The Munroe-Meyer Guild held its 54th Garden Walk in 2023. The annual tour of select neighborhood gardens raised funds to support grants for innovative projects and highly impactful training endeavors. Grants for 2023-24, for which funding was supplemented by the Ruth and Bill Scott Foundation, and included the following projects:

“Inclusive Trauma Care: A Treatment Program for youth with intellectual of developmental disabilities” (grantees Hanna Grandgenett, PhD, and Allison Morton,PhD).  This program would create an inclusive treatment for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities exposed to traumatic events. Treatment would be piloted on youth and families at MMI before being evaluated for potential to reduce key symptoms.  It would then be disseminated to MMI trainees and providers.

“A Rising Tide Rises All Ships: Empowering Families to Increase Wellbeing of Youth with Developmental Disabilities” (grantees Rachel Schumacher, PhD, and Kaitlyn Young, PhD). This team will pilot a group-based treatment approach to address child problem behaviors within the context of improving parental well-being. The program would empower parents and reduce stress associated with raising children with intellectual and developmental disabilities while enhancing the child’s adaptive and social-emotional skills.

“AAC Life Transitions Lab” (grantee Susan Fager, PhD). The project would develop a state-of-the-art lab to support translation of augmentative and alternative communication research to clinical practice. AAC technology in the lab would support critical life transitions — emerging communication, literacy, employment, and physical access abilities — for individuals with complex communication needs.