Professional Development in Autism -- The PDA Center https://depts.washington.edu/pdacent

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ProfessionalDevelopment inAutism -- The PDA
Centerhttps//depts.washington.edu/pdacent

• Susan Sandall, Ph.D.
• Carol Ann Davis, Ed. D.
• University of Washington
• Laurie Sperry, Ph. D.
• University of Colorado - Denver

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Agenda

• Overview of PDA and Autistic Spectrum Disorders
  (ASD)
• Training Experiences and Case Study
• Resources for Higher-Education
• Examples of Resources
• Questions

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Professional Development in Autism (PDA)

• OSEP funded center
• Provides training and support for school
  districts, families and communities to ensure
  that students with ASD have access to high
  quality, evidence-based educational services in
  his or her local school district or educational
  setting.

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• Autism is a collection
• of overlapping groups
• of symptoms that vary from
• child to childSiegel, 1996, p.301

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Disabilities on the Spectrum

• Autism
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise
  Specified (PDD-NOS)
• Aspergers Syndrome
• Retts Syndrome
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

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What is Autism?

• Issues in three areas
• social interaction,
• communication,
• ritualistic behavior
• A spectrum disorder different children affected
  to different degrees in each area

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Social Deficits (DSM-IV)

• Impairment in nonverbal communication (gestures,
  eye gaze, etc.)
• Failure in developing peer relationships
• Lack of spontaneous sharing of enjoyment,
  interests, etc.
• Lack of social or emotional reciprocity

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What You Might See

• Complete lack of interest in others.
• Very attached to certain adults, but no interest
  in peers.
• Inappropriate interest in others.
• Wants friends, but doesnt get it.
• Lack of understanding of facial expression
  (sometimes with disastrous results).
• Behavior problems related to lack of interest in
  social praise or social consequences.

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Communication (DSM-IV)

• Delay in or total lack of spoken language.
• Impairment in ability to initiate or sustain
  conversation.
• Stereotyped use of language.
• Lack of make-believe play.

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What You Might See

• Use of augmentative communication systems or no
  communication system.
• Children with very good language, but odd uses
  pronoun reversals, strange uses of words.
• Children with odd sounding language.
• Scripting
• Repetitive, unimaginative play or no play.
• Behavior problems because of limited language.

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Restricted, Repetitive and Stereotyped Patterns
of Behavior (DSM-IV)

• Abnormally obsessive interests
• Rigid adherence to routines
• Stereotyped motor movements
• Preoccupation with parts of objects

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What You Might See

• Obsessions with trains, maps, letters, etc.
• Hand flapping, vocalizing, spinning,
  self-injurious behavior.
• Lack of interest in normal childhood
  activities.
• Tantrums and other behavior problems around
  routine changes.
• Behavior problems around obsessions.

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Other Aspects of Autism

• Onset before Age 3
• Male to female ratio 41
• Mental Retardation
• Sensory Issues
• Savant capabilities
• Is it increasing?? Yes. 1 in 175 is current
  prevalence

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Aspergers Syndrome

• Same issues in social interactions and
  repetitive/stereotyped behaviors
• No general delay in language
• Average or above average IQ

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What does this mean for early childhood educators?

• Earlier identification
• IDEA

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Where are the children?

• Home
• Child care
• Special Programs
• Inclusive Preschools
• (Not yet Identified)

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Child-focused Instructional Strategies
Embedded Learning Opportunities
Curriculum modifications adaptations
Quality Early Childhood Program
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Child Focused Instructional Strategies

• Children with ASD DO NOT learn from typical
  strategies employed in early childhood settings
• Trial and error
• Discovery learning
• Instruction is direct and explicit
• Instruction must provide for many practice
  opportunities across the day and across many days
• Instruction should result in entrée skills

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Programs for children with ASD should include
(Dawson Osterling, 1997)

• Curriculum Content in
• Attending
• Imitation
• Communication
• Play
• Social Interaction

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Critical Program Features(National Research
Council, 2001)

• Entry to the program as early as possible
• Active engagement in intensive instructional
  programming
• At least 25 hours a week, across the year
• 11 and small group instruction
• Family component
• Low student/teacher ratio
• On-going evaluation and assessment

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Programs Contd

• Supportive teaching and generalization
  environments
• Predictability and routine
• Functional approach to problem behaviors
• Transition support
• Family Involvement

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Whats important for preschoolers with ASD?

• Functional, spontaneous communication
• Embedded social instruction
• Play skills, with peers
• Embedded cognitive instruction
• Positive behavior support
• Functional academics

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• The successful implementation of IDEA is perhaps
  most critically dependent on the quality of the
  people who implement the principles contained in
  the law-teachers, para-educators, related service
  providers and administrators, in cooperation with
  the parents and students.
• Dr. Robert Pasternack
• March 21, 2002
• Testimony before the
• U.S. Senate Committee on
• Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

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The Need for the PDA Center

• The number of students with autism is increasing
  dramatically
• Many models of service delivery yield trivial
  outcomes (Rogers, 1999)
• The technology and skills necessary to implement
  sound programming is not widespread (Dawson
  Osterling, 1997 NRC, 2001)

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Challenges related to educating students with ASD

• The science related to effective practices is
  expanding rapidly, not always accessible, and
  often at odds with practices in general
  education.
• While the numbers of children identified with ASD
  are increasing, the numbers of highly skilled
  personnel are not (NRC, 2001).
• Some of the instructional strategies that are
  effective with children with ASD are relatively
  complex and demand sufficient practice to achieve
  fluency.

