Department Of 

Health and Human

Services

FY 2018 Report to Congress

National Institute on Disability Independent 

Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)

ADMINISTRATION FOR 

COMMUNITY LIVING
1

Table of Contents

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

Executive Summary......................................................................................................................... 5

Funding and Grants Management............................................................................................. 5

Productivity and Accomplishments........................................................................................... 5

Research Capacity Building........................................................................................................ 6

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

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

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

National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) ...... 8

2018 Report to Congress ................................................................................................................ 8

Introduction.................................................................................................................................... 8

Grant Mechanisms....................................................................................................................... 10

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

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

Table 1. NIDILRR Peer Review Process Overview, FY 2018 ................................................ 10

Monitoring and Oversight........................................................................................................ 12

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

Table 2. NIDILRR-Funded Centers and Projects: Funding and Awards, FY 2018 ............... 13

Exhibit 1. Research Grant Projects by Domain, FY 2018..................................................... 14

Exhibit 2. Development Grant Projects by Domain, FY 2018 ............................................. 14

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

Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs) .......................................................... 16

Examples of 2018 RRTC Accomplishments........................................................................... 16

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) ........................................................... 19

Examples of 2018 RERC Accomplishments........................................................................... 20
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Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRPs)....................................................... 21

Examples of 2018 DRRP Accomplishments .......................................................................... 21

Knowledge Translation ............................................................................................................ 22

Examples of 2018 Knowledge Translation Accomplishments.............................................. 23

Model Systems......................................................................................................................... 23

Examples of 2018 Model Systems’ Accomplishments.......................................................... 24

ADA National Network............................................................................................................. 26

Exhibit 4. Inquiry Response.................................................................................................. 27

Table 3. Product Dissemination........................................................................................... 27

Examples of 2018 ADA National Network Center Accomplishments................................... 27

Section 21 ................................................................................................................................. 28

Examples of 2018 Section 21 Accomplishments .................................................................. 29

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) ............................................................................ 29

Examples of 2018 SBIR Accomplishments............................................................................ 29

Field-Initiated Projects (FIPs)................................................................................................... 30

Examples of 2018 FIP Accomplishments .............................................................................. 30

Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Projects (ARRTs)............................................... 32

Research Fellowship Program (Mary E. Switzer Fellowship Program) .................................. 32

Table 4. Current Switzer Fellows and Project Titles................................................................ 33

Ongoing NIDILRR Activities.......................................................................................................... 33
3

Acronyms

AAC Augmentative and Alternative Communication

ACL Administration for Community Living 

ADA Americans with Disabilities Act 

ADA-PARC ADA Participatory Action Research Consortium 

APR Annual Performance Reporting System

ARRT Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Project

BMS Burn Injury Model Systems

CAT Computer Adaptive Test

CCN Complex Communication Needs

CL Community Living

CL&P Community Living & Participation

CHRIL Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living

DRRP Disability and Rehabilitation Research Project 

ED Department of Education 

EMP Employment

FIP Field-Initiated Project 

FY Fiscal Year

H&F Health & Function

HCBS Home and Community-Based Services

HHS Department of Health and Human Services 

ICDR Interagency Committee on Disability Research 

ICF International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

ICT Information and Communications Technology

ID Intellectual Disabilities

IDD Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

KT4TT Knowledge Translation for Technology Transfer

LIBRE Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation
4

M&M Mobility and Manipulation

MSI Minority-Serving Institution

NARIC National Rehabilitation Information Center

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

PAT Physical Access and Transportation

RERC Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

RFP Research Fellowship Program

RRTC Rehabilitation Research and Training Center

SBIR Small Business Innovation Research 

SCI Spinal Cord Injury 

SCIMS Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems

STI Strategies, Techniques, and Interventions

TBI Traumatic Brain Injury 

TBIMS Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems 

VISYTER Versatile and Integrated System for Telerehabilitation
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Executive Summary

The mission of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation 

Research (NIDILRR) is 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. 

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, NIDILRR invests in research, knowledge translation, and capacitybuilding activities through its discretionary grant-funding mechanisms. 

Funding and Grants Management 

The allocation of NIDILRR grant funds for FY 2018 totaled $98,780,025. In addition, NIDILRR 

awarded $6,189,975 in contracts and other support activities in FY 2018. These funds 

supported 220 grant awards in 2018.

NIDILRR’s peer review process for grant competitions is highly rigorous, with 16.4 percent of 

applicants receiving new grant funding during FY 2018 (See Table 1).

Productivity and Accomplishments 

NIDILRR funds research toward the development of new knowledge and innovative new

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 

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

range of other outputs and outcomes. Selected examples of NIDILRR grantee accomplishments 

in FY 2018 include

• The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Employment for People with 

Blindness and Visual Impairments at Mississippi State University published a paper titled

In-School Predictors of Post-school Employment for Youth Who Are Deaf-Blind (Cmar, 

McDonnall, & Markoski, 2018). The paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal, 

Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals. 

• The secondary data analysis of the National Survey of Drug Use and Health by the 

Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living (CHRIL) found that, controlling 

for economic and sociodemographic factors, adults with disabilities were more likely to 

misuse opioids and heroin than those without disabilities. The findings helped inform 

NIDILRR’s funding opportunity on opioid use disorder and people with disabilities. To 

make the information more readily available to researchers and consumers, CHRIL 
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publishes research summaries on its website (The Collaborative on Health Reform and 

Independent Living).

• Dr. Kazis and his team at Boston University used Disability and Rehabilitation Research 

Project funds to develop a computer adaptive test (CAT) to measure the essential 

aspects of social participation of adults with severe burn injuries. 

• The Great Lakes Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center is conducting research that 

will lead to the development of a tool that can be used to audit local jurisdictions’ 

transition plans for implementing the ADA – with a particular focus on making accessible 

the public places where people walk – sidewalks, paths, and intersections. The audit 

tool will be made available to professional and lay audiences to examine the quality of 

transition plans or to prepare future transition plans. 

• The Boston-Harvard Burn Injury Model System reported the use of the LIBRE Profile — a 

CAT that measures a burn survivor's social participation, an essential underexplored 

area of burn recovery. This is the first tool of its kind and will facilitate the 

measurement of, and improvement in, social rehabilitation by yielding results specific to 

individual burn survivors. 

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.

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

NIDILRR sponsors the ADA National Network, which delivers training, technical assistance, and 

dissemination of materials for stakeholders with rights and responsibilities under the ADA. The 

ADA Participatory 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 

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

are used to promote the independent living, health and function, employment, and community 

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

NIDILRR 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 NIDILRR Activities 

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

mission of the Administration for Community Living. NIDILRR’s FY 2018–2023 Long-Range Plan 
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was published in March, 2019. This document defines the organizational and programmatic 

vision and will frame NIDILRR’s research agenda for the coming years. The new Administrator 

has identified five Pillars: Connecting People to Resources, Supporting Families and Caregivers, 

Strengthening the Networks, Protecting Rights and Preventing Abuse, and Expanding 

Employment Opportunities. These Pillars encompass both aging and disability, and NIDILRR will 

contribute research and subject matter expertise throughout the planning and implementation 

of the work in each of the Pillar areas for persons with disabilities or rehabilitation needs. 

