DEPARTMENT 

of HEALTH

and HUMAN

 SERVICES

National Institute on Disability,

Independent Living, and Rehabilitation

Research (NIDILRR)

2021 Report to Congress 

Prepared by

ADMINISTRATION FOR 

COMMUNITY LIVING
2 

Table of Contents

Table of Contents........................................................................................................................ 2

Acronyms .................................................................................................................................... 3

Executive Summary..................................................................................................................... 4

Funding and Grants Management.......................................................................................... 4

Productivity and Accomplishments........................................................................................ 4

Research Capacity Building..................................................................................................... 4

Training and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).................. 6

Knowledge Translation ........................................................................................................... 6

Ongoing NIDILRR Activities..................................................................................................... 6

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7

Grant Competitions – Year in Review....................................................................................... 10

Grant Competition and Peer Review Process....................................................................... 10

Grant Competitions............................................................................................................... 10

Monitoring and Oversight..................................................................................................... 11

Funding Overview ................................................................................................................. 12

Grantee Activities and Progress............................................................................................ 15

Sampling of Key Accomplishments by NIDILRR-Funded Researchers.................................. 16

ADA National Network.......................................................................................................... 21

Research Fellowship Program (Mary E. Switzer Fellowship Program)................................. 22

Ongoing NIDILRR Activities................................................................................................... 24
3 

Acronyms 

ACL Administration for Community Living

ADA Americans with Disabilities Act 

APR Annual Performance Reporting System

ARRT Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Project 

AV Autonomous Vehicle

CL&P Community Living and Participation

CLPC Community Living Policy Center

DRRP Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project

EMP Employment

FIP Field-Initiated Project 

FY Fiscal Year

GLB Group Lifestyle Balance

H&F Health and Function

HCBS Home and Community-Based Services

HHS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

ICDR Interagency Committee on Disability Research

KT Knowledge Translation 

MSI Minority-Serving Institution 

NIDILRR National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and 

Rehabilitation Research

RERC Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

RRTC Rehabilitation Research and Training Center

SBIR Small Business Innovation Research 

SCI Spinal Cord Injury

TBI Traumatic Brain Injury 
4 

Executive Summary 

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 transferred the National 

Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) to the 

Administration for Community Living (ACL) from the U.S. Department of Education. With this 

move, NIDILRR’s mission remained unchanged -- to generate new knowledge and to promote 

its effective use to improve the abilities of individuals with disabilities to perform activities of 

their choice in the community, as well as to expand society’s capacity to provide full 

opportunities and accommodations for individuals with disabilities. As the primary research 

enterprise within ACL, NIDILRR’s mission is highly complementary to the overarching mission of 

ACL — to maximize the independence, well-being, and health of older adults, people with 

disabilities across the lifespan, and their families and caregivers. 

ACL’s NIDILRR programs address a wide range of disabilities and impairments across all age 

groups and promote health and function, community living and participation, and employment.

To accomplish these goals, ACL invests in research, knowledge translation, and capacitybuilding activities through its discretionary grant-funding mechanisms.

Funding and Grants Management

The allocation of ACL’s NIDILRR grant funds for fiscal year (FY) 2021 totaled $106,604,812. In 

addition, NIDILRR awarded $6,186,590 in contracts and other support activities in FY 2021. 

These funds supported 245 grant awards in FY 2021 which supported more than 1,400 discrete 

projects. 

The peer review process for NIDILRR grant competitions is highly rigorous, with 20.6 percent of 

applicants receiving new grant funding during FY 2021 (see Table 1). 

Productivity and Accomplishments

ACL funds research toward the development of new knowledge and innovative technological 

devices, prototypes, measurement tools, interventions, and other informational products to 

enhance community living, health and function, and employment among people with 

disabilities. Grantees employ advanced methodologies to conduct research, including 

randomized controlled trials, longitudinal studies, and qualitative studies. These investments 

produce peer-reviewed publications, intervention protocols, software, databases, and a wide 

range of other outputs and outcomes. Selected examples of grantee accomplishments in FY 

2021 include:

ACCESSIBILITY AT DRIVE-THRU MEDICAL SITES

Employers and state/local government entities that create or maintain drive-through medical 

sites, especially those related to vaccine delivery and drive-up medical services, benefited from
5

a publication produced by the Pacific ADA Regional Center. Accessibility at Drive-Thru Medical 

Sites describes key considerations and strategies to promote accessibility at drive-through 

medical sites, including testing sites and vaccination sites. As a result of this publication, the 

California Office of Emergency Services’ Access and Functional Needs Office chief reported use 

of the document in setting up vaccine super sites and noted that it was instrumental in guiding 

local efforts to provide accessible drive-up services. 

ENABLING ACCESS TO ACCESSIBLE FITNESS EQUIPMENT

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center RecTech’s fitness equipment standards, supported 

by ASTM, led to Planet Fitness, one of the largest fitness industry providers in the U.S., opting 

to include an accessible piece of fitness (strength) equipment at each of its 4,500 locations. The 

equipment selected was based on it passing all of RecTech’s equipment standards. RecTech is 

planning to establish an exercise and fitness center standards lab that will offer any facility that 

has exercise equipment or is planning to purchase new equipment (e.g., fitness centers, park 

districts, YMCAs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, etc.) a list of approved 

equipment that RecTech determines is accessible for people with disabilities. This will be the 

first exercise and fitness facility standards lab in the U.S. and world.

