CT LEND Curriculum and Highlights

  • Family Match Experience

Trainees are matched with a family each semester and learn about their everyday experiences by participating in their daily life activities. This includes joining the family for evening routines, community outings, doctor appointments and IEP meetings.

  • Mentoring

Trainees meet with a designated mentor in their field regularly to discuss progress, training experiences, and future opportunities for interprofessional growth based on the trainee’s Individual Learning Plan."

  • Clinical and Community Observations

Specialty clinics and community-based organizations offer observational opportunities for trainees to expose themselves to a multitude of services and supports for children with developmental disabilities and their families.

  • Individual Leadership and Research Projects 

In consultation with their mentor and other LEND faculty, trainees select a topic or community need to explore in-depth and offer recommendations to the field. These projects may include formal research, piloting assessments and services, and developing models of training.

  • Applying knowledge: Life Course Theory, Social Determinants of Health, Family-Centered and Community-Based Services

LEND Trainees learn how to apply knowledge from the Life Course Theory, social determinants of health, and family and community-centered practices to their work with children with disabilities and their families.

CT LEND Projects Completed

CT LEND Fellows’ Projects 2018-2019

Karen Bassilakis: Service Delivery Models of School Based Speech Language Pathologists in Connecticut
Karen Bassilakis presenting her research.
Chris Blake: Learning the Impact of a Disability on the Person/Child/Family
Chris Blake presenting his research.
Thomas Cosker Jr.: Inclusion in Recreation in CT
Thomas Cosker Jr presenting his research.
Khadijah Cyril: Trends of Implicit Biases about Disabilities among College Students Over the Past Few Years
Khadijah Cyril presenting her research.
Mike Duff: Social Inclusion
Mike Duff presenting his research.
Aniella Fignon: Juveniles with Intellectual Disability in the Justice System
Aniella Fignon presenting her research.
Heather Kwolek: Emergency Responders’ Training in Working with Individuals with Disabilities
Heather Kwolek presenting her research.
Michelle Levine: Educational Assessment and Identification Procedures to Classify Students as Emotionally Disturbed in the State of Connecticut
Michelle Levine presenting her research.
Penni Petzold & Leona Adamczyk: Leadership Training for Parents by PTIs
Penni Petzold and Leona Adamczyk presenting their research.
Erica Scarpati: Early Intervention Specialty Programs in the United States for Children with Hearing Loss and Co-Occurring Disabilities
Erica Scarpati presenting her research.
Natalie Silvia & Michael Figueiredo: Training and Confidence Levels of Interdisciplinary Professional Practice in the Northeast Region of the United States in Providing Information to Mothers about Congenital Cytomegalovirus
Natalie Silvia & Michael Figueiredo presenting their research.
Danielle U. Stern: Parent Perspective On Involvement And Training At Planning And Placement Team Meetings
Danielle U. Stern presenting her research
Taylor Tarka: Confidence Levels of Recent Graduates in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology in Providing Assessment and Intervention for School-aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Taylor Tarka presenting her research.
Loren B Thompson: Perceived Confidence from Participation in the Connecticut LEND Program
Loren B Thompson presenting her research.
Yair Voliovitch: Parent Stress Prior To An Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Evaluation: A DBPNet Study
Yair Voliovitch presenting his research.
Elena Woodard: Mothers and Substance Use Services
Elena Woodard presenting her research.