Project Description:
There are an increasing number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders in our school system. TRIAD consultants provide specialized services to assist and train teachers, professional and other community providers to work with students with autism spectrum disorders. These unique and diverse set of training activities include: 1) Classroom-based training (TRIAD Teacher Training): These 3-day trainings take place in schools in Middle Tennessee. There are 4 trainings held throughout the year, two of which are geared toward grades K-6, one of which are geared toward grades 7-12, and one advanced training geared toward grades K-12. A total of 60 individuals are eligible to participate in these trainings over the year, 20 from each of the three regions. These trainings cover topics including: Characteristics of Autism (including diagnostic, cognitive, sensory, and attentional features, Functional Assessment (including behavior and adaptive skills), Instructional Strategies (including ABA techniques such as discrete trial training, structured teaching, and incidental teaching), Data Collection, Teaching Functional Communication, & Social Skills Development.
Each participant receives a certificate for their participation in the 20 hours of training. 2)On-site follow-up observations: Each participant in the Basic and Advanced classroom-based training receives an on-site follow-up visit. Two types of on-site follow-ups are offered: classroom site visits and observation of the participants- subsequent training or consultation activities. Written feedback is provided, and a commendation for implementation of the practices in the classroom is awarded. This commendation is required for participation in the advanced training. Notification of this commendation is submitted to the participant's School Principal as well as the Director of Special Education in their region on their behalf. 3) Autism Team Partnership Program: This program is designed to provide ongoing training and support to teams of Tennessee school personnel who demonstrate a commitment to the continuous improvement of educational programming for students with ASD. The partnership program is open to 2 teams of school personnel from each region of the state or a total of 6 teams statewide. Partnership teams are comprised of a building level administrator and two to four school personnel who have direct responsibility for students with autism spectrum disorders. Each team will be paired with a TRIAD professional who will mentor the team over a one-year period 4) Regional workshops: Two full-day workshops are provided in each region of the state (Middle, West, and East). These workshops are geared toward a variety of participants including general education teachers, special educators, parents, and other service providers. The workshops will focus on topics identified as areas of need by the state coordinators. Possible topics include: Working with Parents, Autism 101, Behavior Management, Social Skills Interventions, and Programming for Inclusive Settings. A total of 827 participants have attended TRIAD Regional Workshops between 7/1/06-6/30/07. 5) Summer, Winter and Spring Institute: These workshops are geared toward training teams of parents, teachers, educational assistants, speech-language pathologists, and other school personnel on how to integrate effective methodologies to develop an individualized, student-specific program. The workshop consists of a combination of lectures, videotape demonstrations, and hands-on learning experiences, to teach the methodologies of discrete trial training, structured teaching, and incidental teaching. 6) Administrators Academy: This two-day regional academy is designed to provide building level administrators with best practices for evaluating and supporting programs for students with autism spectrum disorders. Each participant will receive TASL credit. 7) Para-Educator Workshop: This two-day regional training is geared specifically toward para-educators who work with students with autism in grades K-12 and will cover topics including: characteristics of autism; behavior management principles; instructional strategies; and integrating different methodologies. 8) Parent Workshop: This half-day regional training will be geared specifically toward parents of children with an autism spectrum disorder and will cover topics including: characteristics of autism, behavior management principles, and strategies for use in the home environment and community settings. 9) Focused Workshops: One one-day and two two-day workshops will be conducted in each region of the state, staffed by two TRIAD consultants. These in-depth trainings will serve 20-30 participants and will focus on a specific topic targeting the needs of educators. Possible topics include, but are not limited to: Discrete Trial Training, Behavior, Social Skills Programming, and Communication. One of the two-day trainings will be designed specifically for regular education teachers.
