Program Description:

The Clinical Education Complex (CEC) at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is five clinical programs (Early Childhood Clinic, Communication Disorders Clinic, Family Counseling, Acquired Brain Injury Resource Program, and The Kelly Autism Program) forming a unique partnership between the community, university, area schools, businesses, and government. The CEC is a clinical program for families with children/adolescents having developmental delays, as well as a multidisciplinary university training facility. Such a facility has a far-reaching economic impact on the community in that business leaders can assure prospective employees that there are excellent, comprehensive services for their families who have children with developmental delays.

As an integrated clinical program, the Clinical Education Complex provides a continuum of services to families and individuals with developmental delays. Serving as a multidisciplinary clinical site for the five programs. The Clinical Education Complex will become a national model for partnerships between the community, university, schools and government as venues are sought to provide fiscally sound services to families having developmentally delayed children.

As an integrated service program, the CEC will enable families to receive services from early preschool years through young adulthood. As a clinical service, the facility provides the training site for the five programs as the university trains professionals in an interdisciplinary framework to serve the region and state. This facility impacts both the education and health needs of the community. Community health is addressed through prevention, awareness and treatment involving health care providers and parents.

The education needs are improved through both the services and training afforded in an interdisciplinary setting. The CEC can provide social work and nursing students with practicum training. Future plans include introducing new programs offering clinical experiences for obesity prevention with exercise science, public health, and dietetics as well as additional collaboration with the literacy and special education programs.