What is LEND?
LEND is a nine-month, 300+-hour interdisciplinary training program that incorporates both didactic and experiential learning in clinical and community-based settings. LEND prepares graduate students, self-advocates, family members, and practicing professionals to become future leaders in maternal and child health fields and to address the needs and priorities of children with autism-spectrum disorders (ASD) and/or other neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) and their families.
There are multiple LEND programs across the United States. The LEND program offered by HDC will hereafter be referred as Louisiana LEND, or LA LEND. The trainees are referred to as scholars. A faculty mentor is assigned to support scholars to complete and master components of the LA LEND program. This is a feature of some, but not all, LEND programs. More information can be found by visiting the LA LEND website.
Overview of Training Components
In order to be eligible for acceptance in the LA LEND program, applicants must have the ability to complete the program components listed below.
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A full-day
orientation
to be held on
July 13
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Foundations in Maternal and Child Health:
A week-long intensive course that takes an in-depth look at issues and concepts in maternal and child health,
August 11-13 and 15
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Seminars in Maternal and Child Health Topics and Leadership Development
(Fridays, 12:30-4:30 PM)
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Biweekly in-person and virtual seminars with embedded clinical/community experiences to build content knowledge and develop leadership skills
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August 26
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September 9
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September 23
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October 7
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October 21
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November 4
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December 9
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January 6
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January 20
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February 3
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March 3 or 10
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March 24
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April 14
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April 28
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Concurrent clinical/field experiences
(dates TBD)
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Family Mentoring Experience
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Each scholar is paired with a family for a year-long mentorship experience to better understand the "lived experience" of families of children with disabilities
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Six (6) total visits completed over the course of the year (tentative based on pandemic course)
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Leadership Project:
Each scholar will complete a 70+-hour leadership project for which he or she exercises leadership skills a maternal or child health–related issue
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Attend the Association for University Centers on Disabilities Annual Conference,
November 13–16, 2022.
Scholars will be informed circa September if they will need to
travel to Washington, DC,
or if the conference will be entirely virtual.