South Carolina Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND)

South Carolina LEND logo

The South Carolina Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (SC LEND) program presents a unique and vital opportunity to address some of South Carolina’s current challenges by preparing and educating culturally competent professionals and interprofessional trainees across the state and across currently established systems of care. The purpose of the LEND training program is to improve the health of infants, children, and adolescents with disabilities.

SC LEND trainees have the potential to become leaders in the Maternal Child Health (MCH) field in the areas of teaching, research, clinical practice, and/or administration and policy-making related to ASD/DD.

The goal of the LEND training program is to improve access to healthcare and services for children with disabilities and their families by training diverse groups of professionals in leadership, cultural competence, clinical knowledge, advocacy, and interdisciplinary collaboration between health care professionals and families.

The LEND Framework is based upon the MCH Life Course Perspective.

LEND trainees are at various stages of education and represent a variety disciplines such as:

  • Audiology
  • Community Members
  • Genetics
  • Health Administration
  • Law
  • Medicine/ Pediatric
  • Nursing
  • Nutrition
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Parents/ Family Members
  • Pediatric Dentistry
  • Physical Therapy
  • Psychology
  • Public Health Policy
  • Self Advocates
  • Social Work
  • Special Education
  • Speech- Language Pathology

For further information, please see the SC LEND website.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number T73MC22233, Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders Training Program. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.