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Lynn L. Cole, DNP, DNP
UR Medicine Faculty The University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group (URMFG) consists of over 900 specialist and primary care providers spanning 19 departments. URMFG is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
Accountable Health Partner Accountable Health Partners (AHP) is a network of over 2,000 community and UR medical faculty and a dozen leading hospitals throughout the region. AHP offers a full range of care.
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About Me

Dr. Cole specializes in the care of children with complex developmental and behavioral challenges. She has particular expertise in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), developmental trauma, foster care, autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and the health and behavioral challenges the...
Dr. Cole specializes in the care of children with complex developmental and behavioral challenges. She has particular expertise in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), developmental trauma, foster care, autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, and the health and behavioral challenges these children experience. She provides comprehensive care, looking at the interaction between health, development, child behavior, family and community factors.

Dr. Cole bases her patient care on careful listening to children and families. Families know their child best and she recognizes the importance of working toward family goals for their child. Visits are usually low-pressure for the child, as she works hard to engage children in activities and topics of their interest and ability. She is able to talk with children and families sensitively about difficult topics such as trauma, substance use, different family make-ups, behavioral challenges, and coping with disability.

Dr. Cole has particular experience and expertise in the care of children who have experienced prenatal substance exposure, early childhood adversity, and/or foster care/adoption. She co-leads the FASD diagnostic and treatment program, and provides diagnostic evaluation and ongoing specialty care. She consults to residential treatment programs and county foster care systems on care of children with early adversity or prenatal substance exposure. She engages in advocacy to improve the systems of care serving children she treats and trains community clinicians around the country to improve access to diagnosis and FASD/trauma-informed care.

She also has expertise in the evaluation and treatment of common health & behavioral problems experienced by children with developmental delays and disabilities. She looks carefully at the interaction between physical health, child/family experiences, and child behavior - working to optimize health and quality of life for both her patients and their family.

Dr. Cole has a great deal of experience in helping families who are considering use of medication to treat challenging behavior. She helps families to clearly identify goals for treatment and maximize non-medicine treatments. She helps families think about their own values and preferences and engages families in shared decision making. She was a lead author on two toolkits published by the Autism Treatment Network supporting safe and effective use of medicine in children with autism and other developmental disabilities. "Should My Child Take Medicine for Behavior: A Decision Aid for Parents of Children with Autism," and "Safe And Effective Use of Medicines for Challenging Behavior: a Toolkit for Families."

In addition to patient care, Ms. Cole serves as the Associate Division Chief of the Division of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, and directs the division's clinical services. She teaches in the School of Nursing, and lectures and consults to other departments and institutions on quality improvement, access to care, and optimizing the care of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Research Profile:
Ms. Cole conducts research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, psychopharmacology, and strategies for expanding access to care. She is a co-investigator on a project investigating ways to increase access to care for individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. She is a co-investigator in a large project aiming to train nurses to more effectively care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in emergency department and hospital settings in NYS. She is the Primary Investigator (PI) of the University of Rochester's Autism Care Network, and leads research projects investigating the best treatment of ADHD symptoms in children with ASD, and in identification of potential biomarkers of ASD.

Certified Specialties

Nurse Practitioner, Pediatrics - American Nurses Credentialing Center

Faculty Appointments

Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics - Department of Pediatrics, Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics (SMD) - Joint

Associate Professor of Clinical SON Faculty - Department of SON Faculty (SON) - Joint

Credentials

Education

DNP | University of Rochester. 2021

MS | University of Rochester. Nurse Practitioner. 1998

Awards

George Spencer Terry Endowed Fund in Nursing. 2019

Autism Opportunity Award - Professional Category.. 2016

Clinical Excellence Award. 2006

Sigma Theta Tau. 1998

Nursing Alumni Assocation Award. 1992

US Public Health Service. 1991 - 1992

Research

Ms. Cole has research interests in the physical and mental health of children with developmental disabilities, and in increasing access to care for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She serves as PI of the Rochester site of the Autism Speaks - Autism Care Network, which is ...
Ms. Cole has research interests in the physical and mental health of children with developmental disabilities, and in increasing access to care for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She serves as PI of the Rochester site of the Autism Speaks - Autism Care Network, which is a clinical registry of youth with ASD, and looks at impact of standardization of diagnosis and medical care on outcomes. She also serves as the site PI on a research study investigating ADHD treatments for children with autism (funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, PCORI) and another investigating potential RNA biologic markers of autism (funded by Autism Speaks). She serves as a co-investigator in Rochester Team of CIFASD (Collaborative Initiative in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders). She has previously been involved in research on diet and nutrition in youth with ASD.

