K-12 Intensive Training for School-based Teams
Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
NOTICE:
An invitation to HOST the START K-12 Intensive Training for the 20162017 School Year
DATE:
December 14, 2015
TO:
Intermediate School Districts, Local School Districts, and Public School
Academies
FROM:
Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START) at Grand Valley State
University
DUE:
Applications due January 25, 2016
The START K-12 Intensive Training focuses on evidence-based practices to increase
knowledge and skills that enhance the educational programming and outcomes for
students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and related disabilities from kindergarten
through high school. Intensive training is provided to multidisciplinary teams including
teachers, administrators, ancillary staff, and parents. Each team is comprised of 6
individuals who attend each training session and work collaboratively to develop
implementation plans for a target student and school building.
This training offered through START is part of a grant funded through the Michigan
Department of Education, Office of Special Education. Since 2001, the START Project has
provided professional development and resources to school-based teams to increase
capacity and create leadership teams to build and sustain the supports and interventions
that improve outcomes for students with ASD across the state of Michigan.
Eligibility:
Intermediate School Districts, Local Education Agencies, and Public School Academies
should be the primary applicant. Preference will be given to schools and districts:
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that demonstrate a significant need for training and support.
with high numbers of students with ASD.
in geographic areas that have not received START Intensive Training recently.
that work in collaboration with other schools, local agencies, or other
organizations.
that have applied to START previously but could not be accommodated in the
schedule.
Role of Host Site:
Secure a venue with room for approximately 125-140 participants with tables that seat 6
participants, an audio visual system with an LCD projector, and a sound system with both
lapel and handheld microphones. Host site also arranges for lunches, applies for and
coordinates State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECH) and social work continuing
education units (CEUs), and assists with other general logistics in collaboration with the
START office staff. The host site will work with the START staff to set up a training
schedule for the year with a final schedule set by mid to late February.
The Host Site should be able to identify at least 9-10 teams for the training in order to
host. These teams may come from an ISD, district, or the region. The Host Training site
will be allocated at least 50% of the training slots. Once the schedule is set, an application
will be made available statewide for teams to apply to join the host site teams, based on
availability.
Logistics:
Module presenters and training materials will be provided by START. The costs to your
ISD/district include: venue, meals, mileage, and sub costs, as necessary. Reasonable cost
for meals may be covered through the RCN START-contracted funds if agreed upon by the
RCN members, however RCN will not be allocated additional funds to cover these costs.
Host Site/Training Location:
The training location will be determined through this application.
Training Duration: Two Years
Year one: September 1, 2016 through June 15, 2017 with up to 14 days of Intensive
Training for district teams.
Year two: September 1, 2017 through June 15, 2018 with up to six days of Intensive
Training for district teams. Additionally, a small number of teams that participate in the
training will receive follow up technical assistance and coaching support.
Application:
The application is available on the START website at www.gvsu.edu/autismcenter under
“K-12 Intensive Training” and must be completed and submitted electronically. Applicants
will be notified by early February.
Questions:
If you have questions about the project’s purpose or questions regarding the training or
application process, contact:
Amy Matthews Ph.D., Project Director
P: 616-331-3513 or matthewa@gvsu.edu
Jana Benjamin, Project Manager
P: 616-331-6482 or benjamj1@gvsu.edu
GVSU reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals. Approval is dependent upon
continued funding by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education.
What is START K-12 Intensive Training?
I. Description of K-12 Intensive Training
The START intensive school-based training offers knowledge and skills to educators
serving students with ASD with a primary emphasis on building teaming and collaboration
skills within the school. The ultimate goal is to increase local capacity through an increase
in knowledge, skills, and teaming and collaboration for supporting students with ASD.
School-based teams may be comprised of team members with varying levels of
knowledge about ASD. Training will be offered at no cost; however, the school system is
responsible for the costs of professional time away from the classroom or other
responsibilities, and schools must cover lunch and travel costs for participants.
This training is available to school districts and ISDs that are able to:
Year one:
1. Assemble a team of professionals and parents who attend all training sessions
and demonstrate an active commitment to further developing evidence-based
practices to support students with ASD in their school building and community.
2. Identify team leaders to facilitate and coordinate the intensive training.
3. Evaluate program delivery and related supports for students with ASD using
the START program assessment tools.
Year two:
1. Implement the strategies from the year one START training sessions to expand
evidence-based practice programming for students with ASD and serve as
demonstration sites for other buildings in the district/county.
2. Commit to recruit and train Building Coaches as supports in each building for
students with ASD.
3. Evaluate program delivery and related supports for students with ASD using
the START program assessment tools.
