Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities

Join a free virtual seminar on June 19 focused on addressing sensory challenges in oral health home care for people with disabilities.

The seminar, part of a TCDD-funded project led by UTHealth Houston and Branchly, will focus on interdisciplinary approaches to reduce barriers and improve outcomes for people with sensory needs. While designed for clinical professionals, self-advocates, family members, and caregivers are also welcome to attend.

For more details, visit Branchly's website: https://www.branchly.com/events-clinicians/interdisciplinary-approaches-for-addressing-sensory-challenges-in-oral-health-home-care

www.branchly.com

TCDD and Baylor College of Medicine are improving health care access, self-direction, and outcomes for Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In this video, we chat with Dr. Kathryn Jordan Kemere about training medical professionals on providing care for people with IDD, success stories from the TCDD-funded project she directs, sustainable health care practices, and more.

Interprofessional Education in Health Care Excellence for Adults with IDD Learn how TCDD and Baylor College of Medicine are improving health ...

Raising Texas Voices is a statewide research study to learn what matters most to Texans with disabilities and their families when they talk about disability, advocate, and find support. Led by the Baylor Center for Disability and Flourishing, the study includes an online survey seeking input from Texans with disabilities, their families, and the professionals or providers who serve them.

This work is part of a TCDD-funded project to gather data and insight from Texas communities to inform best practices for disability advocacy that are inclusive, culturally relevant, and generationally responsive. The project will also develop recommendations for ensuring that people with disabilities have a significant voice in shaping policies that impact their lives.

Learn more and complete the survey on the Raising Texas Voices website: https://disability.research.baylor.edu/focus-areas/families/raising-texas-voices

Raising Texas Voices Raising Texas Voices is a statewide research study focused on listening to Texans with disabilities and their families to better understand what matters most to them, including how they talk about disability, advocate, and learn and/or find help.By learning directly from lived experiences, this rese...

During recent meetings, our Council members focused on priorities to expand access to health care and improve service delivery for Texans with DD. Visit our website for more meeting highlights.

May 2026 Council Meeting Recap Highlights from our recent meetings.

TCDD Council members meet every three months. So, what happens during a Council Meeting?

Learn more and sign up for our newsletter at https://mailchi.mp/tcdd/tcdd-email-sign-up

Our next Council and Committee meetings will take place May 6-8 in Houston. Visit our website for meeting agendas and additional information.

Council Meetings The Council meets quarterly. All meetings are open to the public and are announced on our website, in the Texas Register, and on the Texas Secretary of State’s Open Meetings website.

Is being invited the same as being included? This video from Project LEAD explains the difference.

Project LEAD (Leadership, Empowerment, Advocacy, and Self-Determination) offers leadership development and advocacy training for adults with DD to become effective self-advocates and community leaders. Coordinated by Texas Advocates, the TCDD-funded project promotes meaningful self-advocate participation on boards, taskforces, and other committees that affect disability policies.

Learn more: https://www.texadvocates.org/lead

Joshua Productions 1 like. "Texas Advocates - Video 3 - Don't Just Invite Me, Include Me! - Embedded Captions (no T/F)"

It’s Disability Book Week!

Founded in 2021 by Mary Mecham, a graduate of TCDD’s Texas Partners in Policymaking program, Disability Book Week celebrates books that reflect the real and diverse experiences of people with disabilities.

Visit disabilitybookweek.org for more book recommendations that include people with disabilities. You’ll find books for children, teens, and adults. The site also offers tools and tips to help libraries, schools, and bookstores create more inclusive spaces.

April is Autism Acceptance Month! Kickstart your spring with these resources to spread awareness, connect with others, and learn something new.

Autism Acceptance Materials: Autism Society of Texas has created a toolkit for schools and community members to create awareness and support for community members with Autism. You can access these materials on their website: www.texasautismsociety.org/autism-acceptance-month

Helping Learners Prepare for the Workforce: The HHSC Children’s Autism Program is hosting this webinar for Autism Acceptance Month! This webinar is geared towards caregivers and professionals. It will guide you on assessment and intervention approaches to prepare learners with autism for employment: bit.ly/HHSCHelpingLearnersPrepare

Autism Partner Toolkit: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created a toolkit of resources for people with Autism and their communities. The toolkit includes resources for transitioning into adulthood, early identification, accessing services, and more. www.cdc.gov/autism/php/toolkit

Several of the recently released legislative interim charges involve issues important to Texans with disabilities. This special edition of our Texas Legislative News covers what these charges are and how disability advocates can get involved: https://tcdd.texas.gov/texas-legislative-news-april-15-2026/