EVIDENCE-BASED, CDC-APPROVED DIABETES PREVENTION AFTER TBI

The North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Model System examined the efficacy of the 

Diabetes Prevention Program – Group Lifestyle Balance intervention modified for people with 

TBI (GLB-TBI) on weight loss compared to an attention control using a randomized controlled

trial. The hypothesis of this study was that participation in the 12-month GLB-TBI will lead to 

weight loss (greater than 5 percent) and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. Results of this 

study found that the GLB-TBI group experienced weight loss of 7.9 percent. Participants’ risk for 

metabolic syndrome and developing heart disease and diabetes decreased from greater than 

84 percent when compared to U.S. adults at baseline to average risk at 12 months due to 

reduced abdominal fat (-3.1 inches); blood pressure (44 percent “high” at baseline versus 20.8 

percent at 12 months); and triglycerides (high 200.6mg/dL at baseline to normal 147.5mg/dL at 

12 months). This program is now recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

as an evidence-based intervention for diabetes prevention after TBI. 

Research Capacity-Building

Research capacity-building efforts under the Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training 

Projects, Switzer Fellowship Program, and NIDILRR’s Center grant programs develop a diverse 

cadre of emerging disability and rehabilitation researchers. In addition, NIDILRR directs targeted 

resources to minority-serving institutions, such as historically black colleges and universities 

and tribal colleges and universities, to develop and implement programs to build disability and 

rehabilitation research capacity.
6

Training and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act

ACL sponsors the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) National Network, which delivers 

training, technical assistance, and dissemination of materials for stakeholders with rights and 

responsibilities under the ADA. The ADA Participation Action Research Consortium

complements the Network’s activities through research on factors influencing the community 

living of individuals with disabilities at state, regional, and community levels.

Knowledge Translation

ACL is committed to ensuring that the products of its sponsored research and development 

promote the independent living, health and function, employment, and community living 

outcomes of individuals with disabilities. Through its Knowledge Translation Centers, ACL

ensures that new knowledge and products gained through research and development are 

effectively communicated to stakeholders and used to improve the lives of individuals with 

disabilities.

Ongoing Activities

ACL will focus on implementing and integrating the visions of the NIDILRR Director and the 

mission of ACL in to NIDILRR programs. In March 2019, ACL published NIDILRR’s FY 2018–2023 

Long-Range Plan. This document defines the programmatic vision and will frame NIDILRR’s 

research agenda for the coming years. Additionally, the Director has identified goals to bolster 

the ways in which NIDILRR involves people with disabilities across the entire research process 

and research enterprise. This includes increasing the representation of researchers with 

disabilities within NIDILRR’s funding mechanisms and disabled researchers of color and from 

other underrepresented backgrounds and deepen the rehabilitation training field trajectory. 

Strategic partnerships with other agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human 

Services (HHS) and across the federal government have been instrumental in advancing 

NIDILRR’s mission. As such, ACL will continue to enhance its existing partnerships and seek out 

new collaborative opportunities within HHS and more broadly across the federal disability and 

rehabilitation research communities. ACL’s Director of NIDILRR serves as the Chair of the 

Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR). Under the ICDR Director’s leadership, 

efforts will focus on building upon the ongoing work of the ICDR , contributing to the 

achievement of goals set forth in the recently drafted government-wide disability and

rehabilitation research strategic plan.
7

2021 Report to Congress

Introduction

ACL’s NIDILRR is committed to improving independent living and community participation

among people with disabilities by funding research and development in the areas of community 

living and participation, health and function, and employment. This Annual Report to Congress 

will describe NIDILRR’s activities and accomplishments during fiscal year (FY) 2021. It begins 

with a summary of the organization’s historical foundation, provides a description of its funding 

process and fiscal allocations, and follows with descriptions of programmatic outcomes 

impacting the community. This report concludes by describing ongoing initiatives and directions 

within the organization.

NIDILRR was established by Congress to conduct research that would lead to improved health 

and function, employment, and community living outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

First constituted as the National Institute on Handicapped Research by the Rehabilitation, 

Comprehensive Services, and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978 (P.L. 95–602), 

amending the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the organization was originally housed in the 

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and later the Department of Education. The 

1986 amendments to the Rehabilitation Act changed the agency’s name to the National 

Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. On July 22, 2014, the agency was renamed 

the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research and 

transferred from the Department of Education to ACL within HHS. This change occurred with 

the passage of P.L. 113–128, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. NIDILRR personnel 

officially became ACL employees on February 8, 2015.

NIDILRR’s mission is to generate new knowledge and promote its effective use to improve the 

abilities of individuals with disabilities to perform activities of their choice in the community as 

well as to expand society’s capacity to provide full opportunities and accommodations for 

individuals with disabilities. To accomplish this mission, NIDILRR:

• Supports research, development, training, technical assistance, and related activities to 

build new knowledge.

• Promotes the transfer, use, and adoption of technology for individuals with disabilities 

to improve health and function, employment, and independent community living and 

participation outcomes.

• Provides for research training to increase the number of qualified researchers, including 

researchers with disabilities and from minority backgrounds.
8

• Fosters widespread dissemination and use of scientific and technological information to 

advance policy, practice, and services that improve outcomes for people with 

disabilities.