Strategic partnerships with other agencies in the Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS) and across the federal government have been instrumental in advancing NIDILRR’s 

mission. As such, NIDILRR 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. NIDILRR’s Director serves as the Chair of the Interagency 

Committee on Disability Research (ICDR). Under the NIDILRR 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.
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National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and 

Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)

2018 Report to Congress

Introduction

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (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 the 2018 fiscal year. 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 of 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 (ED). 

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 ED to the Administration for Community Living (ACL) within the Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS). This change occurred with the passage of P.L. 113–128, the 

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. NIDILRR personnel officially became HHS/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. 
9

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

researchers with disabilities and from minority backgrounds. 

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

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

disabilities. 

NIDILRR programs address community living and participation, health and function, and 

employment outcomes of people with disabilities. NIDILRR’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 projects promote the use of research-based knowledge in 

NIDILRR’s community of stakeholders. 

• Field-Initiated Projects (FIP) involve three-year studies on topics proposed by grant 

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

qualified individuals to conduct one-year independent research projects. 

• Section 21 projects focus on research capacity building for minority-serving institutions, 

including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other institutions with 

significant racial/ethnic minority student populations.

Grant Mechanisms

Grant Competition and Peer Review Process 

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 NIDILRR funding.

Grant Competitions

Table 1 describes NIDILRR’s FY 2018 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. NIDILRR’s limited resources allow only a small percentage 

of these applicants to receive grants each year.

Table 1. NIDILRR Peer Review Process Overview, FY 2018 

Grant Opportunity # Eligible 

Applicants

# 

Panels

# 

Reviewers

# 

Awards 

Made

% of Applicants 

Receiving 

Funding

FIP MSI 7 1 5 1 14.3%

ARRT H&F 7 1 5 1 14.3%

ARRT CL&P 1 1 5 1 100%

ARRT EMP 1 1 5 1 100%

ARRT MSI 1 1 5 1 100%

SBIR Phase I 46 5 25 10 21.7%
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Grant Opportunity # Eligible 

Applicants

# 

Panels

# 

Reviewers

# 

Awards 

Made

% of Applicants 

Receiving 

Funding

SBIR Phase II 14 2 9 3 21.4%

Switzer Fellowship 48 5 20 6 12.5%

Field-Initiated DRRP in CL&P 25 3 15 1 4.0%

Field-Initiated DRRP in H&F 34 4 19 1 2.9%

Field-Initiated DRRP in EMP 26 3 14 1 3.8%

TBIMS Collaborative 5 1 5 1 20%

BMS Data Center 1 1 5 1 100%

DRRP College & Career 

Success

9 1 4 1 11.1%

DRRP Exercise Interventions 6 1 5 1 16.7%

DRRP KT4TT 2 1 4 1 50%

DRRP Opioid 17 2 9 2 11.8%

RERC Aging 2 1 5 1 50%

RERC Universal Access 2 1 5 1 50%

RERC-STI 6 1 5 2 33.3%

RERC M&M 8 1 5 1 12.5%

RERC PAT 3 1 5 1 33.3%

RRTC Rural 3 1 5 1 33.3%

RRTC Stats 2 1 5 1 50%

RRTC Aging 5 1 5 1 20%

RRTC EMP Physical 4 1 5 1 25%

RRTC CL&P MSI 3 1 4 1 33.3%

RRTC MSI 4 1 5 1 25%

RRTC H&F IDD 2 1 4 1 50%

RRTC CL&P IDD 2 1 5 1 50%
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Grant Opportunity # Eligible 

Applicants

# 

Panels

# 

Reviewers

# 

Awards 

Made

% of Applicants 

Receiving 

Funding

RRTC on Community Living

Policy

2 1 5 1 50%

Total 298 46 217 49 16.4%

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 2018 awards made 

from 2017 slates (14 FIP, 1 DRRP—CL&P).

Monitoring and Oversight 

NIDILRR uses its Annual Performance Reporting (APR) System, formative review mechanisms, 

and close monitoring of grant activities by NIDILRR staff to provide rigorous oversight of its 

funded initiatives. NIDILRR’s APR is a web-based grants performance system used by grantees 

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. 

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

assistance tools for grantees. Such reviews are conducted when NIDILRR program officers 

believe that a 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. 

NIDILRR 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 that 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 NIDILRR grant funds for FY 2018 for the 11 funding mechanisms discussed in 

this section is shown in Table 2. 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 $98,780,025 for FY 2018. NIDILRR awarded $6,189,975 in contracts and 

other support activities for FY 2018.
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Table 2. NIDILRR-Funded Centers and Projects: Funding and Awards, FY 2018 

Funding 

Mechanism

Number of 

Continuation 

Awards

Number 

of New 

Awards

Grant 

Amount for 

Continuation 

Awards in 

Thousands of 

Dollars

Grant 

Amount 

for New 

Awards in 

Thousands 

of Dollars

Total 

Number 

of 

Awards

Total 

Grant 

Amount in 

Thousands 

of Dollars

RRTC 13 8 9,724 700 21 16,724

RERC 11 6 9,929 5,550 17 15,479

DRRP 21 8 10,032 4307 29 14,339

ADA 

Network

12 0 12,424 0 12 12,424

SBIR 4 13 1,163 1,887 17 3,050

KT 8 1 2,792 924 9 3,716

FIP 34 14 6,782 3,799 48 10,581

Model 

SystemsSCI

15 0 7,398 0 15 7,398

Model 

Systems-TBI

17 1 7,862 600 18 8,462

Model 

SystemsBurn

4 1 1,500 350 5 1,850

ARRT 15 3 2,244 450 18 2,694

Switzer 

Fellowships

0 6 0 440 6 440

Section 21 0 5 0 1,623 5 1,623

Totals 154 66 71,850 20,630 220 98,780

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 2018 across NIDILRR’s three domains: health and function, community living and 
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participation, and employment. “Cross-cutting” is a composite category used in the Annual 

Performance Report to describe projects that reflect two or more domains. Roughly 47 percent 

of development projects and about 29 percent of research projects were described as crosscutting. “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.” 

Exhibit 1. Research Grant Projects by Domain, FY 2018 

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

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. 2018 Annual Performance Reports. “Program 

Performance Report Table 9.”

