A new certificate program helps nurse practitioners provide early diagnosis and health services for children on the autism spectrum. The program is unique in its inclusion of both UA LEND faculty and UA LEND graduates.

The Ohio State University Nisonger Center held the 2020-2021 LEND Orientation virtually on August 26, 2020 and welcomed 19 new, full-time trainees, 2 part-time trainees and 14 returning trainees representing 16 different disciplines. We're excited to start a new academic year and continue training next-level graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and community leaders in neurodevelopmental disabilities!

During summer 2020, the Wisconsin LEND Program at the Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison had an exciting opportunity to collaborate with a first-year medical student on a UCEDD project examining the needs and barriers to quality healthcare and healthcare transition for adults with Down syndrome (DS). The project was conducted by Kelly Kuehl, a medical student at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), as part of the Shapiro Scholarship Program. This program offers medical students an opportunity to explore areas of interest on a project for 40 hours per week for 10 weeks over the summer in collaboration and with matching funds from a partner program. For Kuehl's DS transition project, she partnered with WI LEND and was mentored by Anne Harris, PhD, director of the WI LEND program, and Maria Stanley, MD, medical director of the Waisman Center Clinics.

We are excited to announce the AUCD Emerging Leaders Interns for the 2020-2021 training year. These trainees will serve as visible ambassadors to the broader AUCD network, interacting with AUCD staff at all levels and the AUCD Board of Directors' Emerging Leaders Representative.

What can you do if your baby, or a loved one's baby, has neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)? How can a toddler's development be affected by NAS? Where can Minnesotans find support?

During the Spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the lives of graduating LEND trainees in New Hampshire in unprecedented ways. After years of dedication to complete their master's degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders, students were told there would be a delay in launching their careers. The closure of national examination centers, due to COVID-19, was delaying the processing of test results and subsequently delaying the granting of provisional licenses to speech language pathologists (SLP) in New Hampshire (NH).

"No one rises to low expectations." New Mexican Congresswoman Deborah Haaland's words motivated leaders and trainees alike during the Hill Visit day at the AUCD conference in Washington DC, "Leading Change Together," this past November. These words were shared with the NH-ME LEND cohort and guided us through a rigorous training year working to improve the health and education of children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities by engaging in training related to interdisciplinary, family-centered, culturally competent systems of care.

The 12th cohort of ICI's Minnesota Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (MNLEND) program graduated May 14 in an online ceremony that featured a congratulatory message from U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, among others, and video testimonials from graduates themselves about what the interdisciplinary fellowship program has meant for them.

The Center for Disabilities and Development (CDD, Iowa's UCEDD) is proud to announce that Mary Ball, M.A. LSC, and Cassandra Olmstead, M.A., are the 2020 recipients of the Alfred Healy Leadership Award in Developmental Disabilities. Ball and Olmstead were members of the 2019-2020 cohort of the Iowa Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities program (ILEND).