Xizi Yan, SSW PhD Student, Completed LEND Fellowship at Children's National Hospital.
Xizi Yan, MSW, PhD student in Social Work, has completed the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Fellowship at Children’s National (LEND-CN). LEND-CN trains professionals from a wide range of disciplines committed to delivering comprehensive, family-centered, and culturally competent care to children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families.
As a long-term trainee, Xizi completed more than 300 training hours over the 2025-2026 academic year. This included weekly didactic sessions with interdisciplinary professionals, clinical observations across specialties serving children with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and applied experiences spanning policy and advocacy, community-based programs, and innovative service systems. She also completed a capstone project titled "Mental Health, Coping, and Cultural Adaptation in Asian American Parents Raising School-Aged Children with Autism: A Scoping Review." The project examined how current research characterizes challenges and strengths of Asian American parents raising autistic children, with a focus on parental mental health, coping strategies, resilience, and cultural perspectives. She presented her findings at the annual Children’s National Research, Education & Innovation Week in spring 2026.
Xizi’s LEND-CN training deepens her commitment to advancing culturally responsive, family-centered research and advocating for children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities as she continues her doctoral studies at the School of Social Work.