Exhibit 2. Development Grant Projects by Domain, FY 2018 

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

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. 2018 Annual Performance Reports. “Program 

Performance Report Table 11.”
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Grantee Activities and Progress

NIDILRR 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 NIDILRR 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 nonpeer-reviewed publications. Peer review is a process to evaluate the accuracy of a 

manuscript and the validity of the research methodology and procedures described.

Manuscripts are typically reviewed by a panel of reviewers from the same scientific or 

academic discipline as the authors. This process is conducted prior to publication, and 

the review panel can recommend revisions to the work or reject its submission for 

publication. Non-peer-reviewed publications do not receive this level of review and 

feedback. Documents that are currently in review, accepted for publication, in press, or 

self-published are not reported in the APR (source: APR-PPR, Tables 18 and 19).

• 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. Examples include 

checklists, survey questionnaires or interview schedules, interventions, statistical or 

methodological techniques, databases, and diagnosis or assessment instruments, 

including physiologic measures and outcome measures (source: APR-PPR, Table 20).

• 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. These include the development of industry 

standards/guidelines; software or netware; inventions, patents, licenses, and patent 

disclosures; working prototypes; product(s) evaluated or field-tested; product(s) 

transferred to industry for potential commercialization; and product(s) in the 

marketplace (source: APR-PPR, Table 21).

• 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 (source: APR-PPR, Table 

22).

Exhibit 3 (see below) compares the number of output products produced by grantees within 

each category type in FY 2018. Additional detail has been provided for the category of 
16

publications, with peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications being reported 

separately. 

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

Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. 2018 Annual Performance Reports. “Program 

Performance Report Tables 18–22.”

Data obtained through the 2018 APR show that NIDILRR supported 220 grantees during FY 

2018, totaling $98,780,025 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 NIDILRR-sponsored research or development grants have a wide variety 

of important impacts in the field. The summaries that follow, organized by funding mechanism, 

provide examples of the outcomes and impacts that resulted from NIDILRR’s investments. 

Additional information concerning these projects is available through the National 

Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) website.

Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs) 

RRTCs conduct coordinated, integrated, and advanced programs of research, training, and 

information dissemination in topical areas that are 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. 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 five-year period.

Examples of 2018 RRTC Accomplishments

The following are examples of RRTC accomplishments reported to NIDILRR in FY 2018:
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University of Minnesota RRTC on Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Outcomes 

Measurement

Regents of the University of Minnesota: RRTC on HCBS Outcomes Measurement (RRTC/OM)

(Grant # 90RT5039)

The RRTC/OM has developed a web-based relational database of available measures to assess 

the quality of non-medical, person-centered HCBS outcomes. To do so, the RRTC/OM has 

worked closely with the National Quality Forum HCBS workgroup, ACL, and a national multistakeholder advisory group. First, they conducted more than 50 focus groups with a broad 

range of stakeholders to identify and prioritize HCBS outcome domains. Next, they collected 

and cataloged all existing measures in this topic area and evaluated these for validity and 

appropriateness. The focus included cross-disability measures at the individual HCBS recipient, 

organization, and systems levels, gathered directly from people with disabilities or through 

program administrative and encounter data. The RRTC/OM recently released the public version 

of the HCBS Instrument Database, as well as the password-protected version, which will be 

made available to measure developers and government (NIDILRR, ACL, the Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services) staff who work in areas related to HCBS. They held two 

webinars to introduce the Database to potential users. Additionally, they have analyzed the 

database to identify measure gaps and are currently developing new measures to address some 

of these gaps. The RRTC/OM’s development of a database of non-medical, person-centered 

outcome measures will help educate many stakeholders about available measures, and their 

work to promote it is a critical step toward effectively informing the design, implementation, 

and continuous improvement of federal and state policies and programs related to the delivery 

of HCBS to people with disabilities. View the HCBS Instrument Database information page.

Employment for Individuals with Blindness or Other Visual Impairments

Mississippi State University: Employment for People with Blindness and Visual Impairments

(Grant # 90RT5040)

The RRTC on Employment for People with Blindness and Visual Impairments at Mississippi State 

University published a paper titled In-School Predictors of Post-school Employment for Youth 

Who Are Deaf-Blind (Cmar, McDonnall, & Markoski, 2018). The paper was published in the 

peer-reviewed journal, Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals. Using 

data from the National Longitudinal Study-2, authors reported that major findings included that 

vocational educational services and parent expectations were significant predictors of postschool employment. Implications of these findings suggest that parents should receive 

education about career options for youths with deaf-blindness, and that teachers should 

encourage vocational education services and early work experiences. Citation: Cmar, J., 

McDonnall, M. C., & Markoski, K. (2018). In-school predictors of post-school employment for 

youth who are deaf-blind. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 41(4).
18

For more information, visit the Mississippi State University’s National Research and Training 

Center on Blindness and Low Vision Website.

RRTC on Employment Policy and Measurement

University of New Hampshire (Grant # 90RT5037) 

The RRTC on Employment Policy and Measurement published “Transportation Patterns of 

American Workers with Disabilities (Brucker & Rollins, 2018). The authors found that travel 

time and approximate travel distance are similar for both groups. However, workers with 

disabilities who travel similar distances compared to workers without disabilities earned 

substantially less per year, even when controlling for individual characteristics and hours 

worked. Transportation remains a substantial barrier to employment for people with 

disabilities, and this study will help inform policy development for improving transportation 

options for workers with disabilities. Citation: Brucker, D. L., & Rollins, N. G. (Pre-press).

Commuting time and wages of American workers with disabilities. Journal of Vocational 

Rehabilitation. For more information visit the Disability Statistics and Demographics 

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Website.

Online Policy-Related Resources for Improving the Lives of People with Mental Illness

RRTC on Self-Directed Recovery and Integrated Health Care at University of Illinois-Chicago 

(Grant # 90RT5038)

The online resource bank entitled “Recovery Academy for Policymakers” is devoted to the 

health, recovery, and employment of people with mental illness. Sample resources address 

disability employment policy, the opioid crisis and behavioral health, a successful jail diversion 

and alternative justice model, and the social determinants of health; they also include an 

interactive map of U.S. state mental health peer support training and certification programs. 

For more information visit the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Health and Recovery Academy 

for PolicyMakers website.

Online Family Resource for Employment of People with Psychiatric Disabilities 

RRTC on Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities at 

Boston University (Grant # 90RT5029)

The online resource entitled “Let's Talk Employment: A Guide for Family Members of 

Individuals in Mental Health Recovery” is designed to support, encourage, and educate family 

members as their relatives consider, choose, gain, and keep employment. This guide was 

developed with the understanding that family members with sufficient education on

employment options for their relatives can have a significant influence on helping make 

decisions about work. Since first published online in March 2018, more than 1,600 people have 

accessed the guide, demonstrating the interest in the topic and relevance of the materials. 

