Comprehensive Programming for Students Across the Autism Spectrum Training

Evidence Based and Learning Strategies for Students with ASD

About

This learn-at-your-own-pace training offers seven courses covering strategies designed to help you work with and support students of all abilities and grade levels. Each course includes research-based strategies and is delivered by professionals with a wealth of expertise and practical experience in each area. All the trainings are pre-recorded with a PowerPoint, handouts, and additional resources. You will be provided with a link to watch at your convenience and can stop at any point and resume later. Your learning adapts to your schedule.

Should I Purchase as an Individual or as a Group?

Individual option is for a single person. In this circumstance, a person may want to learn about a specific topic like challenging behavior, sensory processing, communication, or structuring the classroom. A person can purchase just one or a few courses or the whole series of 7. Upon completion of the training series or an individual course, certificate(s) of attendance can be used for licensing renewal purposes and professional growth points. Type II BCBA credits are also available for sessions with an asterisk noted below.

A group can be any entity that wants to do training as a group (two or more people). This could be a school district, cooperative, or agency. Groups can only purchase the entire training series of all 7 courses. In this circumstance, your group will not have to spend any time creating materials. Simply use the recordings of the lecture, share the PowerPoints, handouts, and resources with your group. It is suggested to make the training your own by adding scenarios about specific students within your districts and then problem solve how the strategies will be implemented. Each district will have access for up to five trainers to use the material to train any amount of people within the group (e.g., paraprofessionals, teachers, bus drivers, administrators, and other school personnel). When purchasing as a group, the training can be used repeatedly within a year from the date paid for access to optimize the information to reach the most people. For $100 savings, two years can be purchased for your group. If a trainer leaves the district, another can be substituted in his/her place. For groups, certificates of attendance and Type II BCBA credits must be provided by individual school districts or agencies.

How Do I Fit This Into My Schedule?

All the trainings are pre-recorded. You will be provided with a link to watch at your convenience and can stop at any point and resume later- adapts to any schedule.

How Do the Topics Work?

The training series can be purchased for individuals to learn as a package of 7 courses, or the courses can be purchased individually. Register for as many as you choose or the entire series. The sections under each course are designed to be viewed sequentially as each builds on the previous section.

Another option is for a school district to purchase the series as a group with access for one or two years. Each district will have access for up to five trainers to use the material to train small and large groups of people including paraprofessionals, teachers, and other school personnel. When purchasing as a group, the training can be used over and over again within the year from the date paid for access to optimize the information to reach the most people.

Who Should Register?

Courses are designed for anyone interested in learning effective evidence-based strategies, including Special/General Education Teachers, Speech Language Pathologists, School Psychologists, Occupational/Physical Therapists, School/Program Administrators, Behavior/Autism Consultants, Paraprofessionals, and Caregivers/Family Members.

What Topics Are Covered & Pricing

The 7 Courses can be purchased individually or bought together as a training series package.

Title

Training Series Package for Individuals

Introduction to Autism (Presented by Cathy Pratt & Betty Lou Rowe)*

Strategies for Understanding and Addressing Challenging Behaviors (Presented by Cathy Pratt & Betty Lou Rowe)*

Instructional Strategies (Presented by Cathy Pratt & Betty Lou Rowe)*

Communication for Students on the Autism Spectrum (Presented by Amy Gaffney)

Structuring for Success (Presented by Catherine Davies)

Teaching Social Skills to Individuals on the Autism Spectrum (Presented by Melissa Dubie)

Autism and Sensory Processing (Presented by Cheryl Boucher)

Training Series Package for Groups
(1 year access)

Training Series Package for Groups
(2 years access)

 
*Available for Type II BCBA credit

Cost

$300 USD

$30 USD


$60 USD




$60 USD


$60 USD



$60 USD


$60 USD

 

$60 USD


$1,600 USD


$3,000 USD (a savings of $100 USD)

Registration

All registrations are processed online by Indiana University Conferences. You may pay with a credit card, check, or purchase order. All registration fees are USD (United States dollar). You will receive an email acknowledgement of payment. This is your confirmation and receipt. Please keep this for your records and reimbursement purposes. If paying with a purchase order this email also serves as your invoice.

Access to the individual courses, series, or group will not be released until payment has been received. When purchasing a group training, it may take up to two weeks to create the course for your school district/agency to get started.

All registrations are final, and no money will be refunded.

Additional Details

Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders (1 section; 1 hour)
Presenters: Dr. Cathy Pratt, BCBA-D and Betty Lou Rowe, M.Ed.
In this course, attendees will gain a better understanding of the range of characteristics associated with an autism spectrum disorder, including social skills, communication, behavioral and other characteristics. This topic is helpful for professional or paraprofessional staff working with those on the spectrum across a range of settings. Importance of family support will also be discussed.

Strategies for Understanding and Addressing Challenging Behaviors (3 sections; 3 hours, 2 minutes)
Presenters: Dr. Cathy Pratt, BCBA-D and Betty Lou Rowe, M.Ed.
This course will help attendees understand processes involved in responding to crises, understanding and assessing problematic behavior, and in developing behavior support plans.