In addition, she has conducted research on strategies for increasing access to diagnosis and care for children with FASD, how parents make treatment decisions for their child with autism spectrum disorder, and on the use of decision aids when considering behavioral medication.

Clinical Trials

Efficacy of Pharmacologic Management of ADHD in Children and Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Lead Researcher: Lynn Lilly Cole

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a high number neurodevelopmental and mental health challenges. Beyond the core features of ASD, children and adolescents on the autism spectrum also report higher rates ...

Publications

Journal Articles

"I'm doing my part, I just need help from the community": Intervention implications of foster and adoptive parents' experiences raising children and young adults with FASD

Petrenko CL, Alto ME, Hart AR, Freeze SM, & Cole LL.

Journal of Family Nursing. 2019; .

Systematic review and guide to management of core and psychiatric symptoms in youth with autism

Ameis SH, Kassee C, Corbett Dick P, Cole L, Dadhwal S, Lai MC, ... & Correll CU.

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 2018; .

Safe and Effective use of Medicine for Challenging Behavior: A Toolkit for Children of Families of Children with Autism.

Cole, L, Corbett-Dick, P, Howell, L, Schmidt, B.

http://www.autismspeaks.org/science/resources-programs/autism-treatment-network/tools-you-can-use/. 2013; .

Treating Constipation in Children with ASD: A toolkit for Families.

Cole, L, Howell, L, Stump, J, Schmidt B.

2013; .

Decision making and anti-psychotic medication treatment for youth with autism spectrum disorders: Applying guidelines in the real world

Ameis, SH, Corbett-Dick, P, Cole, L, Correll, CU.

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2013; 74(10).

Decision making and antipsychotic medication treatment for youth with autism spectrum disorders: applying guidelines in the real world

Ameis SH, Corbett-Dick P, Cole L, & Correll CU.

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2013; 74(10): 1022-1024.

Complementary and alternative medicine use in a large pediatric autism sample

Perrin, JM, Coury, DL, Hyman, SL, Cole, L, Reynolds, AM, Clemons, T.

Pediatrics. 2012; S77: 130.

Use of psychotropic medication in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Coury, DL, Anagnostou, E, Manning-Courtney, P, Reynolds, A, Cole, L, McCoy, R, Whitaker, A, Perrin, JM.

Pediatrics. 2012; S69: 130.

Complementary and alternative medicine use in a large pediatric autism sample.

Perrin, J.M., Coury, D.L., Hyman, S.L., Cole, L., Reynolds, A.M. & Clemons, T.

Pediatrics. 2011; 130: S77.

Autism: Should My Child Take Medicine for Challenging Behavior: A Decision Aid for Families.

Cole, L, Corbett-Dick, P, Treadwell-Deering, McCoy, R, Howell, L, Schmidt, B,.

2010; .

Behavioral interventions to reduce the rumination of persons with developmental disabilities.

McAdam, D. B. & Cole, L.

Trends in eating disorders research,. 2007; F. Columbus (Ed), Nova publisher.

The Use of Botulinum Toxin Type A in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Nolan, K.W.; Cole, L.L.; Liptak, G.S.

Physical Therapy. 2006; 64(4): 573-576.

Abstract "Music Therapy as Procedural Support During Botulinum Toxin Injections".

Sahler, OJ., Hunter, BC., Oliva, R., Du C., Hoffman, T., Liptak, G., Cole, LL.

Journal of Pediatric Research Supplement Abstract Issue,. 2005; 55(4): Part 2 of 2, p87A.

PICUBASICS: An on-line resource for the diagnosis and management of acute illness in children with chronic conditions.

Dosa, NP; Cole, L; Kanter, RK, Liptak, GS.

Physical Medicine Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. 2002; 13(4): 823-37, viii.

Books

Trends in eating disorders research (2007)

Chapter: Behavioral interventions to reduce the rumination of persons with developmental disabilities.

Authors: McAdam, D.B.; Cole, L.L.

Publisher: Nova Publishers 2007