For more information, visit the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation’s Families Webpage
19

Informational Resources to Improve Educational and Employment Outcomes for Youth and 

Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions

RRTC on Learning and Working during the Transition to Adulthood at the University of 

Massachusetts Medical School (Grant # 90RT5021)

The grantee published new resources to help young adults with serious mental health 

conditions succeed in postsecondary education and in employment. The “Outside-The-Box 

College Accommodations: Real Support for Real Students: Tools for School II” tip sheet includes 

information designed specifically for young adults and their advocates on requesting 

postsecondary education accommodations that are helpful for individuals with mental health 

conditions. It helps young adults with serious mental health conditions think “outside the box” 

to get the educational accommodations that will assist them in achieving educational success.

In addition, the “There's More to Young Adult Unemployment Than Mental Health: What Else 

to Look For” research brief discusses how inequalities other than mental health conditions can 

be barriers to employment for young adults with these conditions. The brief points out to 

researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders that in order to improve vocational 

employment services for young adults living with serious mental health conditions, one must 

take into account sociodemographic and social factors that can impact employment readiness 

and employability.

Toolkit to Promote Community Inclusion for People with Mental Illness

RRTC on Community Living and Participation of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities at 

Temple University (Grant # 90RT5021)

The grantee has created an online toolkit entitled “Jump-Starting Community Inclusion,” which 

describes 66 practical first steps that community mental health providers can take to more 

effectively support their service recipients’ participation in everyday community life. This 

compendium of simple strategies, drawn from 15 years of research and training activities at the 

NIDILRR-funded Temple University RRTC on Community Living and Participation, focuses on 

policy changes, programming shifts, and practice innovations that can quickly give new life and 

relevance to your agency’s operations. The toolkit offers a set of do-able strategies, along with 

links to over 100 publications and products. 

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) 

The RERC program is designed to improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the 

Rehabilitation Act by conducting advanced rehabilitation engineering research and 

development of innovative technologies designed to solve particular rehabilitation problems or 

remove environmental barriers. RERCs demonstrate and evaluate such technologies, facilitate 

service delivery systems changes, stimulate the production and distribution of equipment in the 

private sector, and provide training opportunities to enable individuals, including individuals 
20

with disabilities, to become researchers and rehabilitation engineers. Awards are normally 

made for a five-year period.

Examples of 2018 RERC Accomplishments

The following are examples of RERC accomplishments reported to NIDILRR in FY 2018:

RERC on Physical Access and Transportation

The Pennsylvania State University (Grant # 90RE5017)

The T2L (transition to literacy) visual scene display (VSD) app was designed and evaluated for 

use by children and adults who have complex communication needs (CCN) and are preliterate, 

including those with autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, intellectual developmental 

disabilities, cerebral palsy, and multiple disabilities. The app was successfully transferred to 

TobiiDynavox, the largest Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) manufacturer, 

and it was released to the marketplace as Snap Scene Snap Scene is currently used by many 

service providers in the AAC field and by families as a communication and literacy support for 

children and adults with CCN. The app supports daily communication and the development of 

literacy skills for individuals who are nonliterate, with the goal of transitioning them from 

picture symbols to text. Prior to the development of the T2L VSD app, there were no AAC apps 

that supported individuals with CCN who were nonliterate in making this transition. Clinicians 

and families have a new tool to use (in conjunction with literacy instruction) to support

individuals with CCN in developing the literacy skills required to participate more fully in 

education, employment, health care, and community living.

RERC on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Access 

University of Pittsburgh (Grant # 90RE5018)

Versatile and Integrated System for Telerehabilitation (VISYTER) is an interactive telehealth 

platform designed to support various telehealth and telerehabilitation services for rural clinics 

or directly to patients at home or in the community. Dr. Bambang Parmanto and his colleagues 

at the RERC have produced a brief presentation in PDF format entitled Versatile & Integrated 

System for Telerehabilitation (VISYTER). This presentation briefly explains and illustrates the 

basic features of VISYTER. 

As a result of NIDILRR-sponsored R&D, this system is now being used by a wide variety 

domestic and international service providers to deliver services to people with disabilities. The 

platform can deliver high-quality rehabilitation services with minimal equipment and 

maintenance, low investment cost, and ease of setup and operation. The technology is 

designed to support rehabilitation services for people with disabilities who live in underserved 

areas (rural or areas without specialized rehabilitation services). The new VISYTER 2.0 is crossplatform that runs on any device, while the original VISYTER is a Windows-based system. The 

primary outcomes and impact of the technology are to provide access to health care and 

educational services that are otherwise not available or unaffordable to people with disabilities

who live in underserved areas, and to provide high-quality services that are as good as in-
21

person services. The technology has been used to support vocational rehabilitation services in 

Pennsylvania as part of the Cognitive Skills Enhancement Program. The program evaluation

shows that the telerehabilitation program is as good as the in-person program. The technology 

has also been used for speech-language teletherapy at DePaul School of Hearing and Speech to 

provide tele-therapy over a tristate area (PA, OH, WV) for families with deaf children or children 

with hearing impairments who live more than 50 miles from Pittsburgh. Gallaudet University 

currently uses the technology to deliver auditory training to adults who are deaf or hard of 

hearing in Ohio (in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic) and in Kentucky (in collaboration with 

the University of Kentucky). Other uses of VISYTER to provide services include 

telerehabilitation for in-home exercise, international telerehabilitation serving children with 

disabilities in Mexico, and wheelchair prescriptions for people with disabilities who live in rural 

areas of Pennsylvania. Access to health care and vocational services enable people with 

disabilities to live anywhere, even in rural areas where services usually are not available. 

Accessibility anywhere, anytime also allows people with disabilities to receive care and services 

within the community (home, workplace, long-term care, independent living) instead of at 

clinics.

Disability and Rehabilitation Research Projects (DRRPs) 

The DRRP funding program supports projects that carry out one or more of the following 

activities: research, development, training, dissemination, utilization, and technical assistance. 

The purpose of the DRRP program is to plan and conduct research, training, and related 

activities to develop methods, procedures, and rehabilitation technology that maximize the full 

inclusion and integration of individuals with disabilities into society, employment, and 

independent living; promote economic and social self-sufficiency; and improve the 

effectiveness of services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act.

NIDILRR funds several types of DRRPs, including (1) Knowledge Translation projects; (2) Model 

Systems in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and burn injury; additionally, a separate portion of 

NIDILRR’s statutory authority created the Model System program in Spinal Cord Injury (SCIMS); 

(3) ADA National Network projects; (4) Section 21 program; and (5) individual research projects.

The SCIMS is typically not included with the other model systems as a DRRP because of its 

unique statutory authority but is included in this section of the report for conciseness and 

efficiency in reporting. The first four types of DRRPs are managed as separate programs and, 

therefore, only individual research DRRPs are described here under the general DRRP heading. 

