ArizonaLEND Alum Dan Combs is Doing Amazing Work Assisting Young Down Syndrome Patients to Getting Good Sleep

ArizonaLEND is so proud of the work Dan Combs, MD (ArizonaLEND Alum 2012-2013) is doing around helping children with Down Syndrome get good quality sleep. His research focuses on the impact of sleep apnea and other sleep disorders on children with Down Syndrome.

Jeremy Legaspi, ArizonaLEND Alum, Works to Engage AAC Users in Building a Wider Community

Speech-Language pathologists Jeremy Legaspi (ArizonaLEND Alum 2021-2022) and Wylanta Jones recently created Camp Connect, a camp designed for young people who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices.

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) Researcher Leads Efforts to Design VR Training for Educators of Students with Autism

Children with autism are more likely than their typically developing peers to engage in challenging behavior, which can lead to injury, lower rates of social inclusion, and adverse effects on learning. To support these children, special education professionals in schools need training on functional analysis —the methods used to identify factors that influence challenging behavior. Joseph Lambert, Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (TN IDDRC, UCEDD, LEND) researcher and assistant professor of special education at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development, plans to develop this training using virtual-reality-based simulations.

Launching Call for Host Application for Spring 2025 Professional Fellowship Exchange

Is your UCEDD or LEND eager to drive global change in disability inclusion? Host a Fellow from the prestigious Professional Fellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagement (PFP)!

LEND Equity Scholars Opportunity

Deadline: Monday, September 16, 2024

The Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center for Equity (ECIPC-Equity) is recruiting the second cohort of 10-15 LEND trainees to become the 2024-2025 ECI LEND Equity Scholars.

The PacWest LEND Consortium Celebrates the Careers of Three LEND Program Leaders

All three professionals have made indelible marks on their fields and regions through their dedication to service, research, and education in developmental disabilities and physical therapy.

AUCD 2024 Awards Nominations - Deadline Extended!

AUCD invites you to nominate someone who inspires you in the spirit of this year’s theme, Stronger Together: Creating a More Inclusive World. Please note that AUCD has made some changes to the awards nomination process this year. Learn more about the changes and requirements.

Submit an AUCD Awards Nomination by August 16.

Submit Nomination

Let’s Send a Message: DSPs Do More

Direct support professionals (DSPs) help make it possible for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to live full lives in the community. Let’s send a message that we value this work by telling regulators to make “direct support professional” the official title used by the government to recognize and categorize the profession of supporting individuals with IDD.

What you can do now: Before Aug. 12, submit comments to the Office of Management and Budget that explain why you support the creation of a distinct Standard Occupational Classification for DSPs. 

Best Practices in Telehealth Care for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Research team led by 2018 UMass Shriver LEND Fellow Dr. Melissa L. Desroches collaborates with Developmental Disabilities Nurses Association, American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry, The Arc, and StationMD to identify best practices in telehealth care for adults with developmental disabilities.

MN LEND Fellows on TV News

This television news story from WCCO/CBS News Minnesota shows a Minnesota couple living with disabilities who built an accessible orphanage and clinic in Liberia. They are former fellows of ICI’s MN LEND program.