HANDS in Autism

Helping Answer Needs by Developing Specialists in Autism

Collaborative Training Programs

In 2006, the HANDS in Autism program extended to begin developing collaborative community-based classrooms. School staff in the collaborative classrooms are trained in the program’s philosophy with intensive modeling, practice, feedback, coaching and mentoring as a means of demonstrating the practicality and transportability of these strategies beyond an intervention- or center-based environment. Ultimately, the goal is to not only develop evidence based programs, but also to establish these collaborative classrooms as ongoing training sites used to build local capacity. The model has been successful in training staff on a variety of dimensions and has also successfully served as a model of the effective collaboration and blending between the home/community, medical, and educational systems.

Current Collaborations

Indianapolis Public Schools
Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township
• Franklin Township Community School Corporation

The development of this project was facilitated by Grant Number E!!/CCU524062-01 from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and other charitable organizations. The ongoing efforts of the project are primarily and currently supported through a grant from the Center for Exceptional Learners, Indiana Department of Education under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (P.L. 108-446). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of our sponsors.