McLean Yoder Award for Professional Excellence (MYAPE) Presented to Lekotek of Georgia

The National Joint Committee for the Communicative Needs of Persons with Severe Disabilities (NJC) recently honored Lekotek of Georgia as the recipient of the 2025 McLean Yoder Award for Professional Excellence (MYAPE). The MYAPE was named after Drs. James McLean and David Yoder, preeminent research scientists in the area of communication and intellectual disability. The award was established to honor a team that exemplifies high quality professional service to individuals with severe disabilities. Nominations were solicited from throughout the United States and judged according to the NJC’s published quality indicators specific to inclusive program implementation and interprofessional practice.

Members of the NJC felt that this year’s award winner was particularly noteworthy given Lekotek’s mission to facilitate inclusion of children with disabilities into their families, schools and communities by providing accessible play opportunities, adapted toys and technology, and family centered information and resources. Lekotek stood out as the only program of its kind in the US that offers a lending library of adapted toys and technology that families can learn to use, borrow, and incorporate into their daily lives.

Families and children are supported by Lekotek leaders with degrees in special education, speech pathology, and recreational therapy who incorporate the child’s communication modalities. Augmentative and alternative communication is promoted and embedded throughout play sessions. Lekotek has provided children with accessible solutions to play that are as simple as knobs on puzzles or “state of the art” eye gaze technology on computer systems. Children leave with tools and strategies they can use to play jointly with siblings and peers. In addition to individualized play sessions, Lekotek offers family events that include an annual Zoo Day, a Pumpkin Patch Outing, attending sporting events and concerts that provide inclusion within the greater Atlanta community. Additionally, each summer, Lekotek offers a computer camp where children with disabilities are encouraged to bring a sibling or friend—there are few camps of this kind that make it possible for children with disabilities to participate alongside their peers or siblings without disabilities. Most recently, Lekotek has begun a Lekopals program for teenagers and young adults where high school students without disabilities can engage together in friendship and recreational opportunities.

The NJC congratulates this year’s winner of the MYAPE and encourages others to nominate innovative teams in the future. Nominations are open year-round and available online.