DRRPs differ from RRTCs and RERCs in that they are not always required to provide training and 

technical assistance. Award periods range from three to five years.

Examples of 2018 DRRP Accomplishments

The following are examples of DRRP accomplishments reported to NIDILRR in FY 2018:
22

Understanding and Increasing Supported Decision-Making's Positive Impact on Community 

Living and Participation Outcomes

Syracuse University Supported Decision-Making for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (ID)

(Grant # 90DP0076)

All too often, persons with ID are subject to court-appointed guardianships. In many cases, 

these guardianships substantially limit — if not prohibit — the freedoms most people take for 

granted, such as where and with whom to live, where to go, and what to do. However, 

research has shown that with appropriate supports, persons with ID can make informed choices 

and structure their lives around them. The members of the DRRP on Supported DecisionMaking at Syracuse University’s Burton Blatt Institute, recently published a comprehensive 

textbook on this subject that is the first to compile past, present, and future theory, research, 

and practice on supported decision-making. As such, it will close existing gaps in knowledge 

about supported decision-making in academia and for professionals. The contents of the book 

include a history and background of supported decision-making; a summary and detailed 

description of supported decision-making research efforts (including this project); updates on 

adoption of supported decision-making in the United States and internationally; best practices 

in supported decision-making presently and in the future; and current and future directions in 

supported decision-making research and practice. Citation: Shogren, K. A., Wehmeyer, M. L., 

Martinis, J., & Blanck, P. (2018). Supported decision-making: Theory, research, and practice to 

enhance self-determination and quality of life. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Researchers Raise Awareness about Opioid Misuse and Health Policy Implications for People 

with Disabilities

Washington State University: Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living (Grant 

# 90DP0075)

The Collaborative on Health Reform and Independent Living (CHRIL) brings together disability 

advocates and researchers from four institutions (Washington State University, the University 

of Kansas, George Mason University, and the Independent Living Research Utilization program 

at TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital) to systematically investigate and disseminate essential 

findings about how implementation of health reform affects adults with disabilities. CHRIL’s

secondary data analysis of the National Survey of Drug Use and Health found that, controlling 

for other economic and sociodemographic factors, adults with disabilities were more likely to 

misuse opioids and heroin than those without disabilities. The findings helped inform NIDILRR’s 

funding opportunity on opioid use disorder and people with disabilities. To make the 

information more readily available to researchers and consumers, CHRIL publishes research 

summaries on their website

Knowledge Translation 

Knowledge translation, when applied to disability and rehabilitation research, is a process of 

ensuring that new knowledge and products gained through the course of research and 

development can ultimately be used to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and 
23

further their participation in society. Knowledge translation is built upon, and sustained by,

ongoing interactions, partnerships, and collaborations among various stakeholders in the 

production and use of such knowledge and products, including individuals with disabilities, 

researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and others. NIDILRR has invested in knowledge 

translation by directly funding research and development projects in its Knowledge Translation

portfolio and by integrating underlying knowledge translation principles into the content of all 

priorities. 

Examples of 2018 Knowledge Translation Accomplishments

The following is an example of a knowledge translation accomplishment during FY 2018:

Research In Focus, a Lay-Language Information Product to Help the Public Learn About New Research 

from NIDILRR

HeiTech Services, Inc. (Contract # GS-06F-0726Z)

The National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) is an information resource center 

funded by NIDILRR to disseminate information to the public about disability, independent 

living, and rehabilitation research. Since the last reporting period, NARIC has produced a new 

publication series, Research In Focus, a weekly digest of new research from the NIDILRR 

community. The purpose of this new publication is to make available in lay language 

information from new research studies published in peer-reviewed articles, which are written

in scientific language. Its aim is to increase the availability and usability of research information 

for lay audiences by ensuring that they have access to new research information in a timely 

fashion, and in ways that they can understand and use. During this reporting period, the 

audience for Research In Focus grew significantly, with each new issue being read and shared by 

more than 500 readers, resulting in more than 20,000 readers accessing the series overall. The 

series has also received increasing attention from community partners such as the American 

Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, the American Association for Health and Disability, and 

the National Association of States United for Aging and Disability, all of whom pick up and share 

the weekly articles with their readers. In addition, the grantee community has an extremely 

positive response to this production process — from enthusiastic participation in the editorial 

process to promoting the summaries in their own literature —and has increased awareness of 

the importance of sharing research information with stakeholders in lay language. View the 

Research In Focus Page for more information.

Model Systems

NIDILRR’s Model Systems programs in spinal cord injury (SCIMS), traumatic brain injury 

(TBIMS), and burn injury (BMS) provide coordinated systems of rehabilitation care as a 

prerequisite for receiving NIDILRR funding to conduct research on rehabilitation and long-term 

outcomes. These centers serve as platforms for collaborative, multisite research, including 

research on interventions using randomized controlled trials. Founded in 1973, the National 

SCI Database has collected injury and follow-up data through a total of 29 funded centers.

Fourteen funded centers, plus an additional five unfunded centers, actively collected SCI followup data in 2017. Their work has contributed to the collection of SCI data from 46,599

individuals as of the end of May 2018. TBIMS and BMS centers have 16,261 and 6,057 persons, 
24

respectively, enrolled in their national databases. Nineteen centers contributed data to the 

TBIMS National Database in 2018. The BMS collected data from four centers in FY 2018. These 

databases and their decades of longitudinal data continue to provide researchers with rich 

opportunities to characterize the life course of people with SCI, TBI, and burn injuries, and the 

trajectory of the health and community living outcomes that are relevant to their lives. 

Maintenance and continuation of these databases is critical, as patterns of treatment and 

related outcome trajectories continue to change over time. 

Examples of 2018 Model Systems’ Accomplishments

The following are examples of Model Systems accomplishments reported to NIDILRR in FY 

2018:

Life Impact Burn Recovery Evaluation (LIBRE) and Measurement of Community Participation 

Using a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) in Adult Burn Survivors

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital: Boston-Harvard BMS (Grant # 90DPBU0001) and Trustees 

of Boston University (Grant # 90DP0055)

Recovering from a burn injury can be a lifelong process that affects every aspect of life. Dr. 

Kazis and his team used the DRRP funds to develop a CAT to measure the essential aspects of 

social participation of adults with severe burn injuries. The team developed a conceptual and 

content model for the measure with help from clinicians and burn survivors. The measure they 

created, the LIBRE Profile, takes a comprehensive look at burn recovery by assessing how burn 

injury affects a person’s life in terms of work, family, friends, social activities, and community.

Following the development of the LIBRE Profile, project staff worked to ensure it had strong 

psychometric properties. They produced a video detailing why and how they created the LIBRE 

Profile. In 2018, the team published two articles detailing the development of the measure and 

its reliability and validity:

• Chen, L., Lee, A. F., Shapiro, G. D., Goverman, J., Faoro, N., Schneider, J. C., Ryan, C. M. 

