RI LEND Curriculum and Training
Over the course of the academic year, trainees are expected to participate in a minimum of 300 hours (approximately 12 hours/week) of didactic, clinical, and interdisciplinary leadership training.
The program includes:
- Didactic sessions (3 hours/week for an academic year) led by experts from a range of disciplines designed to help trainees develop the skills, knowledge, and perspectives necessary to become complete, highly competent providers of neurodevelopmental services
- Mentored clinical experiences with interdisciplinary teams in medical and community settings
- A leadership project that allows the trainee to focus on a topic they are interested in and that is relevant to their future work in neurodevelopmental disabilities
RI LEND Core Curriculum Modules
- Interdisciplinary practice
- Life course and social determinants of health
- Overview of neurological and developmental disabilities including autism, hearing impairment, multisensory deficits, prematurity, and intellectual disability
- Leadership
- Family-centered practice and medical home
- Applications of research methodology, quality improvement, and program evaluation to neurodevelopmental disabilities
- Cultural competence
- Public health, policy, and advocacy
- Health care administration and care coordination for children with special needs
- Universal design and assistive technology
- Transition to adulthood and services for children with special needs
- Local and national resources for children with autism and developmental disabilities
- Emerging issues including neonatal abstinence syndrome
RI LEND Practicum Experiences
Previous practicum experiences have included the following sites:
- The Children's Neurodevelopment Center (CNDC) at Hasbro Children’s Hospital
- St. Joseph Pediatric Dental Center
- The New England Pediatric Institute Neurodevelopmental Center (NEPIN)
- The Neonatal-Follow-up Program and RI Hearing Assessment Program at Women and Infants Hospital (WIH)
- Inpatient family-centered rounds at Hasbro Children’s Hospital (HCH)
- The Sherlock Center
- Meeting Street Early Intervention
- Groden Center Early Intervention
- Meeting Street Grace School
- Drum Rock Early Childhood Center
- Audiology and speech-language pathology
- Occupational and physical therapy
- The Intensive Behavioral Treatment (IBT) Program at Bradley Hospital
- RI Deaf-Blind Program at the Sherlock Center
- RI Hearing Assessment Program at WIH
- Camp Wannagoagain Autism Camp
Leadership Project
Trainees are expected to create a leadership project, ideally with partners from different fields, that helps or explores issues related to children with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
These projects are typically developed in the second half of the training year with faculty providing ideas and support through their development. Trainees will find support with faculty members in places like the Department of Health Office of Special Needs, the Autism Project, Patient and Family-Centered Care at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Rhode Island College, and the Rhode Island Consortium for Autism Research and Treatment (RI-CART).
Past projects have included:
- Compiling inclusive and family friendly activities across Rhode Island
- Setting up a free library box focusing on books for children with special needs
- Performing research to determine if an educational intervention for children in the classroom would change their attitudes towards peers with autism spectrum disorder ASD
- Writing a story for social media about activities at Roger Williams Park Zoo that families and children with autism can utilize
- Creating an accessible resource tool for the deaf community in Rhode Island, specifically geared towards adults or families with children who are candidates for cochlear implants