Texas Center

Texas Center

Texas Center for Disability Studies

Texas Center for Disability Study is one of sixty-seven nonprofit University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Research, Education, and Service (UCEDD) facilities based in colleges or universities throughout the United States and its territories.

We are an interdisciplinary team composed of professionals at the university level, persons with disabilities from state, regional and local communities, statewide service providers, and advocacy organization specialists.

All of our activities are guided by a belief in individualized supports, inclusion, self-determination, natural supports, and collaboration with organizations to address policy issues and systems change.

Contact Us:

txcds@uttcds.org                                       

(512) 232-0740

Texas Center Activities

Disability Studies 

Disability Studies is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field focused on the social and cultural context of disability. Often compared to womens studies, African American, or Chicano studies, this field considers disability as a social minority group with an emphasis on the way in which disability is constructed culturally, politically, and economically, rather than the traditional emphasis on the physiology of impairment. Read more

Community Training and Service

The Texas Center for Disability Studies strives to provide community services that provide training or technical assistance for individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, professionals, para-professionals, policy-makers, students, and other members of the community. We work to provide services, supports, and assistance for people with disabilities and their families to promote their independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion.

We engage in a variety of system and individual interventions to promote the independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Read more

Research, Evaluation & Policy

We conduct basic or applied research, evaluation, and public policy analysis in areas that affect or could affect, either positively or negatively, individuals with developmental disabilities and their families to improve their lives and to enhance the effectiveness of community-based programs and supports.

Applied and basic research, evaluation, and policy analysis are designed to complement our core functions and to address the identified priority-need areas, through both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Read more

Information Services

The primary goal of our Information Services activity, as part of a national network, is to increase and support the independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion of people with developmental disabilities into supportive communities.

A significant component in the replication and implementation of innovative training and service programs is the dissemination of effective practices derived from these same programs. From the inception of any project, we build in the means for effective dissemination of the findings and products beyond the end of the contract or grant agreement. Read more