Transforming LEND leadership training curriculum through the maternal and child health leadership competencies.

The purpose of this article is to describe how the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Leadership Competencies (v 3.0) were used to examine and improve an MCH Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) training curriculum for New Hampshire and Maine. Over 15 % of the nation's children experience neurodevelopmental disabilities or special health care needs and estimates suggest 1 in every 68 children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

Presumed competence reflected in the educational programs of students with IDD before and after the Beyond Access professional development intervention.

Background: Judgements about students' competence influence the goals of their individualised education programs (IEPs), the location of service delivery, and their placement in general education (GE) as opposed to special education (SE) classes. The purpose of this study was to describe how presumed competence to learn the GE curriculum was reflected in the IEPs of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), and in the reported percentage of time that these students spent in GE classes prior to and following the Beyond Access professional development intervention.

Method: Five educational teams of students with IDD participated in a professional development intervention that emphasised students' presumed competence to learn grade-level GE curriculum.

A Framework for Managing Controversial Practices.

Every day, speech-language pathologists working in schools make difficult, life-impacting decisions regarding which assessment and intervention approaches to use with their clients. These decisions can become even more difficult when the approaches being considered for use are controversial. The risks involved in making choices about controversial practices are likely to have increased significance simply because the approach being considered is not widely accepted.