Category: KyLEND

LEND Trainee Spotlight: Julie Caudill-Clark. She has long, ginger hair tied back and bright, green eyes. She is wearing a navy floral top and headphones, smiling for the photograph.

KYLEND Trainee Spotlight: Julie Caudill-Clark

Posted on | by HDITrex

Julie Caudill-Clark, a doctoral student in Eastern Kentucky University’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Program, is a current LEND Trainee. Her current studies focus on Special Education and she is completing requirements to become a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She also holds a master’s degree from Roosevelt University in Teacher Leadership and Special Education. 

In her teaching positions, she has taught children with Autism at the middle and high school levels, earning her an Illinois Highly Qualified Certification in Secondary Education for grades 6-12 in English, Math, Social Sciences, and Special Education. She also holds a Kentucky Teaching Certification for these areas and is certified in ages 3-21 as a Special Education Teacher. 

Currently serving as Director of Disability Services and Testing for Hazard Community and Technical College, she supports all students with disabilities at all campuses. She determines accommodations students can use in classrooms. 

Also serving as Chair for the Disability Services Workgroup for Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), she works with other Disability Service Providers to develop the Disability Services Handbook. Additionally, her and her team facilitate training and materials for Faculty and Staff guiding support provided to all students.

Julie serves on the Board for Kentucky AHEAD as the Chair for Membership. This organization provides training, networking and support to other Disability Service Professionals at the college level and allows us to improve services provided at Kentucky colleges and universities. 

Julie hopes to expand her knowledge and abilities while continuing work in Kentucky!

Julie is currently enrolled as a trainee in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute’s (HDI) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. LEND is a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau in partnership with the University of Louisville and Eastern Kentucky University. 

These programs share the overall mission of improving the health of infants, children, and adolescents with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. LEND aims to increase the number of professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based screening and diagnosis, as well as support to individuals and families.

Visit www.hdi.uky.edu/kylend to learn more. Contact the Kentucky LEND Project Director caroline.gooden@uky.edu with any questions or to schedule an informational session for your department and interested students!

KYLEND Trainee Spotlight: Hannah Mitchell

Posted on | by HDITrex

Hannah Mitchell, a third-year graduate student in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at the University of Kentucky, has always had an interest in pediatrics. As a high school student, she taught swim lessons to children, including those with neurodevelopmental disabilities. 

This experience inspired her to learn how to serve people with disabilities in her personal and professional life. She hopes to play a role in an interprofessional team to improve healthcare for this specific population.

Mitchell is currently enrolled as a trainee in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute’s (HDI) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. LEND is a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau in partnership with the University of Louisville and Eastern Kentucky University. 

These programs share the overall mission of improving the health of infants, children, and adolescents with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. LEND aims to increase the number of professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based screening and diagnosis, as well as support to individuals and families.

HDI is currently accepting applications across disciplines for the 2022—2023 academic year. A total of nine trainees will be accepted in the LEND fellowship. The fellowship includes leadership coursework and an array of clinical and community placements each semester. Trainees commit to 15 hours of LEND activities each week.

Applications for the 2022—2023 academic year must be submitted on or before March 18th, 2022. Complete the online application here: www.tinyurl.com/lend2223 

Finalists will be interviewed before the selection of nine trainees for a nine-month fellowship. All applicants will be notified by April 15th, 2022. Trainees must be one of the following: 

  • Enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate training program in a LEND discipline
  • A family member of an individual with an intellectual/developmental disability
  • An individual with an intellectual or developmental disability

Visit www.hdi.uky.edu/kylend2 to learn more and apply online. Contact the Kentucky LEND Project Director caroline.gooden@uky.edu with any questions or to schedule an informational session for your department and interested students!

KY LEND Trainee Spotlight: Meet August Tuggle! August has shoulder-length curly hair and is wearing glasses and UK Blue polo with "Music Therapy" embroidered in white.

KY LEND Trainee Spotlight: August Tuggle

Posted on | by HDITrex

August Tuggle is a first-year student in the Music Therapy Equivalency/Master’s Program at the University of Kentucky. She is also a student in the Graduate Certificate in Developmental Disabilities program with the Human Development Institute. 

Tuggle says her legal blindness led to her current research interests, including exploring best music therapy practices for young adults with autism transitioning from school to adulthood. 

Tuggle is currently enrolled as a trainee in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute’s (HDI) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. LEND is a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau in partnership with the University of Louisville and Eastern Kentucky University. 

These programs share the overall mission of improving the health of infants, children, and adolescents with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. LEND aims to increase the number of professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based screening and diagnosis, as well as support to individuals and families.

HDI is currently accepting applications across disciplines for the 2022—2023 academic year. A total of nine trainees will be accepted in the LEND fellowship. The fellowship includes leadership coursework and an array of clinical and community placements each semester. Trainees commit to 15 hours of LEND activities each week.

