Who We Are
The Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities works to improve services and supports so that people with developmental disabilities and their families can live better lives.
We are
- bridge builders,
- dot connectors,
- and change makers.
We build bridges between the real experiences of people with disabilities and the policies and service systems that shape their lives.
We connect dots across government programs by seeing the big picture to help fill gaps and meet real needs.
We make change toward greater inclusion, independence, and self-determination for people with disabilities in Tennessee.
Our focus is broad. We work across the lifespan for Tennesseans with intellectual and other types of lifelong disabilities who need support services.
How We're Organized
The Council is an independent agency within state government. Our work is guided by a diverse group of citizens with direct experience of disability, appointed by the governor as Council members from every region of the state. Policymakers from state agencies that oversee Tennessee's disability programs and other partner agencies also serve on the Council.
The Council is established by the federal Developmental Disabilities Act (Spanish language version) and by Tennessee Executive Order 50.
The DD Network
The Developmental Disabilities Act also created partner agencies in every state and U.S. territory. Together, these groups make up the state "DD Network": state councils on developmental disabilities, protection and advocacy agencies, and university centers for excellence in developmental disabilities. Learn about Tennessee's DD Network and how we work together.
What Is a "Developmental Disability"?
The definition of "developmental disability" has changed over the years as the federal law now known as the Developmental Disabilities Act has evolved. Read about the history of the DD Act.
Today, the federal definition that guides our work focuses on how a disability affects a person's life over time. We also note that efforts to improve public policy and programs for people with developmental disabilities often benefit the much broader disability community as well.
Federal Definition
Under the Developmental Disabilities Act, a developmental disability is a severe, chronic disability of an individual that:
- Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment, or a combination of both.
- Is manifested before the individual turns 22.
- Is likely to continue indefinitely.
- Results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of these areas of major life activity:
- Self-care
- Receptive and expressive language
- Learning
- Mobility
- Self-direction
- Capacity for independent living
- Economic self-sufficiency
- Reflects the individual's need for a combination and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic services, individualized supports, or other forms of assistance that are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated.
For infants and young children (birth to age 9): A child with a substantial developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired condition may be considered to have a developmental disability without meeting three or more of the criteria above, if the child has a high probability of meeting those criteria later in life without services and supports.
How We Use This Definition
The Council on Developmental Disabilities uses this federal definition for purposes of our work.
Tennessee also has its own definitions of "intellectual disability" and "developmental disability" in state law. You can read those definitions in Tenn. Code Ann. § 52-1-101. (item #5 defines developmental disability; item #8 defines intellectual disability).
This project was supported in part by grant number 2201TNSCDD from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.
This website is supported by the Administration on Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,470,950 with 84 percentage funded by ACL/HHS and $280,600 amount and 16 percentage funded state funds. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by ACL/HHS or the U.S. Government.