Hosting a film series and discussions exploring cultural responses to autism. Asking families what services they need most. Evaluating and expanding a promising mentoring program.

These are just a few of MNLEND’s fellowship projects for 2019–20, marking a decade since the program’s inception. An interdisciplinary partnership of the University of Minnesota, MNLEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) brings together the College’s Institute on Community Integration (ICI), the College’s Educational Psychology Department, the School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, and the College of Liberal Arts’ Department of Speech Language and Hearing Sciences.

The program also collaborates each academic year with a variety of other departments to train a cohort of fellows from the community at large and graduate programs across the university community, with the goal of creating the next generation of interdisciplinary leaders who will improve health and education outcomes for people with neurodevelopmental and related disabilities, such as autism.

As part of the experience, LEND fellows select and lead a project that matches their specific interests. Read more…