Summer Training Program - Goals & Objectives
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Goals
- Increase the number of ABA-based strategies which professionals have in their professional “toolboxes”
- Broaden professional perspectives in the approaches used to communicate, interact, instruct, and program for individuals with autism spectrum disorders
- Increase understanding of ways to approach team-based and systems-based collaboration
- Introduce a proactive approach to behavioral and educational intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders
- Improve understanding of the importance of and the development process for implementing data-driven decision-making
- Increase understanding of the educational and behavioral assessment process
- Increase understanding of the differentiation between evidence-based practices, best practices, and non evidence-based practices
- Increase understanding of the importance of building curriculum and behavioral programming around evidence-based practices
Objectives
- Program philosophy
- Understand the role of systems collaboration, hands-on training, and data-driven and ABA-based practices in the HANDS Program
- What is autism?
- Recognize the spectrum diagnoses
- Understand the differences between a medical diagnosis and educational classification
- Recognize that there is no medical test or one tool to diagnosis or identify autism spectrum disorders
- (have resources for further learning)
- Roles & Collaborations
- Understand that there should be distinct and separate roles in the classroom, school, and district
- Understand the importance of team and systems collaboration
- Engage in discussion of current practices
- Recognize opportunities for further growth
- (have resources for further learning)
- Best Practices
- Be able to differentiate between evidence-based practices, best practices, and non evidence-based practices
- Cite examples of these types of strategies
- Recognize and understand the importance of having evidence-based curriculum and behavioral programming
- Understand how these practices relate to state and federal regulations
- Be able to communicate with and inform parents about the topics and issues related to evidence-based practices, best practices, and non evidence-based practices
- have a broad perspective in considering utilization of various types of practices within the educational setting
- Visual & Physical Structure
- Understand how to design and incorporate structure into a variety of settings
- Recognize that structure has to be taught
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying knowledge of and techniques relating to the structure design, creation, implementation, and revision process within the model classroom
- Schedules & Work Systems
- Understand the purpose and development process for schedules and work systems
- Recognize that such tools should relate to individual motivators identified through the assessment and goal development process
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying the knowledge and techniques introduced
- Work Systems & Adaptations/Modifications
- understand the process for determining when and how to adapt and modify supports, schedules, and work systems
- recognize that such tools should relate to individual motivators identified through the assessment and goal development process
- gain exposure to and experience in applying the knowledge and techniques introduced
- Choreography
- understand the importance of choreography as it is a key component of any proactive program
- realize that it should incorporate both staff and students through schedules
- gain exposure to and experience in the development, implementation, and revision of choreography within the model classroom
- Assessment – Generally
- Understand that assessment is a basis for programming, both in the development and ongoing evaluation
- Realize that all staff have a role in collecting data in the educational setting, while the Teacher of Record is responsible for data analysis and application for planning
- Recognize and understand the need for a blended assessment approach
- Gain exposure to these strategies as practical techniques for application in the classroom
- Educational Assessment (Informal and Curriculum-Based)
- Understand the variety of assessment options available
- Realize that informal assessment is naturalistic despite clear goals and a semi-structured format that is based on state and federal standards
- Be able to differentiate between formal and informal strategies
- Behavioral Assessment
- Understand the role of assessment in determining the function of behavior
- Understand the behavior assessment process
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying assessment tools within the model classroom
- Behavior Intervention
- Understand that behavior intervention is not equivalent to behavior reduction
- Understand that behavior intervention should incorporate proactive planning and skills acquisition components
- Realize that intervention should be individualized to each child and based on the identified function of each behavior
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying specific interventions within the model classroom
- Goal Development & Writing Process
- Understand and be able to differentiate between terminology associated with goal-writing
- Understand the process of writing observable and attainable goals and observable, attainable, and measurable objectives
- Gain exposure to and experience in developing and implementing goals
- Ongoing data-driven decision making
- Understand how to use goals and objectives to develop a data collection system to track progress and adjust each child’s program when necessary
- Understand the processes involved in identifying measurable data points
- Understand the processes involved in creating data forms
- Understand the processes involved in analyzing data
- Understand the processes involved in using analyses to inform individualized programming
- Gain exposure to and experience in adapting goals and objectives into measurable data points, creating data forms, analyzing data, and using analyses to inform individualized programming
- Skills Teaching
- Prompting
- Understand that there is a hierarchical prompting process
- Be able to differentiate between appropriate opportunities for teaching versus implementing a behavioral protocol (i.e., errorless learning versus guided compliance)
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying prompting techniques appropriately within the model classroom
- Task Analysis
- Understand the importance of tasks analyzing skills to teach
- Understand the process of task analysis
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying the process of task analysis
- Chaining
- Understand the importance of chaining in teaching
- Understand the process of chaining
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying the process of chaining
- Social Communication Skills
- Understand the need for integrating social communication skills into educational and behavioral programming and successes
- Understand the process of incorporating techniques and skills from other areas (e.g., visual and physical structure, choreography, assessment, goal development and writing process, and skills teaching) into the programming for social communication goals
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying the cumulative knowledge and techniques learned during training to programming for the development of social communication skills within the model classroom and other environments
- Grouping
- Recognize the impact of grouping on learning and skills acquisition
- Realize that grouping should still incorporate individualized programming
- Understand the importance of planning a group to create success for each child by:
- Incorporating individualized programming, including motivation factors
- Address the functional skills objectives of each child
- Layer the inclusion of children in the group in terms of activities and timing
- Gain exposure to and experience in applying knowledge of layering techniques within the model classroom
- Generalization
- Realize that generalization does not happen naturally
- Recognize that generalization includes a variety of locations, individuals, materials, and times
- Gain exposure to and experience in programming for generalization as appropriate throughout the training week
- Psychopharmacological Interventions
- Have the opportunity for your questions to be answered by a nationally renown child psychiatrist who has specialized in Autism Spectrum Disorders for more than 20 years
- Gain exposure to and understanding of commonly used psychopharmacological interventions
- Understand that psychopharmacological treatments for autism spectrum disorders only treat the symptoms of autism
Please contact Heather Coates at (317) 278-7839 or hcoates@indiana.edu with any questions about the application materials, process, or training program.
