Kansas LEND

04/22/2026

Assistive Technology means access to a more independent life for those with disabilities...

How is Assistive Technology Funded?
Assistive Technology can be funded through:
• Medicaid State Plans
• Medicaid Waivers
• Money Follows the Person
• Medicare
• Private insurance
• Vocational Rehabilitation
• School systems
• State AT Act Programs
• And more!

Assistive Technology. Access Matters. Awareness Matters. Policy Matters.

assistive technology. everywhere. everyone.

ATAP-Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs



Image Description: A banner at the top reads: “NATIONAL AT AWARENESS DAY | APRIL 22 2026,” with the ATAP logo in the upper left corner. In the main image, a young child and an adult sit together at a classroom desk, looking at and interacting with a tablet. At the bottom, bold text reads: “assistive technology. everywhere. everyone.”

04/22/2026

Why is it so hard to find the "autism gene"? Because there isn't just one. 🧬

Matt Mosconi, Director of Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training, explains that most autism cases stem from common inherited variants with small individual effects. Sensory-motor differences—like how we move our eyes or grip objects—may be the key to unlocking these different "autism spectra."

Listen to learn more about the science of motor control and autism during his lecture at the UC Davis MIND Institute: https://loom.ly/pp4YVvI

04/21/2026

Sharing a new research opportunity full of movement, music, and support with our friends at Community Health Improvement Program for Intellectual Disabilities!

This study is for adults with Down syndrome (35+) and their caregivers to join a 12-week online program with exercise classes (3 days per week for 30 minutes) and caregiver training (40 minutes once per week).

The full study lasts 16 weeks in total, including home visits, fitness tests, saliva samples, and participants receive a small stipend and an iPad for participating in the study.

If you’re interested, please fill out this short form: CareFit DSAD Interest Survey. Once submitted, we’ll follow up to schedule a consent meeting if you qualify.

For more information please visit: https://ebl.ku.edu/carefit-dsad-caregiving-and-fitness-down-syndrome-related-alzheimers-disease

Please feel free to share this with anyone who may be interested!

Contact: 913-574-2447

Contact: jsherman7@kumc.edu

04/16/2026

Are you thinking about college? Interested in becoming a Jayhawk? Here is a great opportunity!! See post for more information!

See yourself as a KU student at FutureU@KU Camp June 8-10. See details and apply at the link in our bio!! 🏕️📚✏️🏫

04/13/2026

Big news! 🎉

Congratulations to Kansas LEND Emerging Leader Davinya Hinojosa and her son, Archie, for being selected to represent the state of Kansas at 2026 in Washington, DC!

Together with , they’ll be raising their voices for babies and families in our community—and advocating for the policies and investments we need to support them. 💙

Picture description: smiling latino woman with her two young boys. One in a stroller with clear glasses and the other wearing a Kansas City Royals jersey wearing fun glasses that say 2025

04/03/2026

What an incredible opportunity!

Yesterday afternoon, Kansas LEND faculty and Emerging Leaders sat down with Representative Sharice Davids to share what's happening at LEND and our vision for the next 5-year cycle.

Our conversation centered on how we better support families and professionals who serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities — right here in our communities and across the state thanks to the Autism CARES Act!

We're grateful for Representative Davids' time and commitment to hearing our mission firsthand. Together, we're building a stronger future for all Kansans. 💙

04/03/2026

Interested in a master's degree in Early Childhood?
Check out this amazing opportunity... free tuition!!

Join Project MounTaiN — a fully funded, supportive 2-year master’s program in Early Childhood Unified at the University of Kansas!

We’re now recruiting interested individuals who want to become early interventionists or early childhood special educators. Program begins in Fall 2026!

🌻 Learn more at: https://kucd.ku.edu/project-mountain

KU Special Education | Life Span Institute | Maria Lemler Hugh | Division for Early Childhood (DEC)

04/03/2026

Check out this new project by our partners at Kansas Family Support Center!

You don't have to navigate the child well-being system alone. 💚

The Parent Empowerment Peer (PEP) Project connects families with trained parent peers who provide personalized support, guidance, and real-life understanding at every stage of the journey.

PEP offers three core areas of support:
Advocacy Services: one-on-one support from a trained peer advocate
Support Groups: a space to connect with other families who understand
Educational Training Series: tools and knowledge to help you feel informed and equipped

To learn more or get connected, reach out to us at (913) 945-6619 or kfsc@kumc.edu.

03/30/2026

Excited to share a meaningful milestone in disability services across Kansas!

The Kansas Family Support Center (KFSC), part of the Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training (KCART) at the University of Kansas Medical Center, has launched the Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Chatbot — made possible through a grant from the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS).

This tool was built with families (and professionals) in mind. It connects users to local supports and resources for autism and other disabilities — drawing exclusively from KFSC's vetted resource database. That means no broad internet searches, just trusted, Kansas-specific information.

If you work with or support individuals with IDD in Kansas, this is a resource worth knowing about. Please share widely — the more people who know about it, the greater the impact.

Please note: This chatbot is powered by artificial intelligence and is not a substitute for personalized guidance from a human professional. While it aims to provide accurate and helpful information, responses may not reflect every individual's unique situation.

03/23/2026

Day 1 at the Disability Policy Seminar is officially in the books! Emerging Leaders Maddie Guizar and Natalie Watkins are excited and ready for their first Hill visits tomorrow. Stephanie Coleman, LEND Family Mentor, also enjoyed connecting with partners at Association of University Centers on Disabilities and across the network.

03/19/2026

Here's a great upcoming session from our partners Telehealth ROCKS!

Check out the information below and register today!

Is your student getting enough sleep?
Join us for Sleep Matters: Understanding and Supporting Healthy Sleep in Students — a webinar designed for school-based professionals!

You'll learn:
How the brain processes sleep 🧠
Common signs of sleep disruption in students ⚠️
How poor sleep affects attention, behavior & daily functioning 📚
Sleep hygiene practices 🛏️

Led by Dr. Stephanie Punt, health psychologist and neuropsychologist at UCLA.
Date & Time 🗓️: March 24 | 12-1 p.m. CST
Register today: https://bit.ly/46VGA7U

Questions? Email telehealthrocks@kumc.edu

03/13/2026

Emerging Leaders of Kansas LEND...

Annie Chung... I am from Tulsa, OK, but have visited family in Kansas City my whole life – my advisor lives just a couple blocks from where my Dad grew up!

Studying Clinical Child Psychology (Year 3 of a roughly 6-year Master’s + PhD program) I love Clinical Child Psychology because it allows me to work directly with children and families as a therapist in training to function better NOW, while also making space to ask bigger questions about why health behavior change is so difficult or why only some people can access life-changing treatment with my research work

Something fun about me is that I love to play board games and my current collection is over 60 games.

I really enjoyed meeting with legislators at the capitol as part of the KCDD event. It was impactful to share space with self-advocates and family advocates. This let me see support systems in action, while advocating for better support for all.

My current clinical intensive is on an EEC clinic with Dr. McGovern. We work with toddlers to assess for developmental delays and autism. I enjoy working on this interdisciplinary team by contributing my observations and assisting with play-based assessments.

I am also working on a dissemination capstone project. I am preparing materials to communicate findings from Dr. Davis' research on feeding tube intervention and rural health to a range of audiences (i.e., parents/individual stakeholders, medical providers, policymakers).



picture description: smiling white woman with very short brown hair wearing a black top and burgundy sweater, standing outside in the sunshine.