Note: START has provided intensive training to numerous school-based teams from across
the state. If you are interested in learning more about our START training, we can provide
you with contact information for team leaders and administrators from other
districts/ISDs that have worked with START.
II. Description of Training Curriculum
The intensive training offered to schools is based on “evidence-based practices.” We
believe that evidence-based practice means using empirically supported practices
informed by professional judgment, parent involvement, and data. We are not endorsing
a particular program, but review the research literature to identify the practices and
systems with the most empirical evidence. Although we may specify strategies, we are
not endorsing a single approach, and presentations reflect an emphasis on the use of
evidenced-based strategies. We also emphasize teaming and collaborating, and parentschool and community-school partnerships to better serve students with ASD.
For the training, we use a general curriculum framework that will build a foundation in the
understanding of ASD, the teaming process, effective teaching and behavior support, and
systems changes that support student outcomes in your school program. Presentations
will be delivered by experts in various areas of ASD such as behavior support, educational
strategies, peer to peer support, and systems level change. (See Attachment 2
descriptions.)
Target Students and Building Teams
Training teams will be organized around target students and school buildings. Each subteam (comprised of 6 multidisciplinary team members and a parent) will utilize the
information learned during the training to develop assessments and interventions for a
target student. The target student selected should have learning and behavior needs
particularly in the areas of independence, engagement, and social interaction.
Additionally, teams will expand the information learned to consider changes in building
level supports. More information about developing teams will be made available upon
acceptance.
Training Curriculum – Evidence-Based Practices for Working with Students with ASD
YEAR ONE
Training Content
Module 1: Orientation and Foundations in ASD
Module 2: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports
Module 3: Looking at ASD Differently and the Teaming Process
Module 4: Educational Strategies and Supports
Module 5: Peer to Peer Support
Module 6: IEP Development & Implementation for Students
with ASD
Module 7: Transition /Planning for the Next Year
Administrator Module (invite District / ISD Administrators;
teams need not attend)
Centralized Evaluation Team (CET) / Eligibility Determination
(may be held in year one or year two)
Schedule
2 days
2 days
2 days
2 days
2 days
2 days
1 day
½ day
1 day
YEAR TWO
Training Content and Technical Assistance (TA)
Module 8: Systems Change through Coaching Part 1
Module 9: Systems Change through Coaching Part 2
Module 10: Asperger Syndrome (open to a region)
Module 11: Self-Management (open to a region)
Technical Assistance
Schedule
1 day
1 day
2 days
1 day
TBD
Note: The details of the schedule, such as order, may be modified but the overall number
of training days will not change.
Intensive training sites will have access to a START Autism Education Specialist who will be
assigned to the site to provide assistance during the training series. This individual will
assist the district in organizing the training days, applying new learning, and integrating
the information across training sessions.
III. Training Impact
We anticipate observable changes in the following areas:
1. Target Student – progress in the core areas: behavior, social-communication
and interaction, academic, independence, and family involvement.
2. Team – ability to communicate, problem solve, make decisions, work
collaboratively, understand the various disciplines and their different roles in
supporting students with ASD.
3. Team Members – increase in content knowledge and ability to apply that
knowledge and serve as a more competent and successful team member
within a multidisciplinary team.
4. Program/System – positive changes in how students with ASD are supported
within classrooms and buildings, identification of barriers to effective teaching
and support and initial steps to address those barriers, and administrative
support.
5. Family –family members are active members of the team and participate in the
development of goals, supports, and strategies to enhance learning and school
engagement.
IV. Evaluation
Because this is a grant-funded project, the training and support provided will be evaluated
for effectiveness through pre-and post-questionnaires, surveys, student progress, building
level supports, and other measures. The evaluation will be arranged so that it is
reasonable and meaningful to participants. It is critical for teams participating in the
training to work collaboratively with START staff to collect and share data during the two
years of training and at follow up.
START K-12 Intensive Training
APPLICATION for ’16-17
Directions: Please submit this application electronically by e-mail to Melissa Kurek
kurekm@gvsu.edu by January 25, 2016.
Applicant School/District/County:
Number of Teams Requested by Host Site:
Team Leaders
Provide names of team leaders that will have primary responsibility for coordinating the
training. The team leaders will be responsible for overall team leadership, program
development, and scheduling and logistics.
Contact Person/Team Leader #1:
Name:
Title:
Address:
Phone number:
Summer Phone number/contact info if different:
E-mail:
Contact Person/Team Leader #2:
Name:
Title:
Address:
Phone number:
Summer Phone number/contact info if different:
E-mail:
Application Narrative –
1. Describe the principal reasons for requesting START training (e.g., desired outcomes for
students with ASD, system change).
