We are pleased to announce that the YOUTHSPEAK curriculum is now available on CD. A product of the recently completed Maine Adolescent Transition Partnership (MATP), the curriculum was designed by youth with special health care needs and disabilities as a component of our youth leadership efforts. The MATP project was a collaborative effort of the Center for Community Inclusion & Disability Studies at the University of Maine and the Bureau of Health, Children with Special Health Needs program at the Department of Human Services with funding from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

The MATP was guided by a participatory process led by youths, families, educators, health care providers and policy makers. A large focus of our work was building the capacity of youth to assume leadership roles and gain advocacy skills. More than 150 youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities in our state participated in the development and piloting of these materials. They have conducted numerous presentations using these materials to groups as diverse as guidance counselors, school nurses, teachers, employers, parents, policy makers and health care providers, including pre-service physicians and allied health care providers.

The CD includes all five modules (What we want our employers; teachers; parents; health care providers; and policy makers to know) as well as detailed instructions for its use, sample agendas, recommendations and strategies for organizing youth leadership activities and delivering seminars.

If you would like to schedule a presentation to your faculty, school board or other group, please contact Janet May at janet.may@umit.maine.edu or by phone at (207) 581-1084, or toll free at 1-800-230-6957, voice/tty.

Copies of the CD are available from the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies for $10.00 each, which includes shipping and handling (bulk rates negotiable). For more information you can visit us on the web at www.ccids.umaine.edu

This is an official publication of The University of Maine
A member of the University of Maine System

Updated: 01/11/2007