Behavior Section 1: Handling a Crisis (55 minutes)
In this first section, attendees will learn how to operationally define problematic behaviors, to understand and respond to the escalation cycle, how to de-escalate crisis behaviors, and strategies including Zones of Regulation and the 5-point scale. Attendees will also learn the role trauma and stress play on behavior.

Behavior Section 2: Conducting a Functional Behavioral Assessment (69 minutes)
Attendees will learn processes involved in conducting a research-based functional behavioral assessment process, including the collection of data and gathering of information to better understand behavior in context of the whole child. A framework will be provided for summarizing information gathered.

Behavior Section 3: Developing Behavior Support Plan (58 minutes)
Once all behavior data is collected, now what? In this section, attendees will learn how to develop behavioral goals focused on skill building through teaching alternative skills and replacement behaviors. In addition, behavioral supports that maximize the chances for long-term change will be discussed. And finally, information will be presented about tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 strategies.

Instructional Strategies: Students Across the Grade Level and Across the Autism Spectrum (2 sections; 2 hours, 7 minutes)
Presenters: Dr. Cathy Pratt, BCBA-D and Betty Lou Rowe, M.Ed.
These two sections address evidence-based practices for teaching students across the autism spectrum and across grade levels. Strategies associated with ABA are also mentioned.

Instructional Strategies: Students Across the Grade Level and Across the Autism Spectrum: Section 1 (65 minutes)
In this first section, attendees will learn more about the characteristics of students on the autism spectrum and the impact on learning. Evidence-based practices will be highlighted. In this section, attendees will learn strategies that are beneficial for students, including the role of universal design, use of paraprofessionals, how to handle homework, visual supports, and classroom structure.

Instructional Strategies: Students Across the Grade Level and Across the Autism Spectrum: Section 2 (62 minutes)
This section is a continuation and will begin to cover various evidence-based practices, including those associated with ABA, for students across the age span. Strategies include the role of reinforcement, task analysis, shaping, discrete trial teaching and many more. And finally, collaboration and support for and with families is discussed.

Communication for Students on the Autism Spectrum (4 sections; 4 hours, 30 minutes)
Presenter: Amy Moore Gaffney, M.A., CCC-SLP, TEACCH® Certified Advanced Consultant
Communication skills are essential for a person to effectively make their wants and needs known, along with understanding the world around them. This course focuses on a variety of topics included in communication, including how ASD may affect a person’s receptive, expressive, and pragmatic communication skills. Emphasis will be on practical strategies for both classroom settings and home teaching to support students across their day. Examples will be shared to address the needs of a variety of ages and ability levels, from students who are non-verbal who may use augmentative and assistive communication (AAC) to communicate, to those who are following a general education curriculum and need conversational language support. The course is designed to be viewed sequentially with each building on concepts from the previous section.

Communication Section 1: Communication Basics, Assessment, and Goals (80 minutes)
This section outlines basic communication development and how an autism spectrum disorder affects communication abilities. Types of language are discussed, including receptive, expressive, and pragmatic, along with important vocabulary to target. Also addressed in this section is how to assess functional communication and addressing communication goals.

Communication Section 2: Interventions – AAC and Receptive Language (80 minutes)
A variety of intervention strategies are shared that address the use of Augmented and Alternative Communication, and receptive language, including the use of visual supports.

Communication Section 3: Interventions – Expressive Language (80 minutes)
A variety of intervention strategies are shared that address expressive language and pragmatic language, which is the use of language in social situations and conversational skills.

Communication Section 4: Creating a Communication Plan (30 minutes)
This section explains the steps to creating a comprehensive communication plan for a person, including where support is needed, who will support, and what the support looks like.

Structuring for Success (4 sections; 4 hours, 13 minutes)
Presenter: Catherine Davies, M.Ed., M.Sc., TEACCH® Certified Advanced Consultant
This course will explain the evidence-based methodology of Structured Teaching. Emphasis will be on practical examples for both classroom settings and home teaching. Examples will be shared applicable to a variety of ages and ability levels from students who are non-verbal to those who are following a general education curriculum. The course is designed to be viewed sequentially with each building on concepts from the previous section.

Structure Section 1: Setting Up the Environment (85 minutes)
Outlines the advantages of using Structured Teaching Strategies and demonstrates how arranging the furniture and environment can increase attention span, understanding of expectations and independence.

Structure Section 2: Daily Visual Schedules (53 minutes)
Explains how implementing visual schedules can minimize resistance to change or instructions, decrease anxiety, and increase flexibility and independence. Examples will be shown of a variety of schedule types with the emphasis on how to individualize the schedule to meet a learner’s needs.

Structure Section 3: To Do Lists (54 minutes)
Demonstrates how to do lists are an essential requirement if students are expected to complete tasks independently and can be used to teach completion of more than one task during a session. Examples shown will include lists for both home and academic environments.

Structure Section 4: Structuring Tasks and Materials (61 minutes)
Explains how structuring materials can compensate for deficits in understanding verbal instructions, increase correct completion of tasks, and increase independent working and flexibility. A variety of academic, leisure, domestic and vocational tasks will be shown.