ACL’s NIDILRR programs address community living and participation, health and function, and 

employment outcomes of people with disabilities. ACL’s investments in research, development, 

knowledge translation, and capacity-building activities are carried out through the following 

discretionary grant-funding mechanisms:

• Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC) conduct advanced research and 

training on a wide variety of health, rehabilitation, employment, and community living 

topics.

• Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERC) conduct rehabilitation engineering 

research and development toward technological solutions to rehabilitation problems or 

environmental barriers.

• Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRP) conduct research, development, 

technical assistance, training, and utilization activities on health, rehabilitation, 

employment, and community living topics.

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) National Network projects conduct research and 

provide information, training, and technical assistance to ADA stakeholders.

• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects support small businesses to explore 

feasibility and develop or evaluate the commercialization potential of new technology 

products for people with disabilities.

• Knowledge Translation (KT) projects promote the use of research-based knowledge in 

NIDILRR’s community of stakeholders.

• Field-Initiated Projects (FIP) conduct 3-year studies on topics proposed by applicants to 

address disability and rehabilitation issues in promising and innovative ways.

• Model Systems programs in spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and 

burn injury conduct research on rehabilitation and long-term outcomes of individuals 

with these conditions. Research in these programs includes collaborative, multisite 

research and collection and analysis of longitudinal data.

• Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Projects (ARRT) support institutions of 

higher education to provide advanced interdisciplinary research training to postdoctoral 

fellows.

• Research Fellowship Programs, or Mary E. Switzer Fellowships, are awarded to 

qualified individuals to conduct 1-year independent research projects.

• Section 21 projects focus on research capacity-building for Minority-Serving Institutions

(MSI), including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and other institutions 

with significant racial/ethnic minority student populations. Section 21 of the 
9

Rehabilitation Act requires that 1 percent of NIDILRR appropriations be invested to 

address traditionally underserved populations.
10 

Grant Competitions – 2021 Year in Review

Grant Competition and Peer Review Process

ACL’s NIDILRR sponsors disability and rehabilitation research and development in the outcome 

domains of community living and participation, health and function, and employment. Funding 

is provided to the research community through its funding mechanisms, with priorities within 

these mechanisms determined by the agency. NIDILRR utilizes a rigorous peer review process, 

as required by federal regulation, and internal and external program evaluation to ensure the 

quality of its sponsored research and development activities. Subject matter experts with the 

appropriate credentials and content knowledge evaluate the scientific, technical, and 

management aspects of proposals submitted in response to NIDILRR funding opportunity 

announcements. This process generates an average score across reviewers, reducing bias and

facilitating the ranking of projects by scientific merit. Only the highest-ranking proposals are 

recommended for ACL funding.

Grant Competitions

Table 1 describes NIDILRR’s FY 2021 grant competitions. The number of eligible applicants, 

review panels, reviewers, awards made, and percentage of applicants receiving funding are 

shown. A large percentage of applications receive high peer review scores that indicate strong 

technical merit and significant need. ACL’s limited resources allow only a small percentage of 

these applicants to receive grants each year.

Table 1. NIDILRR Peer Review Process Overview, FY 2021 

Grant Opportunity

# Eligible 

Applicants

# 

Panels

# 

Reviewers

# 

Awards 

Made

% Applicants 

Receiving 

Funding

ARRT – H&F 13 2 10 1 8%

ARRT – CL&P 2 1 5 1 50%

ARRT – EMP 3 1 5 1 33%

SBIR – Phase 1 32 4 20 10 31%

SBIR – Phase 2 14 2 10 4 29%

Switzer 33 3 12 7 21%

FIP 171 18 89 17 10%

FIP – MSI 9 1 5 2 22%

DRRP – Employment 29 3 12 2 7%

DRRP – Parenting 1 1 4 1 100%

DRRP – Pregnancy 6 1 5 1 17%

DRRP – Social Isolation 17 2 10 1 6%

ADA National Network 10 2 10 10 100%
11 

Grant Opportunity

# Eligible 

Applicants

# 

Panels

# 

Reviewers

# 

Awards 

Made

% Applicants 

Receiving 

Funding

ADA KT Center 1 1 5 1 100%

SCI Model Systems 23 3 15 14 61%

Model Systems KT Center 1 1 5 1 100%

TBI Data Center 1 1 5 1 100%

SCI Data Center 2 - - 1 50%

RERC – Low Vision/Blindness 1 1 5 0 0%

RERC – Wireless Technologies 4 1 4 1 25%

RRTC – CL Interventions 7 1 5 1 14%

RRTC – Employer Practices 3 1 5 1 33%

TOTAL 383 50 241 79 20.6%

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on 

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. These figures do not include FY 2021 awards made 

from 2020 slates. 

Monitoring and Oversight

ACL’s NIDILRR uses its Annual Performance Reporting (APR) System, formative review 

mechanisms, and close monitoring of grant activities by ACL staff to provide rigorous oversight 

of its funded initiatives. NIDILRR’s APR is a web-based grants performance system that grantees 

use to provide data about goals and objectives, staffing, budget, research and development 

methods, progress, outputs, and accomplishments. Data are used to determine whether 

continuation funding should be provided to a grantee. For a new grantee, the first reporting 

period begins on the start date of the award and extends until May 31 of the following year. 

Subsequent reporting periods begin June 1 and end May 31. Grantees submit their progress 

reports annually on July 1.

