 years living in the United States, have one or more developmental disabilities, such as:

• DHD
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Cerebral Palsy
• Hearing Loss
• Intellectual Disability
• Learning Disability
• Vision Impairment
• Other Developmental Delays

The CDC is part of a larger group of public and private organizations working to better understand developmental disabilities by:

• Studying how common developmental disabilities are, who is more likely to have them, and whether their occurrence is changing over time.
• Identifying factors that can put children at risk for developmental disabilities and exploring possible causes.
• Improving identification of developmental delays so children and families can get the services and support they need as early as possible.

The future of research for Developmental Disabilities

The CDC Funds the  Largest US Study to Identify Risk Factors

Among other initiatives, the CDC is funding the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED), the “largest study in the United States to help identify factors that may put children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities.”

The SmartCare™ EHR Platform: Built to Serve Organizations that Support Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

Streamline Healthcare Solutions’ Electronic Health Record Platform, SmartCare™, was designed specifically for Behavioral Health and Human Services. Request a demo today!

As a true Enterprise EHR platform, SmartCare™ is ideal for multi-faceted organizations that provide multiple types of services, including organizations that serve those with Developmental Disabilities. 

To learn more, read about how SmartCare™ supports organizations that service communities with developmental disabilities.