Celebrating Effective Partnerships The Early Intervention Autism Spectrum Disorder Project in Action

“A comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders” Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin, Laurent & Rydell, 2007

Our intentions To describe the Ministry of Education’s Early Intervention Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) project To highlight the importance of partnerships between parents/whānau and practitioners To identify the impact of the project on children and adult participants

Background The 2004 Budget provided the Ministry of Education with ongoing funding to develop the knowledge and skills of parents, whānau, teachers and specialist staff supporting children and young people with ASD The ASD Advisory Group recommended an emphasis on intervention in early childhood The Early Intervention ASD Development Project was established as one of the Ministry of Education initiatives The SCERTS framework was selected as the foundation for the project

Why SCERTS? SCERTS is based on the findings from 25 years of ASD-specific research. It does not dictate specific interventions, but is a framework for collaborative assessment and planning. It is well aligned with: the evidence base in the New Zealand ASD Guideline (2008) the Ministry of Education Specialist Service requirements for assessment and intervention within natural settings and routines Te Whāriki, the early childhood education curriculum

A framework for addressing the core challenges of ASD. Focus on building competence in Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Supports. Core principles: Recognise individual differences in children Family-centred Emphasis on functional skills and meaningful outcomes Use partnership approaches and

Partnerships The SCERTS framework is based on building partnerships that enable early intervention specialists to work collaboratively with early education teachers, parents, whānau and carers in a team around the child with ASD The team works together to identify the child’s strengths and support needs and to plan and implement individualised intervention Social partners are viewed as part of the intervention solutions

Early Intervention ASD Development Project Focus on children age 3 to 5 years Currently 115 children and families/whānau involved 12 project teams across New Zealand Team members from Special Education, Health and Early Intervention Specialist Service Providers

Project objectives Improve outcomes for children with ASD and their families and whānau Contribute to the development of staff skills Develop an effective model for providing professional learning and development Explore the use of SCERTS in the New Zealand context

Impact of the project Information collated through Action learning approach – continuous process of learning and reflection Project milestone reports, including six-monthly child outcome measures Themed by Child and family outcomes Partnerships (social interaction and teamwork) Practitioner understanding of ASD and practice changes

Child learning outcomes Increased ability to self-regulate Improvements in social communication Children accessing more activities Decreased frequency of self-stimulatory behaviours Longer periods of joint attention Children seeking out more interactions with adults Children made measurable progress in all four skill areas - Joint Attention, Symbol Use, Mutual and Self Regulation

Example of a child’ learning at the social partner stage

Example of a child’s learning at the language partner stage

Example of a child’s learning at the conversational partner stage

Family and whānau outcomes Focus on achievable and observable family-centred developmental goals Increased understanding of child’s learning and behaviour; decrease in challenging behaviours through use of appropriate transactional supports Adapted communication and interactions to support their child’s development The ways in which families and whānau talked about their children provided insight into the gains they had made

Partnerships – family and whānau perspectives Increased confidence participating in their child’s teams More frequent contact with team members Acknowledged and valued as team members Multidisciplinary teaming resulted in a greater shared understanding of the child

Practitioner outcomes Increased understanding of child development Consolidated knowledge of ASD and sharpened ability to prioritise and focus Deepened understanding of sensory issues and support needed for emotional regulation More informed observation of the child and partners Increased ability to break down goals into small steps Improved effectiveness in teaming Increased confidence in supporting others, such as new team members, parents and early childhood educators

Summary Comments Practitioners reported that Their measures of children’s learning have become more systematic and reliable. They are more confident that they can identify what is working well and when they need to take a different approach. They found the framework was child-centred and allowed a focus on individual children as well as systems. The framework provided a meaningful way of collaborating with families/whānau and educators.