As part of the APR process, NIDILRR asks grantees to voluntarily disclose the number of staff on 

the funded project who have a disability, as well as the disability status of the principal 

investigator. Investigators and other professional staff are the two categories that had the most 

staff with a disability across the period from 2010 to 2021. The number of staff with a disability 

across NIDILRR projects had no trend upward or downward across the entire 11-year period. 

The number of staff with a disability in 2021 (n=389), is similar to the number of staff with 

disabilities at the beginning of the time period in 2010. The number of grants with a principal 

investigator with a disability generally increased across the time period from 2010 (n=32) to 

2021 (n=45).

Formative evaluations of funded awards are used as supplemental oversight and technical 

assistance tools for grantees. Such reviews are conducted when program officers believe that a 
12

grantee could benefit from targeted technical assistance in addition to that available from the

program officer. A panel of subject matter experts is chosen to provide the technical assistance

and make recommendations for improvement if needed. 

Staff, as experienced program administrators and researchers, are highly adept at maintaining

ongoing, routine communication with and oversight of grantees to help inform their scientific

programs and ensure they are meeting goals and objectives. Program officers use the HHS

Grants Policy Administration Manual to provide consistent oversight across projects. Risk 

assessments are conducted to locate poor-performing grantees, with additional oversight and

technical support provided as needed. Though rare, findings of ongoing poor performance can 

lead to a discontinuation of funding to a grantee.

Funding Overview

The allocation of FY 2021 grant funds for the 11 funding mechanisms discussed above is 

shown in Tables 2 and 3. For each funding mechanism, the table includes the number of new 

and continuation awards. NIDILRR’s overall grant allocations across all 11 funding mechanisms 

totaled $107,398,202 for FY 2021. NIDILRR awarded $6,186,590 in contracts and other support

activities for FY 2021. 

Table 2. NIDILRR Funding and Awards, FY 2021 

Funding 

Mechanism 

(NIDILRR-Funded 

Centers and 

Projects)

Award Type

(NIDILRR-Funded 

Centers and 

Projects)

FY 2021 # of 

Awards

FY 2021 

Total 

Grant 

Amount In 

Thousands 

of $

Grant 

Amount 

Total

RRTC Continuations 19 22 16,619 18,549

RRTC New Awards 3 22 1,929 18,549

RERC Continuations 15 16 13,649 14,574

RERC New Awards 1 16 924 14,574

DRRP Continuations 40 47 18,468 20,967

DRRP New Awards 7 47 2,498 20,967

ADA Network Continuations 1 13 500 13,349

ADA Network New Awards 12 13 12,849 13,349

SBIR Continuations 4 18 1,095 3,234

SBIR New Awards 14 18 2,138 3,234

KT Continuations 8 9 2,873 3,665

KT New Awards 1 9 792 3,665

FIP Continuations 35 52 6,992 10,391

FIP New Awards 17 52 3,398 10,391

Total 177 84,729
13 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on 

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.

Table 3. NIDILRR Model Systems Funding and Awards, FY 2021

Funding 

Mechanism 

(NIDILRR-Funded 

Centers and 

Projects)

Award Type

(NIDILRR-Funded 

Centers and 

Projects)

FY 2021 # of 

Awards

FY 2021 

Total 

Grant 

Amount In 

Thousands 

of $

Grant 

Amount 

Total

SCI Continuations 1 16 899 8,072

SCI New Awards 15 16 7,172 8,072

TBI Continuations 17 18 7,300 7,992

TBI New Awards 1 18 692 7,992

Burn Continuations 4 4 1,500 1,500

Burn New Awards 0 4 0 1,500

ARRT Continuations 15 19 2,445 3,186

AART New Awards 4 19 741 3,186

Switzer 

Fellowships

New Awards 

(1-year grants) 7 7 490 490

Section 21 Continuations 2 4 1,025 1,425

Section 21 New Awards 2 400 1,425

Total 68 22,665

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on 

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. 

Exhibits 1 and 2 illustrate the distribution of funded research and development grant projects in 

FY 2021 across NIDILRR’s three domains: health and function, community living and 

participation, and employment. “Cross-cutting” is a composite category used in the APR to 

describe projects that reflect two or more domains. Roughly 47 percent of development 

projects and about 31 percent of research projects were described as cross-cutting. “Research 

projects” are defined by NIDILRR as “an intensive systematic study, based on a clear hypothesis 

or research question that is directed toward producing new scientific knowledge about the 

subject or problem being studied.” “Development projects” are defined as “the use of 

knowledge and understanding gained from research to create materials, devices, systems, or 

methods beneficial to the target population, including design and development of prototypes 

and processes.” 
14

Exhibit 1. Research Grant Projects by Domain, FY 2021

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on 

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. 2021 Annual Performance Reports. “Program 

Performance Report Table 9.”

Exhibit 2. Development Grant Projects by Domain, FY 2021

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on 

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. 2021 Annual Performance Reports. “Program

Performance Report Table 11.”

Health and function 33%

Employment 19%

Participation and 

Community Living 17%

Cross-Cutting (two or 

more domains) 31%

RESEARCH PROJECTS

Health and function 22%

Employment 14%

Participation and 

Community Living 17%

Cross-cutting (two or more 

domains) 47%

DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
15

Grantee Activities and Progress

ACL collects output data through the APR. Grantees are required to report each output from 

their funded activities in one of four categories: publications; tools, measures, and intervention 

protocols; technology products and devices; and informational products. A brief description of 

each category of output type follows:

• Publications are documents directly funded by a grantee’s current award. Publications 

include journal articles, periodicals, web journals, proceedings from meetings and 

symposia, books or book chapters, monographs, abstracts, technical or research 

reports, and reviews. Within this output category are peer-reviewed and non-peerreviewed publications.

