The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy is dedicated to improving the lives of people with autism and other disabilities across the lifespan through innovative social polices that foster inclusion into the mainstream of society. The Lurie Institute conducts research on disability policy in the United States with a special emphasis on autism, focusing on the lifespan of persons with disabilities and their families, and analyzing policy options for achieving the broadest integration of persons with disabilities into the mainstream of U.S. society, including their own voices in such analyses.

The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy was created with a generous gift from the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation. Through research, policy development, education, and public engagement, the Lurie Institute provides a comprehensive approach to addressing disability issues across the lifespan. Brandeis’ ongoing scientific research into developmental disabilities, including autism, also informs the Institute’s activities.

Mission

The mission of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy is to lead research and training initiatives that promote effective, efficient policies to improve the well-being of children and adults with disabilities and their caregiving families, across the lifespan.

The Lurie Institute is delighted to co-sponsor a Senatorial Candidates Forum on Disability Issues at Dwight Hall at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA on Monday, June 3, 2013 from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm.  Congressman Edward Markey and a representative for Gabriel Gomez will be on hand to discuss disability issues.

Susan L. Parish presented "Preventive Health Care for Women with Developmental Disabilities" at the 2013 AADMD Annual Conferenceon on April 27th in Mesa, AZ.

On Thursday, April 25th, Susan L. Parish presented a poster entitled "Cervical and Breast Cancer Screenings for for Women with ID" at the Oregon Health and Science University national conference on Health Disparitites Research at the Intersection of Race, Ethnicity and Disability in Washington DC.

The Lurie Institute is pleased to announce that Lurie Institute Doctoral Fellow, Maria Timberlake, has successfully defended her dissertation, "Academic Content and Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities:  How Teacher Interpretation and Choice Impact Access to the General Education Curriculum".  Maria is currently an assistant professor at SUNY Cortland in New York.

Lurie Institute director Susan L. Parish has been appointed by the National Research Council as a member of the Steering Committee for the Committee on National Statistics, to plan the Workshop on Research Gaps and Opportunities on the Causes and Consequences of Child Hunger.

The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy will reschedule the film ANITA for September 2013 .

Susan Parish and collegues' work on "Racial and ethnic disparities in quality of health care among children with autism and other developmental disabilities" was featured on the February 2013 Maternal and Child Health Bureau Health Resources and Services Administration Research Program website.

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