(2018). The development and validity of the Adult Burn Outcome Questionnaire short 

form. Journal of Burn Care & Research, 39(5), 771–779. doi: 10.1093/jbcr/irz043

• Dore, E. C., Marino, M., Ni, P., Lomelin-Gascon, J., Sonis, L., Amaya, F., Kazis, L. E. (2018).

Reliability & validity of the LIBRE Profile. Burns, 44(7), 1750–1758. doi: 

10.1016/j.burns.2018.04.001 

Additionally, the team has begun to use the data they have collected to empirically document 

the life experiences of people with burn injury. Two of these studies were published in 2018:

• Ohrtman, E. A., Shapiro, G. D., Simko, L. C., Dore, E., Slavin, M. D., Saret, C., Schneider, J. 

C. (2018). Social interactions and social activities after burn injury: A Life Impact Burn 

Recovery Evaluation (LIBRE) study. Journal of Burn Care & Research, 39(6), 1022–1028. 

doi: 10.1093/jbcr/iry038
25

• Levi, B., Kraft, C. T., Shapiro, G. D., Trinh, N. T., Dore, E. C., Jeng, J., Ryan, C. M. (2018).

The associations of gender with social participation of burn survivors: A Life Impact Burn 

Recovery Evaluation Profile study. Journal of Burn Care & Research, 39(6), 915–922. doi:

10.1093/jbcr/iry007

Links:

Harvard Medical School, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

Boston University Trustees’ Webpage

Mayo Clinic TBIMS Center

Mayo Clinic (Grant # 90DP0030)

This collaboration among NIDILRR’s TBIMS centers developed a clinically useful tool to provide 

prognostic information on long-term functional outcomes for adult survivors of moderate and 

severe closed TBI. Length of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), a clinical marker of injury severity, 

was by far the most critical outcome determinant. This study developed decision trees for 

gaining prognostic information on meaningful long-term functional outcomes after moderatesevere closed TBI and demonstrated reasonable predictability in a separate test sample. There 

are many potential benefits of this easy-to-use tool: helping providers set expectations and plan 

rehabilitation treatments; patient selection and stratification in future clinical trials; assisting 

patients and families with resource planning; and addressing their emotional burden of future 

uncertainty. Citation: Walker, W. C., Stromberg, K. A., Marwitz, J. H., Sima, A. P., Agyemang, A. 

A., Graham, K. M., Merchant, R. (2018). Predicting long-term global outcome after traumatic 

brain injury: Development of a practical prognostic tool using the Traumatic Brain Injury Model 

Systems National Database. Journal of Neurotrauma, 35(14), 1587–1595. doi: 

10.1089/neu.2017.5359. View the full text of the article in HTML or PDF formats. 

Link: Mayo Clinic Traumatic Brain Injury Model System 

The Midwest Regional SCIMS

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago d/b/a Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (Grant # 90SI5022) 

The Rehabilitation Measure Database (RMD) is a web-based, searchable database of outcomes 

instruments designed to help rehabilitation providers and researchers select appropriate 

measures for screening and monitoring patient progress and outcomes. The RMD provides 

evidence-based summaries that include concise descriptions of each instrument’s psychometric 

properties, instructions for administering and scoring, and a representative bibliography with 

citations. Summaries of 408 instruments have been completed as of May 31, 2018. Conditions 

reviewed include stroke, SCI, TBI, multiple sclerosis, vestibular disorders, Parkinson’s disease, 

musculoskeletal disorders, and several conditions specific to geriatric, pediatric, and orthopedic 

populations. Of these, 117 summaries contain information about use of that instrument with 

an SCI population, including all 22 domains of the SCI-Quality of Life instrument. To increase 
26

sustainability, the RMD maintained collaboration with academic institutions for the 2017/2018 

academic year and has enjoyed success in working with individual clinicians, researchers, and 

instrument developers to create summaries for specific instruments. The RMD has established 

collaborations with the following institutions: University of Illinois at Chicago, University of 

Indianapolis, Duke University, University of North Carolina, DePaul University, University of 

North Texas, George Washington University, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University at 

Buffalo-SUNY. In the last year, the RMD team has engaged the American Congress on 

Rehabilitation Medicine to collaborate on summaries, review dissemination opportunities, and 

provide feedback on RMD future projects. From June 1, 2017, through May 31, 2018, RMD 

received 867,972 users, 1,519,112 sessions, and 3,393,490 total page views. Since its inception 

in 2011, the RMD has generated more than 16.3 million page views from 4.2 million users in 

202 territories around the world. Additionally, the RMD has published nine instrument tear 

sheets focused on SCI in journals including Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 

American Journal of Occupational Therapy, and Rehabilitation Psychology. Documentation/link: 

Shirley Ryan Ability Lab's Rehabilitation Measures Database Page

ADA National Network 

The ADA National Network 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 knowledge translation 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. 

Research funded under the first grantee is known as the ADA Participatory Action Research 

Consortium (ADA-PARC). ADA-PARC activities focus upon: (1) looking at participation

disparities experienced by individuals with disabilities post ADA and Olmstead; (2) identifying

and examining key environmental factors contributing to these disparities; (3) benchmarking

participation disparities and highlighting promising practices at state and city levels; and (4)

planning strategies for dissemination and utilization of findings to be used by ADA Centers and 

others in community capacity-building and systems change initiatives.

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’ need 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 2018, the 

Centers received 85,286 inquiries from the public. Exhibit 4 presents the modalities used to 

provide technical assistance in response to these questions. 
27

Exhibit 4. Inquiry Response 

The 10 ADA National Network Centers delivered 121 training activities/projects during the 2018

APR reporting year. 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 3

shows the types and number of times a product was disseminated.

Table 3. Product Dissemination 

Type Number Disseminated

Journal Articles 6,409

Project Publications 202,836

Video and Audio Tapes 866

CDs and DVDs 877

Books or Book Chapters

531

Bulletins, Newsletters, or Factsheets 705,412

Research Reports and Conference 

Proceedings

3,232

Examples of 2018 ADA National Network Center Accomplishments

The following are examples of ADA National Network accomplishments reported to NIDILRR for 

FY 2018:

Great Lakes ADA National Network Regional Center

University of Illinois at Chicago (Grant # 90DP0091)
28

The Great Lakes ADA Center is conducting research that will lead to the development of a 

systematic evaluation tool that can be used to audit local jurisdictions’ plans for implementing 

the ADA – with a particular focus on making accessible the public places where people walk –

sidewalks, paths, and intersections. The audit tool will be made available to professional and 

lay audiences to examine the quality of their own transition plans or to prepare future 

transition plans. The tool will be validated using an expert panel consisting of engineers; 

lawyers; ADA coordinators; architects; and consultants, including individuals with disabilities.