• Tools, measures, and intervention protocols include instruments or processes created 

to acquire quantitative or qualitative information, knowledge, or data on a specific 

disability or rehabilitation issue as well as research-based protocols for delivering 

interventions to specific target populations of people with disabilities.

• Technology products and devices are developed, modified, tested, or evaluated by the 

grantee. This category refers to any technology product or device developed under the 

award that the grantee disseminated or delivered to external audiences during the 

current reporting period. 

• Information products refer to items such as training manuals/curricula, fact sheets, 

newsletters, audiovisual materials, marketing tools, educational aids, websites, 

presentations, and other forms of disseminated information.

Exhibit 3 compares the number of output products produced by grantees within each category 

type in FY 2021. Additional detail has been provided for the category of publications, with peerreviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications being reported separately. 
16

Exhibit 3. Total Outputs Produced by All Grantees across All Program Mechanisms, by Product 

Type, FY 2021

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Community Living, National Institute on 

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. 2021 Annual Performance Reports. “Program

Performance Report Tables 18–22.”

Data obtained through the 2021 APR show that NIDILRR supported 245 grantees during 

FY 2021, totaling $107,398,202 which supported 1,415 unique projects across all program 

mechanisms. These projects reflect the breadth of disability and rehabilitation research within 

the agency’s outcome domains of community living and participation, health and function, and 

employment. The knowledge and products that are generated by ACL-sponsored research and 

development grants have a wide variety of important impacts in the field. The summaries that 

follow provide examples of the outcomes and impacts that resulted from NIDILRR program

investments. Additional information concerning these projects is available through the National 

Rehabilitation Information Center website (http://www.naric.com/). 

Sampling of Key Accomplishments by Funded Researchers

ACL-funded researchers conduct myriad coordinated, integrated, and advanced programs of 

research, training, and information dissemination in content areas that are primarily specified 

by NIDILRR. Areas of focus include the improvement of rehabilitation methodology and service 

delivery systems; the improvement of health and functioning; and the promotion of

employment, independent living, family support, and economic and social self-sufficiency for 

individuals with disabilities. ACL-funded training and capacity-building RRTCs provide training —

including graduate, pre-service, and in-service training — to build capacity for disability and 

rehabilitation research. They also serve as centers of national excellence in rehabilitation 

research. Awards are normally made for a 5-year period.

The following are examples of accomplishments reported by grantees in FY 2021:

418

181

127

75

41

0 200 400 600

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Information Products (e.g., curricula, websites)

Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tools, Measures, and Intervention Protocols

Technology Products and Devices
17

Accessibility at Drive-Thru Medical Sites (Grant # 90DP0081)

Employers and state/local government entities that create or maintain drive-through medical 

sites, especially those related to vaccine delivery and drive-up medical services, benefited from 

a publication produced by the Pacific ADA Regional Center. Accessibility at Drive-Thru Medical 

Sites describes key considerations and strategies to promote accessibility at drive-through 

medical sites, including testing sites and vaccination sites. As a result of this publication, the 

California Office of Emergency Services’ Access and Functional Needs Office chief reported use 

of the document in setting up vaccine super sites and noted that it was instrumental in guiding 

local efforts to provide accessible drive-up services. 

Cognitopia Platform for Self-Determination (Grant # 90IFDV0008) 

This FIP is developing an innovative web application, Getting Out, that provides a cognitively 

accessible tool for individuals with mild to moderate cognitive disabilities to help them 

effectively maintain social relationships established during high school transition, build new 

relationships, and turn virtual connections with social network members with and without 

disabilities into real-world relationships around activities of common interest and mutual 

support. The final product is intended to integrate with the Cognitopia platform.

Cognitopia is a web-based suite of self-management applications designed to foster greater 

independence in activities of school, work, and daily living while optimizing the efforts of 

support team members. It includes the MyLife digital portfolio for person-centered planning, 

the Routines system for multimedia task analysis, and the Goal Guide tool for goal creation, 

progress tracking, and remote support. Cognitopia has been commercially available since fall 

2019 and is being used by individuals and families, K–12 schools, postsecondary schools, 

supported living agencies, and employers. Cognitopia has worked closely with the Smart Living, 

Learning, and Earning with Autism program, a nonprofit that focuses on the use of selfmanagement technology for adults with autism, to develop innovative web applications for 

goal management and video instruction and task support. One of the Smart Living, Learning, 

and Earning with Autism houses has Cognitopia installed on tablets in key places throughout 

the house to provide support through preloaded instructional videos and task lists. Cognitopia

is increasing the use of self-management applications generally and has enabled individuals 

with developmental disabilities to increase Individualized Education Plan self-direction, access 

training materials for employment and independent living, and develop self-management skills. 

More information about Cognitopia is available on its YouTube channel and the blog on the 

Cognitopia website. 

Design Competition for Inclusive Autonomous Vehicles (Grant # 90REGE0007) 

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to provide community mobility for people with 

disabilities (e.g., people with mobility and vision impairments) and older adults who no longer 
18

and/or are unable to drive. Many design challenges must be addressed in order to do so. 

