Public Education and Outreach
2012 was an expansive year for UCP’s Public Education and Outreach programs, as we continued to invest in our flagship program, My Child Without Limits (MCWL), launched Brave Kids, and introduced My Life Without Limits and the Siblings Initiative. Together, these four programs provide a comprehensive continuum of support for individuals with disabilities and their families from birth through adulthood.
Additionally, UCP has expanded our public education and outreach efforts through electronic publications and social media, seeking to spark conversation and build online communities to advance our mission of helping people with disabilities live a life without limits.
My Child Without Limits, UCP’s authoritative early intervention resource for families of young children ages 0-5 with developmental delays or disabilities, provides vital information and a strong online community of parents of children with disabilities, creating a comprehensive web of support for families. In 2012, significant changes were made to the website to improve the content and accessibility. This included translating the entire site into Spanish, and reviewing each translated page to ensure that complex medical information would translate and that cultural sensitivities were observed in the translation.
UCP has continued to grow and develop the My Child Without Limitsonline community, which is an important component of the comprehensive support provided by MCWL. In the last year, the number of community members has increased by 47 percent— and it continues to grow, offering parents and families a network of peers they can rely on for information and support.
Another exciting development for My Child Without Limits is the launch of the Parent Welcome Pack program. As parents and caregivers join the MCWL community they can sign up to receive a complimentary welcome pack in efforts to deepen our relationship with them, our support, and provide them with additional information and resources. Each pack contains information for the parents from UCP supporters as well as other items, such as a bib and sippy cup, printed with MCWL logo.
In April 2012, UCP launched its second online resource, BraveKids.org, which serves children with disabilities and chronic/ life-threatening illnesses by providing a support community, information and resources on numerous medical conditions such as genetic diseases, autism, cancer, cerebral palsy and more. Information targets the issues children and their families aged 6-16 face. In addition to the information available on the website, Brave Kids also has a social media presence and sends out a monthly newsletter.
At the heart of the new Brave Kids website and community is a belief that people with disabilities and chronic/ life-threatening illnesses should be able to live a life without limits. UCP has received excellent feedback from website users and have plans to improve the site and to expand the program.
UCP’s Sibling Initiative provides information and support to siblings without disabilities and recognizes the importance these individuals can have on the lives of their brother or sister with a disability. In its first steps, UCP’s Sibling Initiative has partnered with organizations leading the way for sibling supports and with these groups has created and provided programming to UCP affiliates.
The final two initiatives that complete UCP’s robust Public Education programs focus on supporting adults with disabilities in transition from school to living an independent, self-determined life and promoting the role siblings without disabilities play in the lives of their families. These new programs are in their beginning stages.
In My Life Without Limits, UCP explores life transition issues including employment, housing, exploring higher education and more. UCP is partnering with other leaders in the field of transitions to find where our resources and expertise can be put to use.
