• Hats Off To Columbus Area Support Group and Bartholomew Community School Corporation: Partnership
• Hats Off To Hamilton-Boone-Madison Special Services Cooperative: Movie Day
• Hats Off To South LaPorte County Special Education Cooperative and Autism Society of Central Indiana: Start a Walk in Your Community
• Hats Off To M.S.D. of Wayne Township: Creating Building Level Autism Teams
• Hats Off To Johnson County Special Services
• Hats Off To Switzerland County Middle School Autism Team
• Hats Off To MSD of Lawrence Township: Training via District Website
• Hats Off To MSD of Warren Township: S.A.F.E. Supporting Autism for Everyone
• Hats Off To MSD of Martinsville: Camp Discovery: A Place for Kids to Have Fun!
• Hats Off To An Autism Team Working in Indiana: First Responder Training
• Autism Teams: Building Capacity Across Indiana
• Hats Off to Noblesville Schools for Creating Training Classrooms: Using Evidence-Based Practices of Visual Supports and Work Systems
• Hats Off To Asperger Autism Group of Goshen
• Hats Off to East Centeral Indiana Autism Society of America Chapter: Interlock
• Hats Off To Greater Lafayette Area Special Services Autism Team

Hats Off To MSD of Lawrence Township: Training via District Website

Contributed by Melissa Dubie

Everyone working with individuals on the autism spectrum agrees they need training and information. It is essential knowledge when trying to program and create strategies for individuals in general and/or special education classrooms, during specials/electives, and on the bus. However, how can we fit in training for staff when there is so much expected of teachers including meeting the expectations of Indiana’s state standards with students who have varied and complex learning needs? The time that is committed to assisting teachers in meeting state expectations leaves little time to learn about other important skills such as effective strategies for educating students on the autism spectrum.

The autism team of MSD of Lawrence Township has found a creative and flexible way to provide the training that teachers need by adding an “E class” connection completely devoted to information on autism spectrum disorders. The information is on the school district’s website at http://www.ltschools.org/. Each staff member can access LT Online from home, work, or anywhere that has an internet connection.

When staff members first log on, there is a tutorial on how to navigate the site, a list of definitions used in special education, information on the criteria for autism spectrum disorder, and a list of books and DVD’s staff can check out from the lending library. LT Online provides a list of all of the autism leaders in their district for anyone to contact when needed. Forums are held monthly with a specific feature. In August/September, the feature was on transitions. There were tips for beginning the school year and articles on helping everyone make a smooth transition to a new class. In October, the focus was on creating visuals in the classroom. The links included power points on creating visuals and websites for free downloads of visuals (e.g., Do 2 Learn, Icon Talk, and Shoe Box Tasks) already created to use with students. In November, the feature was on behavior which included websites to download free data collection forms, the district’s functional behavioral assessment (FBA) and behavior intervention plan (BIP) forms, tips for managing the behavior of students with ASD, and an article on handling crisis behavior. In December, the autism team newsletter was posted on the website instead of sent via traditional mail. The feature in January of 2007 combined Response to Intervention (RTI) and Autism which inspired several links about resources for content areas in reading, literacy, math, science, and social studies. Understanding how individuals with ASD communicate and strategies to assist staff was the focus in February. In addition, how to best establish communication strategies with parents was highlighted. For March, the focus was on understanding individuals with ASD who have sensory processing dysfunctions or difficulties within their environments. Teachers are provided with a modification’s checklist, sensational strategies, therapy activities, and heavy work activities all with the focus on calming or arousing students to help them focus better in school. April will be awareness month, and May will have tips for summer.

The autism team has received a lot of positive feedback from both general and special education teachers about the website being user friendly and informative. They are hoping to expose more and more teachers to the website in April for Autism Awareness month.

In the future, the MSD of Lawrence Township autism team hopes to add a chat room for teachers to ask questions regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) interventions and make the LT Online accessible for parents. For further information on how to set up a website link on autism spectrum disorders to your own districts website, contact Barb Fogarty at MSD of Lawrence Township, 7601 East 56th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46226. Phone: 1-317-964-6888. Email: barbarafogarty@msdlt.k12.in.us.

Dubie, M. (2007). Hats off to . . . MSD of Lawrence Township (Training via district website.). The Reporter, 12(2), 8.