Inspired by the U.S. Department of Transportation spring 2020 design competition, eager to 

raise awareness about the importance of inclusive design (specifically inclusive AVs) amongst 

the University at Buffalo (UB) student body, and aware that the COVID-19 pandemic left many 

students stuck at home and eager to engage in an exciting opportunity during the summer, the 

RERC on Accessible Public Transportation and the IDEA Center leadership collaborated to 

develop, launch, and facilitate UB’s Inclusive Autonomous Vehicle Design Challenge: July 13–

August 7, 2020. Co-sponsored by Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars, UB School of 

Engineering and Applies Sciences, UB Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships, UB’s Innovation 

Hub, and UB’s IDEA Center, this virtual challenge had participants spend 4 weeks ideating and 

creating a solution to a problem. The challenge was to develop an innovative design concept to 

ensure that the next generation of fully autonomous vehicles addresses the needs of everyone, 

especially those who are unable to drive independently. This challenge provided over 120 UB 

students, from more than 30 different departments, with a meaningful, educational 

summertime opportunity in which they learned about innovation, inclusive design, product 

development, and AV transportation while receiving guidance from industry experts and 

mentors. Students experienced how to effectively work in virtual, interdisciplinary teams while 

building their resumes. The competition exposed a new cohort of students to the value and 

importance of inclusive design and illustrated how it applies to different disciplines and 

domains. Among the other benefits of this challenge was a certificate of completion, the 

opportunity to win cash prizes, and the potential to work with faculty on the development of 

larger prototype proposals. This event was a valuable, exciting experience for students, 

especially due to the pandemic health crisis that had impacted in-person learning capabilities. 

Enabling Access to Accessible Fitness Equipment (Grant # 90REGE0002) 

RERC RecTech’s fitness equipment standards supported by ASTM led to Planet Fitness, one of 

the largest fitness industry providers in the U.S., opting to include an accessible piece of fitness 

(strength) equipment at each of its 4,500 locations. The equipment selected was based on it 

passing all of RecTech’s equipment standards. RecTech is planning to establish an exercise and 

fitness center standards lab that will offer any facility that has exercise equipment or is planning 

to purchase new equipment (e.g., fitness centers, park districts, YMCAs, U.S. Department of 

Veterans Affairs facilities, etc.) a list of approved equipment that RecTech determines is 

accessible for people with disabilities. This will be the first exercise and fitness facility standards 

lab in the U.S. and world.

Evidence-Based, CDC-Approved Diabetes Prevention after TBI (Grant # 90DPTB0013) 

The North Texas Traumatic Brain Injury Model System examined the efficacy of the Diabetes 

Prevention Program – Group Lifestyle Balance intervention modified for people with TBI (GLBTBI) on weight loss compared to an attention control using a randomized controlled trial. The 

hypothesis of this study was that participation in the 12-month GLB-TBI will lead to weight loss 

(greater than 5 percent) and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. Results of this study found 

that the GLB-TBI group experienced weight loss of 7.9 percent. Participants’ risk for metabolic 

syndrome and developing heart disease and diabetes decreased from greater than 84 percent 
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when compared to U.S. adults at baseline to average risk at 12 months due to reduced 

abdominal fat (-3.1 inches); blood pressure (44 percent “high” at baseline versus 20.8 percent 

at 12 months); and triglycerides (high 200.6mg/dL at baseline to normal 147.5mg/dL at 

12 months). This program is now recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

as an evidence-based intervention for diabetes prevention after TBI. 

Knowledge Translation: The Rise of Implementation (Grant # 90DPKT0001) 

A project at the American Institutes for Research developed a monograph, Knowledge 

Translation: The Rise of Implementation, which is being used internationally to orient 

researchers and practitioners about how implementation science articulates with the history 

and current practice of knowledge translation (KT). The monograph provides an update of the 

KT literature and reflects on advancements in the KT process, as well as KT’s relationship with 

implementation science. KT practices related to disability research are highlighted along with a 

look at future directions in KT. This monograph is being listed on websites and in newsletters 

that target the KT community. A variety of domestic and international organizations are 

highlighting this influential resource for their users, including Research Impact Canada, Sydney 

Health Partners Implementation Science, and the Center for Knowledge Translation for 

Employment Research. 

Live Webcast Series on Customized Employment (Grant # 90DP0085) 

There is confusion nationally related to the characteristics of customized employment as 

opposed to supported employment. This project at Virginia Commonwealth University 

researches the use of customized employment as an intervention to assist individuals with 

intellectual disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorder to achieve integrated employment 

outcomes. This grantee-developed webcast series provides information on the essential 

elements of customized employment used by vocational rehabilitation counselors when 

determining funding for this service on their caseloads.

The purpose of the webcast series is to provide the most recent implementation information to 

practitioners on providing customized employment services. During this year, the grantee 

added a webcast on determining fidelity of the customized employment intervention as well as 

other webcasts on providing services. A total of nine new webcasts were produced and added 

to the webcast archives. The archive is available 24/7 and free of charge to anyone. These 

webinars are being used by vocational rehabilitation counselors and direct employment service 

providers. The Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment is 

adopting this webcast series to use with vocational rehabilitation counselors and state 

vocational rehabilitation agencies. Counselors who complete the webcasts can earn one credit 

toward their Certified Rehabilitation Counselor certification. 

