This past spring, we shared the news that the Community Living Education Project is launching a podcast series, CLEP's Possibility Café. We’re proud to announce that our first two episodes are now available for download on Spotify and YouTube! 

CLEP’s Possibility Café is a podcast for families, by families, that invites you into the everyday lives of those supporting adult loved ones with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Host Melanie McGackin, a CLEP team member and mom of an adult son with a disability, welcomes families to the table to talk openly about the challenges and emotional moments that often go unspoken within our community. Through lived experiences, you’ll hear how families have worked through hard moments and celebrated the many joys, all while discovering what’s possible when adults with disabilities and their families work together. Each episode explores topics relevant to the disability community; if it matters to you, it matters at CLEP's Possibility Café.

Understanding what a person is trying to communicate can sometimes be challenging, particularly when their message is expressed through actions or behaviors rather than words. Looking beyond the behavior itself and considering the need behind the action can help families, professionals, and direct support professionals respond with greater understanding, compassion, and effectiveness.

Learn more about Person-Centered Thinking, an approach that gives people with disabilities the leading role in their own life. It recognizes every person’s right to make choices that create a life meaningful to them, rather than playing a supporting role in someone else’s script. Person-Centered Thinking is the foundation for Person-Centered Planning, which allows people with disabilities to live the lives they want, supported by those around them. 

The Community Living Education Project is delighted to welcome a new team member on-board! Jill Novotny brings with her over twenty years of experience in support coordination and supervising support coordinators. Jill is also a sibling of someone with a developmental disability and is passionate about providing dignity, advocacy and meaningful support to those who need it. Jill brings the perfect combination of professional and lived experience to the CLEP team.

Summer is a wonderful time of year! Warm weather brings longer days, outdoor activities, trips to pools and beaches, and time spent with family and friends. But summer can also bring real health risks — from the heat and sun to bugs and water. For people with developmental disabilities, some of these risks need a little extra attention. Thankfully, with the right information and some simple planning, everyone can have a safe and enjoyable summer.

You are invited to read our May 2026 Newsletter, Sharing Possibilities in Community Living. Contents include information about Star Wars Day, Accessible World Cup celebrations, Preparing for life after graduation, and upcoming events.

You can subscribe to our monthly email Newsletter HERE.

You are invited to read our April 2026 Newsletter, Sharing Possibilities in Community Living. 

Contents include information about our new conversation series, Autism Acceptance Month, and upcoming in-person and virtual events.

You can subscribe to our monthly email Newsletter HERE.