2. Describe the level of need for your program or region (e.g., lack of ASD expertise, high
number of students with ASD).
3. Identify the districts/buildings/agencies who will be involved in the training and the
rationale for choosing them. Describe how team members from these
districts/buildings/agencies will use their training to build capacity within your system
(e.g., create and modify programs for students with ASD, share knowledge with other
staff, coordination across initiatives).
4. Describe how you will recruit and support parents of each target student to participate
in the training as active team members.
5. Describe your ability to develop and support a two-year plan for change in the
programming and support students with ASD in your buildings. Include how you will
support staff to make changes.
6. Answer demographic questions below. If applicant is an ISD/RESA, complete for the
entire county. If the applicant is a district, provide local district information.
Check one:
ISD/RESA
# of Students:
# of Special Education Students:
# of Students with ASD:
# of ASD Teacher Consultants:
District
7. State your commitment to provide the resources that your school and community
would be able to contribute to host the training.
Host site responsibilities/requirements:
 Provide a venue with room for approximately 125-140 participants with
tables that seat 6 participants: (1) provide the name and size of your
venue:____________________________________________________;
and (2) state whether your venue offers the technological capability to
livestream the training to other locations, and/or to record trainings:
__________________________________________________________.
 Provide an audio visual system with an LCD projector and a sound
system with both lapel and handheld microphones at the venue.
 Arrange for lunches and coordinate with participating ISD/districts
outside the region with regards to invoicing for meal reimbursement.
 Apply for and coordinate State Continuing Education Clock Hours
(SCECH) and social work continuing education units (CEUs),
 Assist with other general logistics in collaboration with the START office
staff.
 Work with the START staff to set up a training schedule for the year
with a final schedule set by mid to late February.
Meal reimbursement for team members – required.*
Establish a Sub-team leader for each training team attending.
Provide release / sub time for team members as needed.
Provide support for parent participants.
Other Contributions
Describe
*Note: Funding for meals may be requested through the RCN as part of the RCN STARTcontracted funds, but it is up to the entire RCN to agree to this use of funds. RCN funds
may not be used for venue, travel, or sub costs for the IT.
8. Name of administrator supporting this application including contact information.
Name:
Position:
Email:
Phone:
Attachment 1
Sub Team Member Form
Sub Team Member Form
DO NOT COMPLETE AT THIS TIME
You will complete the Sub Team Form ONLY
if your application is selected for K-12
Intensive Training
This sub team form will help you organize 6 member sub teams for participation in the
START Intensive Training for ’16-17. All sub teams must be organized around a target
student that is supported by the team. Parents of the target student are an important part
of the sub team and should be invited to attend as a member of the 6 person team.
Typically, sub teams are comprised of some combination of the following team members.
Composition of the team will vary depending on the student and building, however teacher
involvement is essential.
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Parents
General education teachers
Special education teachers
Teacher consultants
Administrators
Speech and language therapists
School psychologists
Social workers
Occupational therapists
 Paraprofessionals
START K-12 Intensive Training ’16-17
Sub Team Member List
ISD:
Contact Person:
Work Phone:
Email:
District:
School Address:
Cell Phone:
Building Name:
Classroom Teacher:
Name
Email
Phone
Job Title
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
*Duplicate and Submit for each District and Sub Team
10
Attachment 2
START K-12 Training Curriculum
Year One Modules
Orientation & Foundations in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Meeting
Mechanics
This module provides participants with an orientation to the START Project and an overview of Autism
Spectrum Disorders (ASD) including current characteristics and definitions; learning characteristics
associated with ASD, etiologies and research in the area of ASD. The module also includes information
on evidence-based practices for students with ASD, including the importance of family involvement in
educational planning. Essential practices for conducting effective meetings including a problem solving
process will be presented as part of meeting mechanics.
Positive Behavioral Interventions & Support for Students with ASD
This module is a team-based training on the principles of positive behavioral interventions and supports
(PBIS) for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants will gain an understanding of the
3-tiered model of PBIS as well as the problem solving process of functional behavioral assessment (FBA)
and positive behavior support plan development. Participants will learn to collect relevant data and use
that information to guide the development of behavioral strategies. Specific behavioral strategies
effective for students with ASD are addressed.
