LEND Boston

02/20/2026

What a wonderful presentation and class activity shared by Ulviyya Aslanova, Dami Ashay, and Abigail Sayers on AI and Accessibility for our Contemporary Issues with I/DD session. They covered areas such as Assistive Technology, Health Care, and Special Education. Very impressive discussion and presentation!

01/20/2026

LEND faculty Gyasi Burks Abbott and Director, Jason Fogler had the pleasure of attending the sensory-friendly production of Wonder at the ART in Harvard Square this Sunday. Here we see Betsy Johnson's young adult, Korbin explain their NICE (Neurodiversity-Inclusive Certified Entertainment) services and accommodations for audience members. Pictured are Dr. Fogler, Betsy Johnson, Korbin, Gyasi Burks-Abbott, and Korbin's father Brian Johnson.

01/16/2026

Jacob, Nicola, Alyssa, and Batsheva did a wonderful job presenting on "A Tale of Two Areas: Rural and Urban Healthcare for People with I/DD" for our Contemporary Issues session this afternoon!

12/12/2025

A huge thanks to Ulviyya Aslanova, who graciously fed our fellows with some amazing dishes from Azerbaijan at today's holiday gathering! Yum!

12/12/2025

We concluded our semester with one of our favorite traditions: a presentation on cerebral palsy by LEND Alumni, Dr. Elizabeth Barkoudah, and a lively game of Jeopardy. Congrats to the Basal Gang who won the game with an impressive lead!

12/05/2025

So pleased to welcome back one of our alumni, Melissa Levin, MSW, LICSW (right) and her special guest and co-presenter Dr. Naomi Dogan, PhD (center) to speak with our LEND fellows this Friday. Melissa described her remarkable Neuro-inclusive Oncology program at Dana Farber Cancer Institute & Naomi poignantly and richly described how Melissa and that program helped her navigate her intersectional journey through her recently discovered neurodivergent identity, cancer, and acquired disability. Naomi's daughter Gitalia (home on break from university in Adelaide, Australia) generously shared some of her own lived experience. It was a high point in a day of excellent programming as we near the end of our fall semester!

12/03/2025

Great memories from last year's Disability Policy Seminar in DC!

11/21/2025

Each year, our fellows are divided into groups to present on "Contemporary Issues in I/DD". Katie, Emily, Terry, and Rebecca did a wonderful job presenting on "Families with Children with I/DD who Experience Frequent and Extended Hospital Stays."

11/16/2025

"Alice Wong was a hysterical friend, writer, activist, and disability justice luminary whose influence was outsized," wrote Ho. "Her media empire, the Disability Visibility Project, left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape of our country. The legacy of her work will carry on."

The MacArthur "Genius" Award-winner was best known as the founder of the Disability Visibility Project, which highlights disabled people and disability culture through storytelling projects, social media and other channels.

10/18/2025

Our LEND fellows had a special afternoon session on Chinese Literati Painting with Ruiying Xiong, founder of ArtEats—a Harvard Innovation Labs and MIT Sandbox–incubated social impact venture that uses food × art to create inclusive, multisensory learning for neurodiverse learners. An HGSE alum, Ruiying designs programs that support engagement, emotional regulation, and culturally grounded learning. Ruiying was joined by her partner, Chetan Mehta, ArtEats’ operations and facilitation lead—a technology consultant and avid foodie who supports accessibility, safety, and logistics, and co-facilitated our hands-on session.

09/29/2025

What a special treat we had on Friday! William E. Kiernan joined our fellows to discuss and provide a lesson on leadership. Bill is the retired Founding Dean of the School of Global Inclusion and Social Development and also served as the Director of the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI), a University Center on Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCED) from January 1990 thru 2017.

09/27/2025

Congratulations to Dr. Jason Fogler on being named President-Elect of the Society for Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics on September 21! He will be the fifth psychologist to hold the office in the Society’s now 43 year history. Dr. Fogler will have the opportunity to learn from current President Robert Voight, MD (Ochsner Children’s Hospital) and Past President (and Chief of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital) William Barbaresi, MD before taking office in fall 2026.