Applications for the 2022—2023 academic year must be submitted on or before March 4th, 2022. Complete the online application here: www.tinyurl.com/lend2223 

Finalists will be interviewed before the selection of nine trainees for a nine-month fellowship. All applicants will be notified by April 15th, 2022. Trainees must be one of the following: 

  • Enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate training program in a LEND discipline
  • A family member of an individual with an intellectual/developmental disability
  • An individual with an intellectual or developmental disability

Visit www.hdi.uky.edu/kylend2 to learn more and apply online. Contact the Kentucky LEND Project Director caroline.gooden@uky.edu with any questions or to schedule an informational session for your department and interested students!

KY LEND Trainee Spotlight: Kaitlin O'Neill

KY LEND Trainee Spotlight: Kaitlin O’Neill

Posted on | by HDITrex

Kaitlin O’Neill is a second-year doctoral student in the University of Kentucky’s Special Education Leadership Personnel Preparation Program. She is also completing requirements to become a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). 

O’Neill holds a Master’s Degree in Special Education for Moderate and Severe Disabilities from the University of Kentucky and a Rank 2 Kentucky Educator License Teaching Certification for Teaching Exceptional Children, Moderate and Severe Disabilities, grades primary through twelve.

Her primary area of research involves improving the efficiency of established, effective, evidence-based teaching practices for students with disabilities. She is also the project manager of a research team focused on improving methods for teaching children with intellectual disabilities how to self-instruct using mobile technology instead of relying on adult prompts. O’Neill plans to teach at the university level when she completes her degree.

O’Neill was recently awarded the CEC Teacher Education Division Kaleidoscope 2022 Student Research Poster Competition for Outstanding Single Case Research. This was awarded at the Council for Exceptional Children Conference in Orlando, FL in January 2022. The title of her poster was “Differential Effects of Criteria for Increasing Delay Intervals in Progressive Time Delay.”

O’Neill is currently enrolled as a trainee in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute’s (HDI) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. LEND is a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau in partnership with the University of Louisville and Eastern Kentucky University. 

These programs share the overall mission of improving the health of infants, children, and adolescents with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. LEND aims to increase the number of professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based screening and diagnosis, as well as support to individuals and families.

HDI is currently accepting applications across disciplines for the 2022—2023 academic year. A total of nine trainees will be accepted in the LEND fellowship. The fellowship includes leadership coursework and an array of clinical and community placements each semester. Trainees commit to 15 hours of LEND activities each week.

Applications for the 2022—2023 academic year must be submitted on or before March 18th, 2022. Complete the online application here: www.tinyurl.com/lend2223 

Finalists will be interviewed before the selection of nine trainees for a nine-month fellowship. All applicants will be notified by April 15th, 2022. Trainees must be one of the following: 

  • Enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate training program in a LEND discipline
  • A family member of an individual with an intellectual/developmental disability
  • An individual with an intellectual or developmental disability

Visit www.hdi.uky.edu/kylend2 to learn more and apply online. Contact the Kentucky LEND Project Director caroline.gooden@uky.edu with any questions or to schedule an informational session for your department and interested students!

KY LEND Trainee Spotlight: Meet Nathan French

KYLEND Trainee Spotlight: Nathan French

Posted on | by HDITrex

Nathan French is currently pursuing a Master’s in Social Work while participating in the LEND program to enact cultural and policy changes for the betterment of the disability community. 

Inspired by their experience as a person with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in the LGBTQIA+ community, French’s interests and research focuses on marriage equality, attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ disabled people, education, and accessibility. 

French is currently enrolled as a trainee in the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute’s (HDI) Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. LEND is a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau in partnership with the University of Louisville and Eastern Kentucky University. 

These programs share the overall mission of improving the health of infants, children, and adolescents with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. LEND aims to increase the number of professionals with the knowledge and skills to provide evidence-based screening and diagnosis, as well as support to individuals and families.

HDI is currently accepting applications across disciplines for the 2022—2023 academic year. A total of nine trainees will be accepted in the LEND fellowship. The fellowship includes leadership coursework and an array of clinical and community placements each semester. Trainees commit to 15 hours of LEND activities each week.

Applications for the 2022—2023 academic year must be submitted on or before March 4th, 2022. Complete the online application here: www.tinyurl.com/lend2223 

Finalists will be interviewed before the selection of nine trainees for a nine-month fellowship. All applicants will be notified by April 15th, 2022. Trainees must be one of the following: 

  • Enrolled in a graduate or post-graduate training program in a LEND discipline
  • A family member of an individual with an intellectual/developmental disability
  • An individual with an intellectual or developmental disability

Visit www.hdi.uky.edu/kylend2 to learn more and apply online. Contact the Kentucky LEND Project Director caroline.gooden@uky.edu with any questions or to schedule an informational session for your department and interested students!