Early Childhood Intensive Training for
Teams Supporting Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
NOTICE:
An invitation to send teams to the START Early Childhood 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 Project (START) Project at Grand Valley
State University
DUE:
Application due April 25, 2016
The START Early Childhood Training involves intensive training on evidence-based practices to
increase knowledge and skills that enhance the educational programming and outcomes for
young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and related disabilities. The training
emphasizes strategies that are beneficial to classroom teams supporting preschool-age
children. Each team is comprised of 6 individuals and typically includes early childhood
educators, administrators, ancillary staff, and paraprofessionals.
This training offered through START is part of a grant funded through the Michigan Department
of Education, Office of Special Education. 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 districts / ISDs:
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that demonstrate significant need as well as high numbers of students with ASD.
in geographic areas that have not previously received START Intensive Training.
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.
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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. Meals may be covered
through the RCN grant if agreed upon by the RCN members however RCN are not allocated
additional funds to cover these costs.
Host Site/Training Location:
The training will be held at the Jackson ISD, located at 6700 Browns Lake Road in Jackson,
Michigan.
*A limited number of additional team slots will be available.
Training Duration:
Training period for year one: September 1, 2016 through June 15, 2017 with up to 6 Days of
Intensive Training for teams.
Application:
The application is available on the START website at www.gvsu.edu/autismcenter under
“Intensive Training-Early Childhood IT” and must be completed and submitted electronically to
Melissa Kurek at kurekm@gvsu.edu by April 25, 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 for professional development programs under START.
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START Early Childhood Intensive Training
I. Description of Early Childhood Training
This training addresses classroom structure and instructional strategies to increase learning
opportunities across the school day. The training will include presentations, videos, and
classroom team activities related to effective practices. The information for this presentation is
drawn from the National Research Council report on Educating Children with Autism, the
empirical literature on effective practices for young children with ASD, and direct experience
working with young children with ASD.
This training is available to early childhood educators that are able to:
1) Assemble a team of professionals, paraprofessionals, and parents who actively show
an interest in further developing practices to support children with ASD in early
childhood programming.
2) Evaluate their program delivery and related supports for students with ASD using
assessment tools to identify areas of strength and need.
3) Apply the knowledge and skills learned from the training with documented
improvement in outcomes for students with ASD.
4) Establish a two year plan for program improvement and continued professional
development.
II. Description of Training Curriculum
The START Early Childhood training will follow a curriculum developed by START based on
recommendations from the National Research Council report (2001), the National Standards
Project, the National Professional Developmental Center on ASD (2009), and the research
literature on ASD as well as direct experience.
The training will emphasize effective practices for teaching and supporting young children in a
classroom environment. Increasing learning opportunities in early childhood classrooms serves
as the foundation for the training and includes: behavior support systems, classroom structure
and activities, and effective instructional delivery. Basic training in applied behavior analysis
(ABA) will be provided including: key components of ABA, instructional presentation, skills
assessment, choosing instructional targets and data collection.
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Training Content
Foundations in Evidence-Based Practices for Early Childhood
Classrooms
Preparing the Classroom for Learning
Effective Instruction for Young Children with ASD
Structuring Play in the Early Childhood Classroom
Individualized Instruction and Behavior Support
Transition Planning and Implementation
Schedule
1 day
2 days
1 day
1 day
1 day
1 day
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. Classroom – improved structure and organization of classrooms, effective delivery
of instruction, positive behavior supports, and utilization of evidence based
strategies for young children with ASD.
2. Team – improved communication, problem solving, decision making, collaboration,
understanding their role in supporting students with ASD.
3. Team Members – increase in content knowledge and ability to apply that
knowledge, ability to serve as a more competent and successful team member
within a multidisciplinary team.
4. Increased local capacity – team leaders and trainees with increased knowledge and
skills to be shared with other staff.
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 training and at follow up.
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START Early Childhood Training – Training Teams
APPLICATION for ’16-17
Directions: Please submit this application electronically by e-mail to Melissa Kurek
kurekm@gvsu.edu by April 25, 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.
Name:
Contact Person/Team Leader #1:
Title:
Address:
Phone number:
Summer Phone number/contact info if different:
E-mail:
Name:
Contact Person/Team Leader #2:
Title:
Address:
Phone number:
Summer Phone number/contact info if different:
E-mail:
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Application Narrative
1. Explain the principal reasons for requesting the START Early Childhood Intensive Training
(e.g., desired outcomes for students with ASD, system change).
2. Describe the level of need for your early childhood program or region (e.g., lack of 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
young children with ASD, share knowledge with other staff, develop a parent support group).
4. Describe or attach your current approach to early childhood programming for students with
ASD.
5. Describe your ability to develop and implement a two-year plan for change in the
programming and support of young children with ASD. 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 in Early Childhood Special Education
# of Students with ASD in Early Childhood Special Education
# 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 participate in 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.*
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 along with contact information.
Name:
Position/Title:
Email:
Phone:
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Early Childhood Team Development Form
This form will help you organize 6 member teams for participation in the START Intensive
Training for ’16-17. All teams will be organized around an early childhood classroom that is
supported by the team. Typically, teams are comprised of the following team members.
Composition of the team will vary depending on the program.
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Early childhood educators
Teacher consultants
Administrators
Speech and language therapists
School psychologists
Social workers
Occupational therapists
Paraprofessionals
Parents
Classroom teams will also need to identify a target student for data collection during the
training series. Parental permission should be requested in order to share data with the START
Project. A permission form will be provided.
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Early Childhood 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
*Duplicate and Submit for each Team
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