Autism Training
Parent Training and Staff Development
Teaching Social Understanding
Designed to address the needs of children ad teens with high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome, this interactive session helps parents move beyond social stories and scripts to build true social understanding. Parents will learn to use proven techniques to help their children understand how people become friends, and how their actions affect the thoughts and feelings of others. Parents will also learn how to help their children develop the coping skills they will need for personal and professional success in the future.
Building Independence
This hands-on session gives parents opportunities to practice using visual supports and behavioral techniques to help their children learn self-care and independent living skills. Topics covered include shaping, chaining, backward chaining, and how to make and implement visual and structural supports. Participants will leave the session with a wide variety of schedules, task lists, and social stories to support independence skills. Building Independence addresses the needs of students with a wide range of ages and skill levels.
Working with Your Child’s School
When your child has autism, the old saying, “it takes a village” is an understatement. This session will help parents build positive relationships to support their children’s education. Topics covered will include when, where, and how to communicate with school staff; working with related services professionals; how to voice concerns in a constructive way; and preparing for effective IEP team meetings. The new autism supplement will be explained, and parents will leave the session with an organizational system to hold their children’s school records. The session will also include a hands-on activity in which the parents will make portfolios and “getting to know me” letters to introduce their children to school staff and other caregivers.
ABA the Easy Way
Applied Behavioral Analysis is the best-researched intervention for students with autism. ABA can be used to teach a wide variety of skills, including academics, self-care, social skills, and communication. But learning ABA can be intimidating. This session removes the jargon to teach parents simple techniques to support their children’s development. Parents will learn shaping, chaining, backward chaining, discrete trials, errorless teaching, and generalization. Instructors will model these techniques, and parents will have multiple opportunities to practice each. Participants will leave the session with “cheat sheets” to help them remember how and when to use each technique, along with ready-to-use visual supports to help them begin using ABA at home and in the community.
A Picture’s Worth 1,000 Words
From schedules to cue cards, visual tools can be used to support self-care skills, social interaction, community activities, communication, and behavioral control. This hands-on session provides parents with a variety of visual supports to use at home and in the community. As each intervention is introduced, parents will learn when and how to use the visual tool. They will make a version that is suited to their child’s age and developmental level, and then they will have opportunities to practice using each visual support. Participants will leave the session with six visual supports designed for their children, along with a CD of pictures to use when making more visual tools.
Learning to Play, Playing to Learn
This session is designed for parents of young children with autism spectrum disorders. Children learn countless skills through play, but children with autism must first be taught how to play and how to engage with adults and peers. Participants will learn techniques to engage their children and teach them to pay attention to what someone else is doing. They will also learn early intervention for “mind blindness:” techniques to help children understand that other people’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences are different from their own.
CLICK HERE to see a description of Series for Parents Seminars
CLICK HERE to see a description of Parent Training Seminars
Assessment