Autism Training Initiative

Autism Training Initiative Session Descriptions

Instructional Activities and Methods

(2 full- day sessions; 2 half- day sessions)

Children with autism spectrum disorders present unique and challenging needs that require specific focus in their educational programs.  While there are common features of autism, there is also great variability in the disorder.  There are different learning techniques and environments that will be more effective for certain children with autism than for others.  Therefore, it is essential that school personnel and their families work closely together to identify and develop quality programs to address the individual needs of each child.  Education, both directly of children and of parents and teachers, is currently the primary form of treatment of autistic spectrum disorders.  This 4- part training series assists school teams in developing individually appropriate academic goals for students with autism spectrum disorders.  It will cover empirically- based methods of setting instructional priorities, as well as appropriate modifications and accommodations to better support students. Finally, data collection methods will be discussed to assist teams in determining the effectiveness of the instruction.  Throughout the sessions, techniques will be discussed to share information amongst colleagues and build capacity within the entire district to better educate all students with autism spectrum disorders.  

Training Objectives:

• Participants will design instructional environmental support(s) to facilitate learning
• Participants will choose adaptations they feel will be most effective, based on their knowledge of the student and of empirically- valid methods of educating students with autism
• Participants will write goals for students using the Autism Program Quality Indicators as a guideline
• Participants will learn strategies to coordinate communication between home and school
• Participants will complete a self- review of their current program as it relates to “best practices” in educating students with autism, both before and after the series
• Participants will construct a way to share what they learned with other school personnel and parents

Positive Behavior Support

(3 full- day sessions; 2 half- day sessions)

Positive behavior support assists teams in designing effective environments and individualized behavior intervention plans that utilize a range of prevention and intervention strategies to support students with challenging behaviors in various environments. This 5- part training series describes the positive behavior support process and walks school teams through a comprehensive model for performing a functional behavior assessment (FBA), taking data from the completed FBA and creating behavior intervention plans that assist students with ASD in reducing challenging behavior and in increasing their use of alternative skills. Strategies discussed include, but are not limited to: environmental changes and supports, visual aids, methods for increasing communication skills, and changes in adult response to challenging behavior.

Training Objectives:

• Participants will be able to describe common functions of behavior problems
• Participants will learn to conduct a functional behavior assessment using multiple methods
• Participants will learn to use environmental accommodations and adaptations to prevent or minimize occurrences of problem behavior
• Participants will learn how to incorporate instruction in alternative, appropriate skills into behavior intervention plans
• Participants will be able to design behavioral intervention plans based on positive supports and strategies
• Participants will learn techniques for implementing and monitoring behavior intervention plans
• Participants will be able to share knowledge with others on how to reduce problem behaviors in students with autism spectrum disorders

Building Social Interaction Skills

(2 full-day sessions; 2 half- day sessions)

Impairment in social functioning is a central feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and is well documented in the literature (Attwood, 1998; Rogers, 2000). The essential features of autism are the presence of markedly abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests.  Manifestations of this disorder vary greatly depending on the developmental level and chronological age of the individual (DSM-IV TR, 2000). For most children, basic social skills (e.g., turn taking, initiating conversation) are acquired quickly and easily.  For children with ASD, the process is much more difficult.  Since social development is an extremely important aspect of education for children with ASD, a child’s social behavior with both adults and peers needs to be targeted for intervention.  This 4- part series will address the core and associated characteristics that affect the social development of students with ASD, and appropriate tools used to assess an individual’s social functioning strengths and needs.  It will discuss evidence- based methods for building individual student’s social interaction skills.  Throughout the sessions, techniques will be discussed to share information amongst colleagues and build capacity within the entire district to better meet the needs of all students with autism spectrum disorders.

Training Objectives:

• Participants will understand the need to provide explicit instruction in social interaction for students with ASD

• Participants will be able to describe three techniques for facilitating social interaction by students with ASD

• Participants will identify techniques to optimize students’ successful interaction with typically- developing peers

• Participants will be able to create a program designed to enhance social relationships for students with ASD

• Participants will be able to share knowledge with others on how to promote social relationships and functioning when working with students with ASD

ATI Application checklist

ATI Application

ATI Guidelines

ATI Memorandum of Understanding

Note - All sessions will include information about how to incorporate data collection that will assist with decision making for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.