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Where is the PDA Center?
University of Washington
Childrens Center for Developmental Enrichment
Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education
University of Colorado At Denver
University of Kansas
University of South Florida
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Guiding Principles

• Children with ASD are children first and have the
  same basic needs as typically developing
  children.
• There is no single right way to educate a child
  with ASD children are individuals and child and
  family characteristics must be considered in
  intervention planning.
• 3. Knowledge is power. One of the most
  effective techniques for empowering families is
  to provide them with accurate information.

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Guiding Principles

• All interventions must be built on evidence-based
  practices and must include ongoing data
  collection and evaluation.
• Effective interventions must be comprehensive and
  of sufficient intensity to yield educationally
  meaningful outcomes.
• Training of personnel is best conducted in
  ecologically and socially valid settings,
  utilizing aspects of adult learning, and
  providing ongoing follow-up and consultation.

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Trainings Offered

• Awareness
• Implementation
• Leadership

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Training for Education Teams Site Based Training
Model Guiding Principles

1. Site based training can be conducted at model
   demonstration sites or at the participant's own
   program. Training must be done in the context
   where the knowledge and skills being taught can
   be applied.
2. The purpose of site-based training is to enable
   participants to gain deep understanding and to
   begin to develop proficiency in targeted skills
   and knowledge
3. Site-based training involves trainers and teams
   of trainees who work collaboratively to meet the
   needs of students with autism and their families
4. Site-based training can take different forms and
   utilize different types of training activities.

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Training Experience and Case Study

• Case Study

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Website/Courses
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Resources for Higher Education

• Survey Results
• Respondants
• 66 from 30 states
• 95 prepared special education teachers
• 34 had a special course on ASD
• 51.5 embedded information on ASD
• 50 were research-based university faculty

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As we proceed with the development of materials

• When you are working with early childhood
  teachers, what are their questions or issues
  related to autism spectrum disorder?
• Do early childhood teachers have formal education
  related to Autistic spectrum disorder (e.g.,
  college course, workshops, conferences)?
• Where do early childhood teachers go for help or
  information when working with young children with
  (or suspected of having) Autistic Spectrum
  disorder?
• See the last question on page 2 of your survey.
  What are the top 3 needs?

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Information already covered

• In current courses
• Characteristics of autism
• Positive behavior supports and interventions
• Inclusive practices for preschool age students is
  embedded

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What IHE respondents want

• Additional information on
• Accessing the general education curriculum
• Understanding popular interventions
• Data-based decision-making
• Education service delivery models
• Transition to secondary services
• Core content curriculum

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Moderate need

• Information in the core deficit areas associated
  with ASD
• Communication
• Social skills
• Play/leisure engagement
• Academics

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HIGHEST NEED

• Inclusive practices (only 30 cover this in
  coursework related to elementary education only
  20 cover this in cousework related to secondary
  education)
• Accessing the general education curriculum (only
  22 cover this in courses)

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FORMATS

• YES!
• PowerPoint presentations
• Reading lists
• Small group activities
• Computer based modules

• Yes, sort of!
• Lecture notes
• Course syllabi
• Written modules
• Resource list

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We know from teacher feedback

• Even though course content on autism was covered
  in teacher preparation courses, it was not
  necessarily transferable to real life situations,
  especially when applied to children who learn
  differently

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Research to Practice

• Center for Evidenced-based Practice Young
  Children with Challenging Behavior
• http//challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/index.html
  
• Evidenced-based Practitioner

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Research to Practice

• Has the intervention been evaluated in a peer
  reviewed journal?
• Has the intervention been replicated across,
  investigators, settings and participants?
• Are there alternative interventions that are less
  restrictive, better researched, or perhaps more
  effective or efficient?
• Is the intervention within the existing skill set
  of practitioners, or do they need prior training
  and consultation?
• Has the intervention been shown to produce
  outcomes like the ones intended?
• How will we evaluate the intervention if we
  decide to implement?

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Training Modules

• Module 1 Providing Effective Services
• Module 2 Environmental Arrangement Strategies
• Module 3 Visual Strategies
• Module 4 Basic Teaching Principles
• Module 5 Basic Teaching Arrangements
• Module 6 Positive Behavior Support
• Module 7 Assessment
• Module 8 Instructional Programs
• Module 9 Data Collection
• Module 10 Social Skills

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Tip Sheets and Research Briefs

• Social Stories
• Activity Schedules
• Peer Buddies
• Visual Supports
• Incidental Teaching
• Self-management
• High-Probability Requests
• Video Modeling
• PECS
• Time Delay
• Independent leisure skills

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Resource List

• Educating Children with ASD
• Accommodations
• Social Skills
• Evidence-based Instructional Strategies
• Positive Behavior Support
• Teaming
• Website Resources

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Questions
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PDA Staff

• Ilene Schwartz, Ph. D., Washington
• Laurie Sperry, Ph D., Colorado
• Rich Simpson, Ph. D., Kansas
• Carol Quirk, Ph. D., Maryland
• Bonnie McBride, Ph. D., Oklahoma
• Diane Sainato, Ph. D., Ohio
• Glen Dunlap, Ph. D., Florida

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• To get connected
• www.pdacenter.org
• Dr. Rina Marie Leon-Guerrero
• University of Washington
• Experimental Education Unit
• Box 357925
• Seattle, WA 98195
• [phone]
• rinalg_at_u.washington.edu