Project Description:
Problem: Children with (C/) Autism (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disabilities (ND) need family-centered MCH leaders and professionals who can differentiate and treat ASD-ND.
Goals and Objectives: For C/ASD-ND and their families: Goal A. Prepare long-term trainees and fellows (LTs) for interdisciplinary MCH leadership roles, and increase related knowledge and skills of medium-/short-term trainees. Obj. A1. Recruit 10 LTs, addressing ethnic diversity, and educating them to utilize/generate evidence to differentiate and treat ASD-ND, and improve 75 other trainees? skills, per year, Obj. A2. Offer 4 new/revised courses with ASD-ND emphasis; Goal B. Increase the capacity of practicing MCH professionals to strengthen ASD-ND services. Obj. B1. Conduct 6 ASD-ND continuing education (CE) programs for 400 participants each year, Obj. B2. Provide 400 hours of technical assistance (TA) to at least 15 entities per year; and, Goal C. Contribute to the ASD-ND evidence base for best practices and treatments. Obj. C1. Conduct 4 ongoing/new research projects and design/validate 1 treatment model each year, and, Obj. C2. Disseminate results and products in 45 publications each year.
Activities Undertaken to meet Project Goals: LT/Fs (300+ hours) are 7 supported multi-discipline trainees/ fellows, who take the core leadership didactic program and assessment, treatment, research and other practica fulltime for at least one year, and at least 3 graduate students who take leadership coursework and practica. Other trainees take selected ASD-ND practica and courses. CE and TA needs are identified and addressed by faculty and trainees with state and regional partners, and like faculty and trainee research, focus on ASD, ND, and Part C.
HP 2010 Objectives: 16 -14c (ASD diagnosis), 16-22 (CSHCN medical homes), 16-23 (CSHCN systems); 6-2 (depression in disabilities), 6-9 (education inclusion), 6-10 (access to health & wellness), 6-13 (surveillance); 7-8 (health education), 7-11 (cultural competencies), 11-6 (provider communication); 1-8 (underrepresented groups as providers).
Coordination: CoLEND coordinates with; a) Colorado Title V, Part C and Department of Education and chapters of Family Voices, Autism Society of Colorado, Federation of Families for Children?s Mental Health, Arc, , Mile High Down Syndrome Association, and El Grupo VIDA), 2) PacWest LENDs and UCEs, Rocky Mountain Public Health Consortium, and 3) Autism Treatment Network, ADDM, and CADDRE.
Evaluation: Evaluation methods to support program refinement, delivery, reporting, and outcome documentation include administrative data collection, competency-oriented trainee assessments in 13 competency sets, graduate surveys of MCH service and leadership, and CE and TA consumer surveys. The protocol is responsive to emergent needs and new requirements.
Annotation: CoLEND will: train mch interdisciplinary leaders and professionals in differential diagnosis and treatment of Autism Syndrome Disorder and neurodevelopmental disabilities; strengthen the mch workforce; and enrich the ASD-ND evidence base. Evaluation will document program improvements and outcomes.
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Education & Early Intervention, Health-Related Activities, Quality of Life