The audit tool will be converted to a technical assistance tool. This resource will include best 

practices found as part of the review, interviews, and field stories. Results from this research 

will be shared through ADA networks and professional planning and engineering networks 

through reports, manuscripts, and plain language summaries. The development of the 

Systematic Evaluation Tool for audits of Public Rights of Way in ADA transition plans is currently 

underway by the Great Lakes ADA Center's research team. Documentation/links: 

Systematic Evaluation Tool for audits of Public Rights of Way in ADA transition plans

Great Lakes ADA Center

Southeast ADA National Network Regional Center

Syracuse University (Grant # 90DP0090)

The Southeast ADA Center is developing the QI-FIT as a measure of financial accessibility in the 

community for individuals with disabilities. The QI-FIT assesses financial institution accessibility 

across eight domains: Strategy and Internal Leadership, Accessibility in Customer Support and 

Communications, Physical Accessibility of Banking Locations, Traditional Banking Services, 

Financial Education and Counseling, Disability Inclusion, Community Development, and 

Alternative Credit Scoring and Lending. The tool was drafted using expert input, a literature 

review, and a review of other instruments that are considered best practices in the field of 

financial inclusion. The tool will be employed across the eight-state southeast region, where 

the poverty rates for people with disabilities are, on average, twice that of people without 

disabilities (31%). Accessibility barriers at financial institutions persist, such as a lack of “Talking 

ATMs” or other mechanisms of alternative formats and effective communications, architectural 

barriers with physical locations, virtual barriers to online services, and more. The QI-FIT will 

evaluate financial services’ inclusion and accessibility and facilitate recommendations to 

improve accessibility and reduce the cycle of poverty.

Link: Southeast ADA Center Website

Section 21 

NIDILRR’s capacity-building research agenda includes developing the talent of future leaders in 

rehabilitation research and development. Statutory requirements within Section 21 of the 

Rehabilitation Act require that, at a minimum, 1 percent of its annual appropriations be used to 

address traditionally underserved populations from minority backgrounds. NIDILRR supports
29

research capacity building for minority entities such as Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities and institutions serving primarily Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian students.

Examples of 2018 Section 21 Accomplishments

The following is an example of an accomplishment of the Section 21 program during FY 2018:

Langston University

(Grant # 90RTST0001)

The RRTC on Research Capacity Building for Minority Entities at Langston University is 

conducting research that leads to improved outcomes for persons from traditionally 

underserved racial and ethnic populations and enhanced research capacity and infrastructure 

at MSIs. The grantee recently published study findings on research productivity in 

rehabilitation, disability, and allied health programs at MSIs and examined intrinsic- and 

extrinsic-level factors from the researcher and institutional perspectives. The article contains 

novel information regarding barriers to research participation and suggests strategies for 

overcoming these challenges at MSIs. Findings at the individual intrinsic level support the need 

for new strategies to build MSI faculty research skills and self-efficacy levels. Administrative 

culture was perceived as a primary issue in relation to the institutional intrinsic theme, with 

limited promotion and tenure opportunities at some MSIs serving as a disincentive for faculty 

scholars to engage in research. The study findings also suggest that limited collaboration 

opportunities and heavy teaching loads are major productivity barriers. Several institutional 

extrinsic factors include the need for capable mentorship and federally sponsored grant funds.

These findings inform the development or refinement of interventions aimed at increasing 

research capacity and infrastructure at MSIs, as well as faculty and student research skills.

Link: Langston University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Research and Capacity 

Building for Minority Entities

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) 

The intent of NIDILRR’s SBIR program is to help support the development of new ideas and 

products that are useful to persons with disabilities by inviting the participation of small 

business firms with strong research capabilities in science, engineering, or educational 

technology. Small businesses must meet eligibility criteria to participate: the company must be 

American-owned and independently operated, be for-profit, employ no more than 500 

employees, and employ the principal researcher. During Phase I, NIDILRR-funded firms conduct 

feasibility studies to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. During Phase II, 

NIDILRR-funded firms expand on the results of Phase I to pursue further development and 

commercialization.

Examples of 2018 SBIR Accomplishments

The following are examples of SBIR accomplishments reported to NIDILRR during FY 2018: 

Development of a Wearable Robot for Motor Rehabilitation in Acute Stroke

Rehabtek, LLC (Grant # 90BISB0001)
30

The wearable rehab robot can be used in the acute phase post stroke even when the patients 

stay in bed. It is used to help patients recover from stroke and regain mobility by guiding them 

to relearn motor control with focus on the ankle. It uses closely guided motor relearning based 

on real-time audiovisual/haptic feedback. It also provides intensive combined stretching and 

active task-related mobility training with progressive postures in an acute stroke rehabilitation 

setting. Plus, it provides quantitative assessment of improvements. This intensive, robotassisted physical therapy provides better motor re-learning in the early post-stroke stage and 

reduces loads to physical therapists in repetitive practice tasks. It monitors impairment and 

recovery performance, and provides assessment to gain insight into the mechanisms of 

impairment and neuroplasticity in early post-stroke rehabilitation.

Link: Rehabtek Company Website

Viability of Social Network-Based Transit Information Systems for Accessibility

Tiramisu Transit, LLC (Grant # 90BI0018)

Tiramisu is an application that provides customized real-time arrival information for transit 

systems on which it is deployed. It makes using transit easier for everyone, including 

commuters with visual or mobility impairments. The Tiramisu app (Version 3) was released to 

the public in the fall of 2017. It is deployed for daily use in Pittsburgh, PA, and New York, NY. 

Version 3 introduced a completely redesigned user interface and new logging features. These 

were added to enhance user experience and support new research activities. Version 3 

introduces the ability to filter information to reduce complexity and lower risk of confusion. 

While valuable to everyone, this has significantly greater value to people with visual or 

cognitive disabilities. Aside from supporting research on real-time transit information, this also 

provides another illustration of how universal design can be used effectively in transportation. 

Documentation/link: Tiramisu Transit LLC Application Available in Google Play or the Apple App 

Store

Field-Initiated Projects (FIPs) 

FIPs are investigator-initiated research projects drawn from a pool of applicants proposing a 

wide variety of target populations and a wide variety of research and development aims. These 

projects generate new knowledge through research or development on a smaller scale relative 

to DRRPs and Center grants. All FIP grantees must carry out research or development projects

to improve outcomes of people with disabilities in health and function, employment, or

community living and participation domains. Typical FIP awards are three years in duration.

