Dr. Sarah Smith Announced as New Director of NH-ME Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (NH-ME LEND)

“NH-ME LEND is a federally-funded collaboration among the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies at the University of Maine, and the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine. In her role, Dr. Smith will provide vision, leadership, and direction for the NH-ME LEND program, lead the interdisciplinary LEND faculty, establish liaisons with other UCEDD and LEND programs, and cultivate local, state, regional and federal partnerships," says Betsy Humphreys, current NH-ME LEND Director.

13th Annual Ohio MCH LEND Poster Symposium

LEND trainees, faculty, and guests recently gathered at The Ohio State University Medical Center to celebrate the work of LEND trainees from Cincinnati Children’s and The Ohio State University Nisonger Center. The LEND posters showcased a range of projects addressing several themes such as community resources, accessibility, inclusion, dental services, mental health, and sensory processing in children with prenatal opioid exposure.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Researchers Awarded $2.48M in Special Education Training Grants

Two Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) researchers have received two training grants totaling $2.48 million in funding from the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education. The new grants address the need to train culturally conscientious special education teachers of students with high intensity needs. One of the grants will support training for teachers of students with limited or no functional speech. The other grant will support training for teachers of students with visual impairments. Both grants seek to recruit candidates from historically underrepresented groups or with a unique interest in supporting students from culturally and linguistic diverse backgrounds.

Announcement: Seeking Emerging Leader Board Member Nomination

Deadline: March 29, 2024

The AUCD Board of Directors is seeking nominations from the network's Emerging Leader community to fill the Emerging Leader Board Member voting position on the Board. (*Note that this is not the same as the Emerging Leader Intern.) The Emerging Leader Board Member will be a voting member on AUCD's national Board of Directors and represent the Association and broader AUCD network. This position will bring the voice and perspective of the AUCD Emerging Leader Community, including but not limited to trainees and early career professionals in the network.

Medical and Dental Curricula on IDD: Training Inclusive Providers

A Study on How Medical and Dental Schools Teach Students about IDD

Past research has shown that many medical and dental students do not learn about IDD in school. The WITH Foundation, AUCD, and UC-LEND, led by Dr. Kashia Rosenau, collaborated to learn more about how medical and dental schools are teaching students about intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The study found that most of the schools had self-advocates to help them teach their medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD. The study also found that medical and dental students want to learn more about caring for their patients with disabilities. Overall, the study highlights the importance of teaching medical and dental students about caring for patients with IDD and including more self-advocates in this training.

Apply Today: AUCD Leadership Academy

The deadline to apply is March 1st at 5:00 PM EST

The AUCD Leadership Academy is a week-long intensive experience, paired with a year of pre and post interactions designed to enhance the skills of current and emerging leaders from disability networks to build coalitions to improve systems of supports and services. The Leadership Academy engages participants from UCEDDs, LENDs, and the wider community of disability partners to come together to immerse themselves for a week of study, shared experiences, self-evaluation, and skill development.

Research Paper from the Indiana LEND selected for the 2022 IACC Summary of Advances

The 2022 IACC Summary of Advances in Autism Research provides summaries of the top 20 advances in autism biomedical and services research selected by members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC). Articles in the Summary of Advances are grouped according to the topics represented by the seven Questions of the 2021-2023 IACC Strategic Plan for Autism Research, Services, and Policy (Screening & Diagnosis, Biology, Genetic & Environmental Factors, Interventions, Services & Supports, Lifespan, Infrastructure & Prevalence). In addition, the IACC has released an easy-read version to accompany the 2022 Summary of Advances that uses plain language to summarize the full publication in a brief, accessible format.

Clinical Research Paper from the Indiana LEND selected by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a 2023 Top 10 Practice-Changing Article.

A group of clinical researchers, led by Rebecca McNally Keehn, PhD, HSPP, and including Indiana LEND faculty and fellows, published a paper in the journal Pediatrics, which evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the Indiana Early Autism Evaluation (EAE) Hub system, a statewide network that provides specialized training and collaborative support to community primary care providers in the diagnosis of young children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

2024 EHDI Conference Scholarships for LEND Audiology Trainees

Deadline: February 16th at 11:59pm

AUCD is offering scholarships to support LEND audiology trainees in attending the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Annual Conference on March 17-19, 2024. All current LEND audiology trainees, including those in their externship year, are eligible to apply.

How to Start a Mentoring Program

Mentoring also benefits the organization.

Starting a mentoring program is within your reach. But great mentoring programs don’t just happen. They are built through thoughtful planning and sustained commitment to guiding participants through the mentoring process while continually improving the program.