Bruktawit Zewdie (MN LEND 2022-23) is helping a teleoutreach center learn the experiences of families of children on the autism spectrum who have been waitlisted for evaluation or intervention.

On Monday, April 22, 2024, UArizona Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities trainees had the opportunity to share their accomplishments at the annual Trainee Symposium. Colleagues, friends, and Sonoran Center staff were in attendance as over 20 trainees presented their work. This year’s cohort included students from the Undergraduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities, the Disability Policy Fellowship, the Diversity Fellowship, and the Interdisciplinary Approach to Disability Internship.

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.

In this episode, meet Sharon Williams, LEND Class of 2019-2020. Sharon was a LEND trainee from the US Virgin Islands. She lives on the island of St. Croix with her husband and daughter Sharon joined the Virgin Islands UCEDD (University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities) in 2012 and is the Assistant Director of Assistive Technology.

Accessing and navigating services for children with developmental, emotional, or behavioral health (D/E/B) concerns has greater complexity for military families, geographically-dispersed families, and families who are highly mobile or lack providers near their homes. University of Minnesota's Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) has received $3.5 million to lower these barriers as a partner in the Department of Defense Child Collaboration Study "A Research Collaboratory to Explore Best Practices for Expanding Access to Care Through Expansion and Support of Telehealth Care for Children and Families with Behavioral Health Needs."

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.

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.

Led by LEND Health Administration and Social Work Trainee Libby Quinn, OHSU Institute on Development and Disability opted to submit public comment as an organization on the recent proposed ruling for updates to Section 504. [alt text: Libby Quinn, a light skin woman with wavy blonde and brown hair wears a turtleneck and smiles for a professional headshot in an outdoor setting against cement terraced grass]

Honoring the theme of the AUCD Annual Conference, this edition of ExceLens is excited to feature AUCD Emerging Leader Blake Warner. Blake has previously completed two years of SD LEND and is currently serving as a UCEDD trainee and completing a predoctoral internship at the UCLA Tarjan Center. Blake is passionate about advocacy and policy reform efforts, particularly for LGBTQ+ individuals in the disability community. The AUCD Community Inclusion Team was able to sit down with Blake and learn more about his interests, goals, and experience so far as an AUCD Emerging Leader. Please read on to see the highlights from Blake's interview!