Minority Entity Institutional Research Capacity Building and Infrastructure Model (Grant # 

90RTST0001) 

The Langston University RRTC on Research and Capacity Building for Minority Entities was 

funded to engage minority entities/minority-serving institutions (MSIs) in generating new 
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knowledge leading to improved outcomes for persons with disabilities from traditionally 

underserved racial and ethnic populations and in investigating what strategies lead to enhanced 

research capacity and infrastructure at minority entities and MSIs. Langston published a 

monograph that describes results of an evaluation of their Minority Entity Institutional 

Research Capacity Building and Infrastructure Model and its potential for addressing research 

capacity-building challenges. Findings indicated that Fellows increased their research leadership 

skills and felt better equipped to lead research teams and establish networks. This finding is 

important due to the insufficient supply of investigators at MSIs leading federal research and 

development and available to mentor early-career investigators. The Model is a promising 

research capacity-building approach. Adoption of the model could empower MSIs to play a 

more critical role in improving disability and rehabilitation research. 

Morphic – An Open-Source Tool for Computer Accessibility (Grant # 90REGE0008) 

The shift to increased technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the digital 

divide for people with disabilities. To address this, the Inclusive Information and 

Communications Technology RERC and the Automated Personalization Computer Project 

(funded by the U.S. Department of Education) collaborated to develop an open-source tool 

called Morphic, which is designed to make computers simpler, make it easier to use assistive 

technologies, and allow accessibility to follow users from computer to computer. Morphic has 

been successfully transferred to the nonprofit Raising the Floor and is being deployed on the 

shared computers in major universities, libraries, and disability service programs across the U.S. 

and Canada. Morphic is a key part (one of the three pillars) of the Global Public Inclusive 

Infrastructure first proposed by the IT-RERC under its previous cycles and continuing in our 

current cycle. Morphic provides four major capabilities that are not available through any other 

technology (mainstream or assistive technology): (1) the ability to make built-in accessibility 

features easy to discover and operable with a single click; (2) the ability to make it possible to 

have one’s accessibility settings follow them from computer to computer; (3) the ability to 

allow assistive technology on-demand — where a person can sit down to any computer and 

their assistive technologies will instantly show up on that computer — appear and then 

disappear when they are done; and (4) the ability to create custom MorphicBars that allow oneclick access to features, programs, custom functions, websites, and more, allowing the creation 

of ultra-simple interfaces for people who otherwise would not be able to use a computer. 

Morphic can open computer use to many who could not use them before. It can also, for the 

first time, allow assistive technology users the ability to use any computer at a library, school, 

community center, job center, etc., just like everyone else. The project also surfaced new 

information on the prevalence and impact of low digital affinity both in people with disabilities 

and those without. To learn more, view this video about the basic features of Morphic. 

Publication on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Security for People with 

Disabilities (Grant # 90RTGE0001) 

Supported by funding from ACL and the Health Resources and Services Administration, the 

Stats RRTC at the University of New Hampshire published a paper focused on the impact of the 
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pandemic on food security for people with disabilities. The aim of this study was to compare 

rates of food sufficiency and utilization of free food sources between working-age persons with 

and without disabilities in the U.S. during the pandemic. In September 2020, an online survey 

was conducted with 13,277 working-age individuals with and without disabilities to gather 

information about food sufficiency prior to March 2020 and within the last 7 days as well as 

receipt of free groceries or meals, use of food programs or pantries, and concerns with using 

free food sources over the past week. Descriptive and multivariate statistics were used to 

compare these measures for persons with and without disabilities. Findings showed that, 

controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, the proportion of working-age persons who 

were food sufficient decreased from March 2020 to September 2020 for persons with 

disabilities (65 percent to 57 percent, an eight-percentage-point decrease). This decrease was 

not statistically different from the decrease reported by people without disabilities (78 percent

to 73 percent, a five-percentage-point decrease). However, in September 2020, more than half 

of people with disabilities (58 percent) used free food resources in the past week, a substantial 

difference compared to persons without disabilities (41 percent). The authors concluded that 

the low rate of food sufficiency, high rate of free food resource utilization, and concerns noted 

in using these sources suggested a need for continuing nutrition assistance policy and program 

development targeted toward the needs of Americans with disabilities.

ADA National Network

One of ACL’s largest investments is in the ADA National Network, which consists of 10 regional

centers that provide information, training, and technical assistance to individuals, businesses, 

and agencies with rights and responsibilities under the ADA. The network also includes research 

and KT components, which are carried out by two network grantees: the ADA National Network 

Collaborative Research Project and the ADA National Network Knowledge Translation Center,

respectively. 

Knowledge translation efforts in the ADA National Network are led by the ADA Knowledge 

Translation Center. The Center has three primary goals: (1) increase efficiency and impact by 

serving as a central resource to support the development, coordination, and deployment of 

ADA information, training, technical assistance, and capacity-building activities across the ADA

National Network; (2) increase awareness and use of ADA research findings to inform practice; 

and (3) improve understanding of stakeholders’ needs for and receipt of ADA services.

ADA National Network grantees are highly responsive to the community, providing advice, 

information, technical assistance, and training through multiple modalities. In FY 2021, the 

centers received 16,241 technical assistance inquiries from the public. Exhibit 4 presents the 

modalities used to provide technical assistance in response to these questions.
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Exhibit 4. Inquiry Response

The 10 ADA National Network Centers conducted 1,113 training activities impacting 100,340 

individuals, including customized training presentations, training courses, and conferences 

during the 2021 APR reporting period (June 1, 2020, through May 31, 2021). Audiences 

included service providers, individuals with disabilities and their families, business groups, state 

and local government agencies, architects and design professionals, and other professional 

groups. 