Examples of 2018 FIP Accomplishments

The following are examples of FIP accomplishments reported to NIDILRR in FY 2018:

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York

The Research Foundation of SUNY| Stony Brook University: Audio-Tactile Web Accessibility with 

Haptic Gloves (Grant # 90IF0117)
31

As a result of this research, a FeelX mouse/glove was developed. It will allow blind users to connect to a 

computer device and then feel out and listen to the content of the screen by moving the mouse on any 

flat surface, such as a desk. With FeelX, blind users can feel segment boundaries to get the spatial 

perception of the webpage’s layout; they can listen to the content of each segment they touch; and they 

can zoom into any segment to interact with the objects within it. Most notably, unlike pin-matrix 

displays, FeelX uses only four braille cells to represent the screen in a high-resolution tactile form.

Links: 

The Research Foundation for the State University of New York

Stony Brook University

Aging and SCI: A 45-Year Longitudinal Study

Medical University of South Carolina (Grant # 90IF0112)

There were several key findings from this study: (1) Between 30- and 40-years post spinal cord 

injury, there is a dramatic increase in the need for health services (physician treatments and 

hospitalizations). (2) Satisfaction changes over time, but not in the same way for all life areas. 

Individuals’ satisfaction with home life and employment maintains general consistency, as does 

their satisfaction with finances. Declines in their satisfaction with sex life occur more quickly,

and declines in their satisfaction with social life and health are also significant over time. (3) A 

curious finding is that individual perception of future adaptation declines consistently over 

time, yet actual adaptation remains constant or resilient. (4) The overall conclusion is that, 

even among individuals with SCI with extraordinary survival who have adapted well over longer 

periods of time, there are eventually signs of declining health and need for substantially greater 

services. There needs to be more attention on assisting individuals with this transition.

Citation: Krause, J. S., Newman, J. C., Clark, J. M. R., & Dunn, M. (2017). The natural course of 

spinal cord injury: Changes over 40 years among those with exceptional survival. Spinal Cord, 

55(5), 502–508. doi: 10.1038/sc.2016.159. Full Text in HTML

Link: Medical University of South Carolina

Stroke Rehabilitation Writing Program

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago: Evaluate the Efficacy of a Sentence-Writing Program 

(ORLA+WT) for Aphasia (Grant # 90IF0034)

Investigators at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago are investigating a variety of treatments 

targeting various language modalities and measuring different outcomes of research on 

computer interventions for aphasia within the International Classification of Functioning, 

Disability and Health (ICF) domains. Key findings include: (1) there is a tendency for computerbased treatments to focus on impairment-based interventions, with fewer targeting the 

activity/participation domain; (2) there are many methodological weaknesses in the current 

literature, including small numbers of subjects and lack of assessor blinding; (3) computer-
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based treatment offers an array of benefits to people with aphasia; (4) computer treatments 

are advancing the field of aphasiology by offering high-intensity treatment, tracking patient 

performance, permitting treatment of high fidelity across participants, and providing a platform 

to study treatment variables of interest; and (5) in clinical practice, the clinician plays an 

important role in critically evaluating computerized treatments, identifying the active 

ingredients of the intervention, and ensuring that tasks are appropriate for their clients with 

aphasia. The publication highlights some of the methodological weaknesses of studies of 

computer-based treatments for aphasia cited in literature; it sets the stage for this study 

evaluating ORLA+Writing versus ORLA, because issues such as sample size and blinding are 

addressed. This publication serves as a review of computer-based treatments for aphasia and 

illustrates the need for treatments such as ORLA+Writing that address the activity/participation 

domain of the ICF. Citation: Lee, J. B., & Cherney, L. R. (2016). Computer-based treatments for 

aphasia: Advancing clinical practice and research. Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest

Groups, 1(2), 5–17.

Link: Shirley Ryan Ability Lab Oral Reading for Language in Aphasia (ORLA)

Advanced Rehabilitation Research Training Projects (ARRTs) 

ARRTs seek to increase capacity for high-quality rehabilitation research by supporting 

institutions to provide advanced research training and experience to individuals with doctorates 

or similar advanced degrees who have clinical or other relevant experience. Grants are made to 

institutions to recruit qualified persons, including individuals with disabilities, and prepare them 

to conduct independent research related to disability and rehabilitation, with particular 

attention to research areas that support the implementation and objectives of the 

Rehabilitation Act and that improve the effectiveness of services authorized under the Act. 

Training projects must operate in interdisciplinary environments and provide training in 

rigorous scientific methods.

There were 56 Fellows enrolled in the ARRT program in FY 2018. Fellows contribute to, and 

lead, multidisciplinary research projects with mentors and peers, and are encouraged to publish 

their research. In FY 2018, Fellows were lead and contributing authors on 85 publications. The 

program supports a diverse cadre of young research professionals. An estimated 41 percent of 

Fellows in the ARRT funding program identify themselves as Latino, African American, American 

Indian, Asian, or Native Hawaiian. Five of the 56 Fellows reported having a disability.

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 

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 seven or more years of experience relevant to rehabilitation 

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

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

Six Switzer Fellowships were awarded in FY 2018, with a total of 14 Fellows submitting annual 

or final performance reports in 2018.

Current Switzer Fellows are displayed in Table 4.

Table 4. Current Switzer Fellows and Project Titles 

Name Project Title

Jonathan Delman Understanding and Addressing the Vocational Barriers and Needs 

of Black Young Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions

Melissa Duff Memory and Learning Phenotypes as a Biomarker of Long-Term 

Outcome in TBI

Kathryn Connaghan Social Communication and Participation of Adolescents with Motor 

Speech Disability

Dara V. Chan Using GIS and GPS Techniques to Understand Meaningful 

Participation for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder

N. Erkut Kucukboyaci Pre-Implementation of the “Home-Based Self-Management and 

Cognitive Training Changes Lives” (HOBSCOTCH) Program to 

Improve Quality of Life for Patients with Refractory Epilepsy

Irina Cain Barriers and Facilitators for Transition to Independent Living for 

Youth with Developmental Disabilities

Ongoing NIDILRR Activities 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

the ACL Administrator. NIDILRR’s FY 2018–2023 Long-Range Plan was published in March of 

2019. The plan defines NIDILRR’s organizational and programmatic framework and research 

agenda for the coming years. The ACL Administrator has identified five Pillars: Connecting 

People to Resources, Supporting Families and Caregivers, Strengthening the Networks, 
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Protecting Rights and Preventing Abuse, and Expanding Employment Opportunities. These 

Pillars serve as focal points of priority for ACL and encompass both aging and disability. They 

are also complementary to the themes defined in the NIDILRR Long-Range Plan. NIDILRR will 

contribute research and subject matter expertise throughout the planning and implementation 

of work across all of the Pillars. 

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

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

collaborations to identify best practices, conduct cosponsored research, and address shared 

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

Disability Research (ICDR), 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. NIDILRR intends to continue to lead and contribute to the 

advancement of the goals and objectives set forth in the recently drafted government-wide 

disability and rehabilitation research strategic plan.