Teaching Social Skills to Individuals on the Autism Spectrum (4 sections; 3 hours, 54 minutes)
Presenter: Melissa Dubie, M.S., School Based Certified Provider of PEERS®, Certified Ziggurat Trainer
This course will highlight the social characteristics associated with an autism spectrum disorder across settings. Evidence-based strategies will be described, including how to implement with fidelity. Social skills lessons will be shared including how to develop, maintain, and understand friendship and dating skills.

Social Section 1: Characteristics of Social Communication and Social Interaction Deficits (49 minutes)
All individuals on the autism spectrum have deficits in social communication and social interactions across multiple contexts. This section will define and give examples of deficits in social emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and provide strategies for developing, maintaining and understanding relationships.

Social Section 2: Scaffolding Skills to Teach Social Communication and Interactions (69 minutes)
It takes time, but it is essential that social communication and interaction skills be taught in all settings. In this section, attendees will learn who can teach, when, and with what materials (informal assessments and curriculum). Potential individual education program (IEP) goals and state standards will be highlighted as the basis to demonstrate the use of scaffolding practices.

Social Section 3: Evidence-based Practices for Social Communication and Social Interaction Skills (80 minutes)
This section explains six evidence-based practices (EBPs) to teach social communication and interaction skills. Using step-by-step directions, this section will review all six EBPs: social skills training, structured play groups, peer-mediated instruction and intervention, social narratives, video modeling, and scripting with practical examples of implementation of each with fidelity.

Social Section 4: Friendships: Developing, Maintaining, and Understanding (36 minutes)
Students need to understand there are different types of relationships (strangers, casual acquaintances, and friends). There are specific characteristics to look for in a possible friend and certain behaviors involved in being a friend. Utilizing the EBPs from the other modules, strategies will be shared on how to teach students of all ages to develop friendships and advocate for one’s own needs within the relationships.

Autism and Sensory Processing (4 sections; 4 hours, 20 minutes)
Cheryl Boucher, MS, OTR/L, IRCA Consultant
This course explains each of the sensory systems, and typical and atypical responses. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how sensory differences impact individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and learn the benefits of sensory strategies and evidenced-based practices to support student/individual success across settings. Material was developed into sections to better facilitate learning. The sections under this course are structured to be viewed sequentially.

Sensory Section 1: Introduction to Sensory Processing (50 minutes)
Introduction to identifying all the sensory systems, as well as what is sensory processing and what does it mean to experience challenges with sensory processing? Discussion will also be shared related to understanding sensory modulation (sensory under responsiveness, sensory over responsiveness and sensory seeking.)

Sensory Section 2: Sensory Processing Challenges and Strategies That Provide Support for the Tactile System (90 minutes)
The tactile system will be explored with examples of behaviors that may be observed that may be due to challenges with sensory processing. Successful strategies to support students with these challenges will be shared and discussed.

Sensory Section 3: Sensory Processing Challenges and Strategies That Provide Support for the Vestibular and Proprioceptive System (90 minutes)
The vestibular and proprioceptive system will be explored by identifying behaviors that may be related to challenges with sensory processing related to these sensory systems. Strategies will be shared and discussed to support students with these challenges.

Sensory Section 4: Sensory Processing Challenges and Strategies That Provide Support for the Visual, Auditory, Gustatory, Olfactory, and Interoception Systems (120 minutes)

Registration and payment for IRCA (Indiana Resource Center for Autism) courses are processed by IU Conferences. The materials are stored in IU Canvas. In order to gain access to Canvas, an IU guest account will need to be created for both the individual and group. Then the individual and the group will enter through the IU Expand “student dashboard” which stores access to each course or group modules. The certificate of attendance for individuals is also in IU Expand. 

After receiving your payment in full for the course(s) you will receive an email from IRCA providing instructions on how to get started (e.g., creating an IU Guest account and accessing the course through IU Expand). 

Certificate of Attendance will be available after course completion at no charge and can be used for:

For Individuals

Professional Growth Points
Indiana Professional Licensing Agency Continuing Education credits for speech language pathologists, occupational therapists and occupational therapist assistants licensing requirements.

Indiana Professional Licensing Agency for Category I Continuing Education hours for Social Workers (LSW), Clinical Social Workers (LCSW), Addiction Counselors and Clinical Addiction Counselors, Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT), Mental Health Counselors (LMHC) and Clinical Addiction Counselors licensing requirements.

For individuals who want a Certificate of Attendance after course completion and quiz has been taken: Go back to IU Expand Student Dashboard to the course completed. In that section, the certificate will be available to view or download. If you are having trouble with it, please contact us.

For Groups

Certificates of Attendance must be provided by individual school districts or agencies.

Questions about the course? Please contact us. Note that any registration questions should be directed to IU Conferences at iuconfs@indiana.edu.

Accommodations

The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community is committed to providing equal access to this event for all participants. If you have questions about accessibility, or have a request for alternative formats or other accommodations, please contact us with your request at least three weeks in advance of taking the course.