Membership in the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), which automatically includes membership in the Texas Chapter, offers many benefits for those working in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities.    

 

Educational opportunities include presentations at the state and national conventions of the latest information in the field. The Annual Texas Convention typically provides a variety of presentations of relevance for those who work in the field. The Texas chapter has also provided regional trainings focusing on specific topics including one in Houston after Hurricane Harvey which focused on the impact of natural disasters on people with IDD, their families, and staff. Additional regional trainings are under development and can be expected to include the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of services.  AAIDD’s professional journals and books contain the latest research, best practice guidelines, and policy developments in the field. National educational web forums and electronic newsletters provide valuable and relevant information routinely.    

 

Networking opportunities include Interest Network Groups for various professional and special interest groups that communicate new information and on-line participation. The Interest Networks include Communication Disorders, Creative Arts, Direct Support Professionals, Education, Families, Gerontology, Health and Wellness, International, Leadership & Management in Community Living, Legal Process and Public Policy, Multicultural Concerns & Humanism, Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Research, Sexual and Social Concerns, Social Work, Student and Early Career Professionals, and Technology.  The Student and Early Career Professionals Interest Network Groups offer career and networking links to assist new members in making contacts with others in the same field.  All members can access a Career Center for posting or searching for a job.

 

There are a variety of membership categories which are explained briefly below:  

• Student Membership receives a 20% discount for any membership category.  Students and Direct Support Professionals are eligible for support grants for attending the national AAIDD convention as well.  

• Basic membership with $85 annual dues ($68 with a student discount).  It  includes electronic access to one of the two journals, the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AJIDD) or Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD).  All members have access to an electronics-only journal, Inclusion.  

• Classic membership (electronic access to both journals) is $135.  

• Standard membership, which includes print and electronic copies of the journals, is $185.  

• Premium membership, which includes special gifts of Association books, is $260.  

• Corporate membership for $600 is also available, with 20% discounts for the memberships of an unlimited number of employees

 

On-line or printable membership registration is available at www.aaidd.org. As a financial benefit, members also receive discounts on bookstore purchases (AAIDD publishes some of the leading books and assessment instruments in the field), webinar courses, and convention registration (including the AAIDD Texas Chapter convention and regional trainings).

 

AAIDD has thousands of members from over 55 countries; however, the current Texas membership is about 85, a decline from the last report of 94 members.  Attendance at the annual state convention typically exceeds 200, indicating that many attendees are not members.  Although AAIDD Texas Chapter welcomes all attendees, we are particularly interested in attracting the conference attendees to become members. We are interested in learning strategies to attract others to become members especially younger professionals or students in the field.  However, we also want to engage professionals and administrators who were previously members and have traditionally represented a large part of our membership.    

 

Membership in many professional organizations has been declining and this is also true for AAIDD.  Multiple reasons account for this including increased competition, lack of agency support, and many professionals accessing information electronically.

 

We hope that you will join this valuable organization and help us continue its long tradition of service.  The Texas Chapter invites ideas about how to increase the membership or services, programs, and workshops that would be attractive for professionals.  The new Membership Chair is Lawrence Davis at Integral Care in Austin.  If  you have any ideas or recommendations about membership, please contact him at Lawrence.davis@integralcare.org.