In addition to training and technical assistance, the ADA National Network and its regional 

centers produce numerous products to aid in disseminating information to the public, 

employers, and individuals with disabilities about their rights and responsibilities. Table 4 shows 

the types and number of times a product was disseminated. 

Table 4. Product Dissemination 

Type Number Disseminated

Journal Articles 237

Project Publications 950,384 

Video and Audio Tapes 102,976

Books or Book Chapters 524

Bulletins, Newsletters, or Factsheets 1,515,410

Research Reports and Conference Proceedings 470

Other Federal Documents 12,297,677

Research Fellowship Program (Mary E. Switzer Fellowship Program)

The Mary E. Switzer Fellowship Program seeks to increase capacity in rehabilitation research by 

giving qualified individual researchers, including individuals with disabilities, the opportunity to 

Phone 61% Email 32%

In-Person 0.1%

ADA Center Websites 4% Other 3%

INQUIRY RESPONSE
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develop new ideas and further their research expertise. Awards go directly to individuals, not 

their institutions, enabling Fellows to pursue independent research and training activities. 

Distinguished Fellows are seasoned in their careers, must hold a doctorate or comparable 

academic status, and have had 7 or more years of experience relevant to rehabilitation 

research. Merit Fellowships are given to persons with rehabilitation research experience who 

do not meet the qualifications for Distinguished Fellowships, usually because they are in earlier 

stages of their careers. Fellows work for one year on an independent research project of their 

design. Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply for each of these Fellowships. 

Eight Switzer Fellowships were awarded in fall 2020, with a total of 13 Fellows submitting 

annual or final performance reports in 2020. Current Switzer Fellows (awarded in 2021, plus 

older grants that are in an extension period) are displayed in Table 5. 

Table 5. Current Switzer Fellows and Project Titles 

Name Project Title

Nazanin Heydarian

(2021)

Characterizing Diabetes Education and Self-management Practices 

of Blind Adults

Robyn Lewis Brown

(2021)

Disability and Workplace Experiences: Understanding Age Variation 

and Contextual Effects

Jia Rung Wu (2021) Evaluation of an Extended and Refined Health Action Process 

Approach as a Model of Health Promotion for People with Chronic 

Health Conditions and Disabilities During and After the COVID-19 

Pandemic

Brielle C Stark (2021) Characterizing Inner Speech in Aphasia

Ariel Elizabeth 

Schwartz (2021)

Training Young Adults with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities 

and Co-occurring Mental Health Conditions to Deliver a Peer 

Mentoring Intervention

Vera Kaelin (2021) Artificial Intelligence to Customize Participation-Focused 

Interventions in Pediatric Re/habilitation

Megan Kunze (2021) Promoting Reciprocal Relationships with Flexibility, Coaching, and 

Teaching (PRRFCT Match)

Xuan Liu (Extension) Biofeedback Gait Retraining for Stiff Knee Gait Correction: Multijoint Adaptation in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Morris Huang

(Extension)

Implementation of a Sensor Platform for Multi-Day Measurement of

Manual Wheelchair User Mobility Patterns in Real-World 

Environments to Inform Clinical Training and Improved Contexts for 

Research

Hannah Mercier

(Extension)

Characterizing Patterns of Depression, Community Mobility, and 

Social Engagement in Sub-acute Spinal Cord Injury

Allison Taylor

(Extension)

Trauma-Informed Care in Centers for Independent Living
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Name Project Title

Elizabeth Koss 

Schmidt (Extension)

Understanding Sexuality and Community Participation in Adults on 

the Autism Spectrum

Ongoing Activities

The accomplishments presented are a small sample of the accomplishments realized as a result 

of the research and development sponsored by ACL. The accomplishments were chosen to 

emphasize NIDILRR programs broad impact on individuals with disabilities, the families and care 

communities that support them, and society writ large. Moving forward, ACL will continue to 

sponsor rigorous research that is relevant to the needs and experiences of individuals with 

sensory, mental, physical, and developmental/intellectual disabilities.

ACL will also focus on implementing and integrating the visions of the appointed NIDILRR 

Director and the ACL Administrator in to NIDILRR programs. ACL published NIDILRR’s FY 2018–

2023 Long-Range Plan in March 2019. Work is currently underway to draft NIDILRR’s new longrange plan, which will describe NIDILRR’s programmatic framework, priorities and research 

agenda for FY 2024-29. 

Strategic partnerships with other agencies in HHS and across the federal government have been 

instrumental in advancing ACL’s and NIDILRR’s mission. As such, ACL will build on its historical 

collaborations to identify best practices, conduct co-sponsored research, and address shared 

goals. NIDILRR’s Director will continue to serve as the Chair of the Interagency Committee on 

Disability Research, a federal partnership charged to promote a cohesive, strategic federal 

program of disability, rehabilitation, and independent living research; broker partnerships; and 

facilitate coordination and collaboration among federal departments and agencies conducting 

such research. ACL intends to continue to lead and contribute to the advancement of the goals

and objectives set forth in the government-wide disability and rehabilitation research strategic 

plan and focus initiatives around three key target areas – disability data and statistics, longCOVID, and equity and inclusion.