LEND Clinic

Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh and Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the LEND Center of Pittsburgh is one of 43 Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) programs in 37 states and the District of Columbia. LEND programs work together to address national issues of importance to children with disabilities and their families, exchange best practices, and develop shared products. LEND is a member of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD), a national network of interdisciplinary centers advancing policy and practice through research, education, leadership, and service for and with individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, and communities.

The LEND team includes faculty from the University of Pittsburgh, representatives from community agencies that provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities, civic leaders, parents of children with disabilities, and self-advocates. The mission of LEND is two-fold: 1.) to educate a new generation of leaders in the field of disabilities, and 2.) to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families.

What does LEND do for families?

The LEND Clinic is held two Wednesday afternoons each month during the fall and spring academic semesters. Families of children with disabilities visit the LEND Clinic along with their child to receive support through a multi-disciplinary evaluation that results in recommendations in a variety of areas, such as health, education, audiology, speech, behavioral health, therapy services, transition, community participation, and more. In essence, the LEND Clinic is a "one stop shop" for families to receive feedback on a number of issues.

The leadership team for the LEND Clinic includes University of Pittsburgh faculty, pediatric residents from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, LEND trainees who are students enrolled in advanced graduate programs in health care, education, and public health, and parents of children with disabilities. A clinic team is assigned to work with the family throughout the process and, dependent on the family's concerns for their child, the team may make home, school, and/or community visits related to the child. A "case leader" continues to follow up with the family subsequent to the clinic visit to assist the family in implementing those recommendations the family wishes to pursue. The overarching objective of the team is to focus on the family's concerns and goals and to help facilitate access to resources and other recommendations.

What do families do for LEND?

The LEND Clinic utilizes the principles of case-based learning to give trainees from multiple disciplines the opportunity to develop leadership skills. The LEND Clinic is a primary tool for providing direct training to a group of graduate and post-graduate students, with the goal of nurturing a new generation of leaders in the field of disabilities. These leaders are needed to respond to regional and national needs for innovative, family-centered, community-based, scientifically motivated and clinically effective services for individuals with disabilities and their families. Family participation in the LEND Clinic and the overall process is crucial to influence the training of this new generation of health care professionals who will provide care to children with disabilities in the future.