About URLEND

Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (URLEND) is a nationally-recognized group of trainees, gaining valuable experience in the disabilities field through participation in the program. URLEND at Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) provides leadership and skill building opportunities for Wyoming graduate-level pre-professionals and professionals. Each year, student and professional trainees from a variety of health related disciplines participate in a training program to increase their knowledge and skills in providing services and supports to children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families.

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URLEND Learning Approach

Each year a diverse set of trainees from numerous disciplines are brought together with faculty and families of children with special health care needs, to form an interdisciplinary learning cohort. The URLEND approach is based on goals and objectives derived from Maternal & Child Health (MCH) leadership competencies. Each long-term trainee participates in three forms of learning: didactic (classroom), leadership, and clinical.

 

Disciplines represented include:

  • Education/Special Education

  • Genetics

  • Health Administration

  • Nursing

  • Nutrition

  • Occupational Therapy

  • Pediatrics

  • Physical Therapy

  • Psychology

  • Public Health

 

The Utah Regional LEND, or URLEND, is a LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) training program that covers five states: Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota.

URLEND Network Website

 

woman working with a child

Family Opportunities

As a family mentor, you have an important role in the URLEND project. Students
and professionals will learn from your live experience and expertise to better able
to support families of children with special health care needs. URLEND trainees will
work with you to gain insight and appreciation of the perspectives of families who
have children with special health care needs. Trainees will work with you to learn
directly from your family what it means to raise a child with special health care
needs through a variety of experiences in your home and the community.

Family Mentor

A family mentor is an individual who:

  • Has a family member with a special health care need

  • Wants to share his or her family perspective and stories with trainees

  • Can commit to mentoring a professional trainee during the academic year

  • Is available to meet with a professional trainee four times during the year

Family Trainee

A family trainee is an individual who:

  • Has a family member with a special health care need

  • Wants to enhance leadership skills, information, and education in disabilities

  • Can commit to Friday afternoon training sessions for the academic year

  • Is available to work on a leadership project with a team

Positions available: Family member representative of children with disabilities

Support: A Family Trainee will receive a $2,500 stipend for work occurring over the course of an academic year. A Family Mentor will receive a $200 stipend for work occurring over the course of a year.

How to join: For more information and an application please contact: Canyon Hardesty, URLEND Coordinator (307) 766-5003 | canyon@uwyo.edu.

URLEND stands for Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities, and is a training program to prepare future leaders who will serve children with disabilities. This program is offered through the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) in collaboration with Utah State University, Center for Persons with Disabilities and the University of Utah, School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. The program’s family involvement component provides interdisciplinary teams with an invaluable perspective in the scope of their training - the perspective of the family.

Trainee Opportunities

Positions available: Trainee

Support: A Trainee will receive a stipend for work occurring over the course of an academic year.

How to join: For more information and an application please contact: Canyon Hardesty, URLEND Coordinator (307) 766-5003 | canyon@uwyo.edu.

Our program
Be a part of a nationally-recognized group of trainees and gain valuable experience in the disabilities field through Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (URLEND) program. URLEND at Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND) provides leadership and skill building opportunities for Wyoming graduate-level pre-professionals and professionals. We are looking for individuals from a variety of health related disciplines who would like to increase their knowledge and skills in providing services and supports to children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families.

Commitments and expectations
URLEND trainees participate in the interdisciplinary training program on Friday afternoons, consisting of 300 clock hours over two semesters during the academic year.  Each URLEND trainee will develop an individualized training plan, in consultation with an assigned faculty advisor. The trainees will have opportunities to participate in a series of didactic seminars, clinical observations, and an interdisciplinary research project.  

Benefits of participation as a trainee

  • Increased awareness of the impact of disability on the personal lives of those with disabilities and their families and of the legal, social, economic and cultural factors which influence the provision of services to people with disabilities.

  • An understanding of principles such as inclusion, self-determination, independence, cultural competency, family-centered care, and the medical home model.

  • Heightened awareness of the contributions different disciplines can make to an interdisciplinary team.

  • Enhanced leadership skills applicable to disability work.

  • Participation in didactic and clinical experiences that strengthen leadership potential.

  • Knowledge and skills to increase marketability as a professional.

  • A network of contacts for continuing professional dialogue and activities.

  • Opportunities for stipend support on a competitive basis.

  • Opportunities to enhance skills in providing assessments, interventions, and evaluations of services for persons with disabilities and their families; be a member of a research team; and assist in disseminating research findings.