Welcome From the Director

The Institute for Disability Studies is all about people. For over 30 years, IDS has worked to provide technical assistance, training, resources and supports for Mississippians with disabilities and their families. We like to think we are providing pathways to a better life for people of all ages—infants, toddlers, school-age children, youth, workers, parents, families and seniors.
Our work is about education, assistive technology, housing, emergency preparedness, health, communities, leadership, policies and much more. At IDS, we believe all individuals are valued, and everyone should be included in their community.  We believe families are the best providers of support, care, and love, and services should be person-centered, culturally competent, coordinated and family friendly.
We work statewide. Housed for many years on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, IDS has a satellite office in Jackson, state’s capital and a new technology learning center facility on the Mississippi Gulf Coast rebuilt at The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Park campus in Long Beach following Hurricane Katrina. IDS also has a housing office in Tupelo and in the Mississippi Delta in Indianola. Helen Keller said “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Join us in the journey.

Sincerely,

Royal P. Walker, Jr. JD
Executive Director

IDS Organizational Chart

Our Mission

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, an estimated 43,000,000 U.S. citizens have disabilities. The Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act Amendments of 1994 report that more than 3 million of these individuals have developmental disabilities and that the majority of the disabilities are severe and likely to continue indefinitely. Many more Americans are at high risk for developing disabilities because of poor prenatal care, poor environmental living conditions, lack of early educational opportunities, and lack of access to appropriate health and human services. It is a documented fact that individuals with disabilities, as a group, occupy an inferior status in our society and are severely disadvantaged socially, vocationally, economically, and educationally. These facts hold true in Mississippi, where the population of individuals with disabilities is estimated at over 350,000, and the highest rate per population in the United States. Over 40,000 of these individuals have developmental disabilities.

The Institute for Disability Studies (IDS) is Mississippi's Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service. Housed at The University of Southern Mississippi, IDS strives to meet its federal mission to enhance the quality of life across the life span for citizens with disabilities and their families, regardless of culture, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background. Quality of life is enhanced through leadership activities that promote policies of inclusion at home, school, work, and recreational settings. Through supportive efforts to facilitate the availability of an array of individual and family supports that are community-based and culturally competent, IDS promotes the independence, productivity, and community integration and inclusion of individuals with disabilities. Supportive efforts include interdisciplinary preservice training; community service activities that involve outreach training, technical assistance, and model service demonstration; and dissemination of state-of-the-art practices based on applied research.

As part of the national network of Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service, IDS relies on similar programs across the country for support in developing and implementing core functions. All IDS functions and programmatic activities are grounded in a firmly committed set of values-based beliefs and guiding principles.