Looking at ASD Differently & the Teaming Process
Looking at ASD Differently is about respecting the characteristics of ASD manifested by people on the
spectrum and using their intense interests and needs to their advantage. It is not uncommon for people
to observe autistic behaviors in a student with ASD and decide they will develop a plan to "extinguish"
those behaviors. However this approach often leads to further challenging behavior. This presentation
will focus on a new way of thinking about behaviors associated with ASD, which is foundational for staff
at all levels who are working with individuals with ASD.
Educational Strategies and Supports for Students with ASD
This module provides participants with a foundation of educational strategies that build upon the
strengths of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and lead to successful learning. Participants
are provided an opportunity to experience ASD through sensitivity awareness activities which lead to a
better understanding of the learning challenges for these students. Participants learn to provide
curricular accommodations and modifications so students with ASD have access to appropriate gradelevel curriculum. A framework for developing an individualized academic modification and grading plan
for a student with ASD as well as practice in creating such a plan is provided.
Peer to Peer Support for Students with ASD
This module provides participants with the specific steps necessary to develop a peer to peer support
program for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Information covered includes the process
for recruiting general education students, the necessary training they require as well as strategies for
maintaining the students and program as a whole. The module includes information on the concept of
“medium of exchange” which addresses strategies for connecting general education students with
students with ASD and all forms necessary for developing, implementing and maintaining the program
are provided.
IEP Development and Implementation for Students with ASD
This module focuses on the process of developing an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) for
students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that incorporates the legal requirements of LRE (Least
Restrictive Environment) and embeds established evidence-based practices for students with ASD.
Participants complete an Educational Benefit Review that addresses the effectiveness of previous IEPs in
order to target discussion points to enhance the future IEP process. Participants learn how to write an
effective Present Level of Academic Achievement and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) statement as
well as develop observable and measureable goals and objectives related to the student’s progress in
the general education curriculum and setting. Strategies for implementing the IEP with fidelity and data
collection procedures for monitoring progress toward goals and objectives are also covered.
Transition Planning for Students with ASD
This module provides a framework of activities that leads to a successful yearly Individualized
Educational Program (IEP) transition for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants are
given an opportunity to reflect on the student’s progress of the previous school year as well as conduct
the activities necessary to prepare for the upcoming grade or building transition.
Administrator Module
This module is intended for ISD, district, and building administrators. The administrator module provides
a comprehensive overview of the START intensive training components. This module will suggest
strategies for positive administrative support of evidence-based practices in supporting students with
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Centralized Evaluation Team (CET) – Eligibility Determination
This module is an overview of the Centralized Educational Evaluation Team (CET) process for
determining educational eligibility for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The presentation
highlights essential identifying characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how they relate to
the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Early Intervention Services (OSEEIS) eligibility criteria. The evaluation steps that align with the OSE-EIS process for determining
educational eligibility and distinguish ASD evaluations from those of other disabilities is clarified.
Additionally, the importance of the multi-disciplinary team process in the educational evaluation for
students with ASD is addressed. Related evaluation materials, the function of meeting mechanics in
eligibility determination, effective report writing, and the relationship between medically-based
assessments and school-based responsibilities for eligibility determination are addressed. (This module
may be offered in Year One or Year Two, as determined by the host site and the START Training staff.)
Year Two Modules
Systems Change through Coaching - Part 1
Systems Change through Coaching - Part 2
This module addresses issues related to educational systems change that increase implementation of
effective practices for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Participants are provided a
structure for developing a coaching model as well as skills for serving in a variety of coaching roles and
responsibilities. Tools to assist in implementing the coaching model, including the Universal Supports
Assessment and Planning Tool (USAPT) developed by START, are provided. Participants are provided a
variety of strategies for working and interacting with colleagues during the process of systems level
change.
Asperger’s Syndrome
This module is intended for participants educating students with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). The module
explores characteristics of students with AS and effective practices identified in the literature to support
students in their school environment. Relevant theories are covered, including social attribution theory
and theory of mind, which are critical to supporting the social, emotional and behavioral development
of students with AS. The Path A / Path B strategy is used to teach participants how attributions impact
decision-making and responses to the behaviors of students with AS.
Self-Management
Self-management strategies have been used for students with a wide range of academic and behavioral
challenges, including students with ASD. Teaching self-management is a pivotal for students to learn
how to independently regulate their behavior across many situations. Although teachers and family
members initially may play a major role in the implementation of the system, ultimately, the
responsibility for ongoing use of the system should be passed to the student as much as possible. This
module provides participants with instruction on how to individualize a self-management system for a
student with ASD. This will include the steps needed for a student to learn to discriminate between
appropriate and inappropriate behaviors, monitor and record their own behaviors, and reward
themselves for meeting a specified goal.