Rush University
In a service learning course, interprofessional student teams collaborate with individuals with IDD, their caregivers, and staff from a local community-based organization during a series of telehealth sessions.
2025 Update
With support from the WITH Foundation, the AISLE project has expanded to two additional institutions.
At UMass Dartmouth, AISLE is integrated into a public health nursing clinical course, utilizing a community partner site for in-person sessions. The script has been modified to include chronic conditions, nutrition modifications for those with feeding tubes, and wellness goals. Five in-person visits and one telehealth session are planned; additional goals include developing a simulation case study for telehealth visits and possibly using role-playing for wellness visit preparation.
At Michigan State University, AISLE is part of a public health nursing clinical with eight students at a community agency serving individuals with IDD. Students completed the Special Olympics Inclusive Health Fundamentals as onboarding and utilized AISLE materials in discussions. They collaborate with people with IDD to provide education on chronic conditions and prepare a physical activity group intervention and community resource guide for active lifestyles, intending to use AISLE with two groups in the fall.
Interprofessional student teams representing two or more healthcare professions partner with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their direct service providers and caregivers in an advanced service-learning course. This builds on existing coursework to ensure students have prior experience working in interprofessional teams and conducting telehealth appointments. In addition to traditional didactic content, the students participate in a collaborative interprofessional community experience. The student teams partner with Ada S. McKinley Community Services, a local community-based organization with sites in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Over three telehealth sessions, the team of students and individuals with IDD, with the support of a staff person from Ada S. McKinley, will develop and pursue measurable wellness goals. Over ten weeks, students complete weekly team reflections on their learning activities, designed to meet IPEC competencies. Weekly modules include content on communication strategies, the social model of disability, health promotion, and bias against people with disabilities.
In November 2024, Rush University received funding from the WITH Foundation to support the expansion of the AISLE program to DePaul University, Michigan State University, and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Student Feedback
“…my eyes have really been opened to the biases of healthcare providers and the effects it has on care of patients with IDD. I know a little more and am better equipped to advocate for patients with IDD and their needs. Also, because of our team’s telehealth appointments I feel more comfortable asking patients about their personal goals and helping aid them in achieving those goals instead of forcing my own agenda about what I think should be most important to their health.”