K-12 Intensive Training for School-based Teams
Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
NOTICE:
An invitation to send teams to the START K-12 Intensive Training for the
2016-2017 School Year
DATE:
March 17, 2016
TO:
Intermediate School Districts, Local School Districts, and Public School
Academies
FROM:
Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START) Project at Grand Valley
State University
DUE:
Applications due April 22, 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:


that demonstrate significant need as well as high numbers of students
with ASD.
in geographic areas that have not received START Intensive Training
recently.
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

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.
Logistics:
Module presenters and training materials will be provided by START. The costs to your
ISD/district include: 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 and Schedule:
The training will be held at the Winding Brook Conference Center, located at 8240 S.
Genuine Rd., in Shepherd, Michigan. Only a limited number of additional team slots will
be available.
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 under “K-12 Intensive Training.” Please
submit this application electronically by e-mail to Melissa Kurek kurekm@gvsu.edu by
April 22, 2016. Applicants will be notified by the end of April.
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.
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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.
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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 1
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)
Education-Based Evaluations for ASD
(may be held in year one or year two)
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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.
Although we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with teams multiple
times during the school year, there is so much to learn and apply that we will ask the
participants to review relevant materials and meet with their training team outside of the
scheduled training days. This will lead to better implementation of the training
information through follow up on action plans set during the training.
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
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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.
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START K-12 Intensive Training – Training Teams
APPLICATION for ’16-17
Directions: Please submit this application electronically by e-mail to Melissa Kurek
kurekm@gvsu.edu by April 22, 2016.
Applicant School/District/County:
List Number of Teams Requested:
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:
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Application Narrative –
1. Describe the principal reasons for requesting the START K-12 Intensive 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
District
# of Students:
# of Special Education Students:
# of Students with ASD:
# of ASD Teacher Consultants:
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7. State your commitment to provide the resources that your school and community
would be able to contribute to attend the training.
Reimbursement of meal costs for team members – Host site/district will
coordinate with other participating ISD/Districts with regards to
reimbursement for on-site lunches – required*
Attendance of at least one Building/District/ISD administrator at the
Administrator module – 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 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:
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K-12 Team Development Form
This form will help you organize 6 member teams for participation in the START Intensive
Training for ’16-17. All 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 team and should be
invited to attend as a member of the 6 person team.
Typically, teams are comprised of some combination of the following team members.
Composition of the team will vary depending on the student and building.









Parents
General education teachers
Special education teachers
Teacher consultants
Administrators
Speech and language therapists
School psychologists
Social workers
Occupational therapists
 Paraprofessionals
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START K-12 Intensive Training ’16-17
Team Member List – Team #1
ISD:
Contact Person:
Work Phone:
Email:
District:
School Address:
Cell Phone:
Building Name:
Classroom Teacher:
Name
1
Email
Phone
Job Title
Sub team leader:
2
3
4
5
6 Parent:
*Duplicate and Submit for each Team
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Attachment 1
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
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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).
Education-Based Evaluations for ASD
This module highlights the essential components for quality special education eligibility determination
under Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It includes a detailed review of the characteristics of ASD as
outlined in the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE) criteria and recommended
evaluation processes and procedures as outlined in the Michigan Autism Council’s Education-Based
Evaluations for ASD guide. Related evaluation materials and tools also are provided in addition to a
review of effective report writing, differential eligibility decision-making and addressing disagreements
among evaluators both within and outside of school. (This module may be offered in Year One or Year
Two, as determined by the host site and the START Training staff.)
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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.
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