VCL Moodle

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) is proud to share a new toolkit to encourage researchers to better include individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in their research. The Informed Consent Process for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is designed to provide strategies to make the informed consent process go more smoothly for research participants with IDD.

Individuals with IDD are often excluded from health-related research. Exclusion from research leads to reduced quality of health care and unknown treatment effectiveness. This contributes to overall health disparities in this population. One of the often-perceived barriers to inclusion of research participants with IDD is the informed consent process. The toolkit aims to provide strategies to make this an easier and more successful process for the researcher and their research participants with IDD. Click here to access a free PDF of the toolkit.

This publication was edited, designed, and produced by the Clinical Translational and the Administrative Cores of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC), with research coordinator Kasey Fitzpatrick spearheading the project.

The Informed Consent Process for Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is free to the public, as are all VKC printable resources, unless otherwise noted, and accessible via download.

Click here to access the Informed Consent Process toolkit. 

Mobilize for Tennessee's Kids: East TN

As we navigate the 2025 legislative session, our lawmakers will be faced with decisions that affect our livelihoods, our children, and our communities. It is time that we work together as advocates for child nutrition and early education and make sure the voice of every stakeholder is lifted and present in these conversations.

We are excited to invite you to join our Mobilize for Tennessee's Kids Training in Greeneville, TN on Thursday, February 20th from 4pm-6pm (ET) at Greene County Partnership Office, 115 Academy St. Greeneville, TN.

During our time together, we will dive into how policies move through Tennessee's General Assembly and build your personal skillset for impacting policy. We welcome supporters from all areas of the community who are passionate about improving the lives of children.

SIGNUP HERE

Tennessee Disability Pathfinder Webinar: Navigating Resources with Pathfinder
November 14, 11:30 a.m. CT / 12:30 p.m. ET
Step into the world of Pathfinder and meet the incredible team behind the scenes! From our information & referral specialists to our communications, design, and development wizards and education and multicultural services, our talented members work tirelessly to bring you an accessible and inclusive disability resource information and supports experience. Register here.