Updates from the State Public Health Autism Resource Center
April 17, 2019
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On the Horizon for State Grantees
As mentioned in the previous Developments issue, SPHARC, in partnership with HRSA, is continuing to support the Autism Community of Learners state grantee cohort as they conclude their work in the final year of the grant cycle. Grantees include:
- Delaware
- Rhode Island
- Washington
- Wisconsin
This cohort continues to participate in monthly technical assistance calls which have supported the grantees as they explore solutions to addressing tele-health and -education needs. The rich and productive discussions around engaging diverse populations through expanding tele-health and -education have resulted in numerous technical assistance opportunities including Delaware, Washington, and Wisconsin attending and presenting the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center, Convergence Telehealth Summit in Williamsburg, Virginia on March 31st-April 2nd. Additionally, the Wisconsin team visited the University of Missouri, Thompson Center's to learn more about how to implement the ECHO Autism model.
Upcoming: 2019 Peer-to-Peer Exchange will be held April 16th-17th in Madison, WI with a focus on Quality Improvement and Evaluation Strategies for Sustainability. The meeting will feature the Wisconsin Care Integration Initiative team and their partners. Look out for our lessons learned from the meeting in the next Developments issue!
AMCHP's SPHARC has released several new resources designed to aid and assist Autism and other Developmental Disabilities (ASD/DD) grantees
COMING SOON: History of CARES Module!
AMCHP, in partnership with AUCD is excited to announce the development of an interactive learning module entitled "Autism CARES Act 101" that outlines the rich history of the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, and Education (CARES) Act by highlighting its legislative impact and resulting federally-funded programming since 2006. The purpose of this interactive module is to help educate CARES grantees, public health leaders and professionals, students, policymakers, and other stakeholders about the history, purpose, and evolution of Autism CARES legislation and the programs it supports. This tool may also benefit those working with children, youth, families, and self-advocates impacted by autism and other developmental disabilities. Please look forward to the Autism CARES Act 101 module very soon on our SPHARC homepage: www.amchp.org/SPHARC!
Meaningful Inclusion of People on the Autism Spectrum
AMCHP is proud to share the PULSE article featuring Teal Benevides and Stephen Shore, , Project Team leads from Autistic Adults and other Stakeholders Engaged Together (AASET). The article highlights the promising practices of engaging self-advocates and their families at all levels of decision-making. Read the article to find out how the AASET project engages autistic adults to find out what research topics were most important to them for future studies.
Takeaways from the 2019 AMCHP Conference
SPHARC/ Autism Community of Learners Meeting - AMCHP had a great meeting at the 2019 AMCHP conference with former and current grantees and SPHARC partners. Roundtable discussions included the following topics: Telehealth, Collaboration with ASD and Behavioral Health, and (Post-grant) Sustainability.
Community of Learners Workshop - AMCHP supported the following workshop session, "Increasing Access to ASD/DD Diagnosis and Intervention Among Medically Underserved Children: Streamlining Evidence, Strengthening Families, and Empowering Self-advocates." This workshop featured examples of strategies from the 4 current state Autism grantees, and their work to improve access to a coordinated, comprehensive state system of services that leads to early diagnosis and entry into services. Each state shared best practices in understanding how to streamline evidence, strengthen families, and empower self-advocates through an interactive panel and discussion. Click here to view the presentation slides and handouts.
