Autism Team Training in South Dakota Presented by Brittany Schmidt, MA-CCC/SLP Center for Disabilities Autism Spectrum Disorders Program

Overview Team Training model started in SD in trained teams consisting of 541 members. Each team is made up of 3-5 members with the designed inclusion of a family member. Format = Two, 2-day workshops over the course of 4-5 months. Teams identify a focus student with an ASD Each team receives training and support to develop a comprehensive educational and vocational program

Training Content Workshop 1 Characteristics of ASD Principles of Structured Teaching in the home and community Behavioral Basics Informal Assessment of Skills and Academic Modifications Evaluating Interventions Workshop II Communication Assessment and Intervention Social and Play Assessment and Intervention Continuation of FBA/BIP South Dakota Resources and Supports The teams received information as a large group and also via breakout sessions which covered AS versus A.

Assignments Workshop 1 Create an Introduction Booklet Set up physical structure ◦ Define/decide on environmental considerations ◦ visual schedule ◦ work system Do Informal Assessment of Skills ◦ visually clear task Collect ABC data Workshop II Refine behavioral hypothesis Assess communication functioning Create communication system or write and implement one pragmatic goal Conduct play/leisure assessment ◦ Produce 1 goal and visually clear play/leisure task Work time for assignments was provided during the workshop sessions.

Assignments Assignments assigned after each workshop At Workshop 11 each team presented their Workshop 1 assignment to the large group- verbal and written feedback was provided After Workshop 11 the assignments were mailed in to the CD ASD office and feedback was provided via mail.

Survey Sent out a 12 question survey via to past Team Training participants – 22% return rate Questions asked referred to assignments and the impact on learning for the staff/family and outcome for the student as a result of completing the training Additional questions included: ◦ Overall benefit of the Team Training in understanding ASD ◦ Perceived improvement in the educational and/or vocational program for the individual 5 point scale - 5 being Strongly Agree and 1 being Strongly Disagree

Outcomes for Students and Teams Content Area% of Agree/Strongly Agree Introduction Booklet100 Assessment of Behavior78 Informal Assessment89 Communication Assessment94 Percentage of individuals who agreed or strongly agreed that the content area was effective for staff learning.

Percentage of individuals who agreed or strongly agreed that the content area was effective for the focus individual. Content Area% of Agree/Strongly Agree Physical Visual Structure94 Assessment of Behavior67 Informal Assessment89 Assessment of Communication67 Assessment of Play/Leisure67

Percentage of individuals who agreed or strongly agreed that the content area was effective for the focus individual.

Percentage of the impact Team Training had on the focus individual's education/vocational programming.

Future Considerations Increased emphasis on the FBA/BIP process and choosing alternative communication means Play/leisure assessment and intervention information needs to be improved to demonstrate educational application/impact and incorporation ideas Teaching generalization of skills learned in Team Training to other students who may present differently ◦ Pairing teams with disparate focus students ◦ Planned follow-up with each team Establishing local teams of support in a more structured format ◦ Networking mechanism ◦ Posting of teams on CD ASD website