Autism Certificate Overview

he VT Higher Education Collaborative is offering a training program for educators, mental health workers and others who are interested in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Upon completion of the required courses, participants will be awarded an Autism Certificate stating that they have successfully completed a course of study with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Application and Admissions Requirements

Applicants to VT-HEC’s Autism Case Manager Program must possess a Bachelor’s Degree.

For more information contact Joy Wilcox:  [email protected]

Sequence of Courses

The Autism Certificate includes five courses and one seminar (15 credits).

After completion of the sequence, participants may choose to apply to Northern Vermont University and, if accepted, pursue a Master’s Degree or a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study. Some of the credits from the VT-HEC program may be transferred into the graduate program.

• Fall Courses
• Spring Courses
• Summer Course

• • Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder (3 credits) (every other year)
  • Applied Behavior Analysis I (3 credits)
  • Curriculum and Instruction (3 credits) (every other year)
  • Teaming & Collaboration Seminar (1 credit)
• • Continuum of Communication: Family-Centered Assessment and Intervention for Students with Autism (3 credits)
  • Instructional Methods in Applied Behavioral Analysis (3 credits)
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders: Issues in Assessment & Intervention (Offered by UVM)
• • A Framework for Applying Structured Teaching Across the School Day

Course Descriptions

*Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders

Workshop #1
We will begin by taking a look at autism from a different perspective. We will examine some of the assumptions inherent in the language used to describe characteristics of people with autism. We will learn through the lens of people with autism. We will study diagnostic criteria from screening to diagnosis, as well as consider how to use the criteria in the evaluation process.

Workshop #2
We will explore the functional impacts of autism across a lifetime, including strengths, challenges and common co-morbidities. We will discuss the importance of the interdisciplinary team approach, and the limitations of our current service delivery models for delivering strengths-based interventions. We will hear from parents of children with autism, across different ages, to learn about their hopes, dreams, and challenges.

Course:
The three-credit graduate course will engage participants in an in-depth look at: indicators and core deficits of ASD; associated conditions (co-morbidities) and their impact; manifestation of autism characteristics across environments and ages; impact on learning, home, independence, community participation and school outcomes; cultural and historical issues; promoting dignity and respect; and the recognition and fostering of individual strengths. The course includes the two workshop days; the remainder of the work is online.

Continuum of Communication: Family-Centered Assessment and Intervention for Students with Autism

This course focuses on communication assessment and intervention for students with Autism. This course also details intervention for socialization and play, two other key components of the continuum of communication for children with autism. Learners will focus first on studying and detailing various components of and options for assessment for students with autism from a strengths-based approach. Each learner will also identify and collaboratively problem solve challenges that can occur with evaluations in this population. As a major focus for this course, learners will understand and detail the application of various frameworks as well as specific intervention programs for supporting students with autism.

This course will utilize a variety of teaching tools and teaming activities to provide learners with multiple opportunities to explore various profiles of individuals with autism. As part of these experiences, learners will gain experience teaming to support a child with autism and their overall needs in socialization, communication, and play.

Working With Tough Teams and Building Effective Partnerships

This one-credit course is designed to prepare special educators, related service providers, mental health professionals, para-educators, and parents to collaborate effectively in order to address the complex needs of children with significant challenges. The content of the class will include forming productive teams, understanding roles and responsibilities of the case manager and other team members, developing goals and priorities as a team, navigating difficult conversations and resolving conflicts as they arise. Participants will also learn how to effectively support and utilize para-educators. The workshop content is important for all educators but essential for those professionals working with children whose needs are intense and complex.

A Framework for Applying Structured Teaching Across the School Day

This three-day course is an intensive training for teams working with students with autism. Comprehensive, effective programming for students with autism requires planning and supports that are used across the day. Participants will learn to use a planning framework tool and software (included) to analyze and design appropriate physical and visual structure across the school day using the foundation principles of structured teaching. Each team will create a planning binder and starter materials for their target student. Discussion will also include designing comprehensive programs, short- and long-range planning for individuals with ASD, relevance, and connection to the IEP, and instructional strategies.

Curriculum and Instruction for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This course will provide participants with an overview of assessment, curriculum and instructional strategies based on current research for children with autism spectrum disorder. Collaborative teaming and inclusion will also be discussed and practiced as an integral part of the course structure. The course will address students at all ability levels and focus on the development of academic skills, including reading (comprehension and production), writing (expression and mechanics) and math (operations and problem-solving). Students taking the course will be expected to conduct a comprehensive review of research for children with ASD and apply their knowledge through an individualized case study.

Behavior Planning for Students with ASD and Other Developmental Delays

This course will provide participants with an overview of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA), various types of data collection, behavior planning and progress monitoring for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Participants will practice identifying appropriate types of data to collect, collect data and use data to develop an FBA. Using evidence-based practices, participants will identify appropriate next-steps in programming to support students with ASD and write a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP).

Adaptive behavior, social behavior, and executive functioning skills will be examined across various scenarios. Participants will practice writing goals, implementing a system to support these goals and identify appropriate methods of progress monitoring.

*Autism Spectrum Disorders: Issues in Assessment & Intervention (Offered by UVM)

This course will highlight current research regarding neurodevelopmental issues in autism, the diagnostic criteria used to identify children with ASD, assessment and intervention considerations in communication, social interactions and play; the selection and use of appropriate evaluation tools. The course will also focus on developing an understanding of the role of families in the assessment and intervention of children and adolescents with ASD. Further, the course will create a framework for understanding and implementing effective interventions; profiling the strengths and challenges of each intervention including ways to match children’s strengths and needs and family capacity with the interventions selected. Students will be exposed to collaborative and interdisciplinary models of service delivery that ensure family-centered and culturally competent approaches to assessment and intervention.

**Applied Behavioral Analysis I: Introduction to Concepts and Principles

This course will provide the learner with an introduction to the principles and procedures of Applied Behavior Analysis. Upon completion of this course, the learner will understand the vocabulary of ABA and learn how environmental events influence human behavior. The student will also learn how to measure behavior in applied settings, learn how to structure the learning environment to increase pro-social behaviors and/or decrease maladaptive behaviors and perform functional behavioral assessments.

**Instructional Methods in Applied Behavioral Analysis

Researchers have consistently demonstrated the efficacy of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) methods to teach, improve, and sustain socially significant behaviors for children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities. This course will examine research-based instructional methods used to teach individuals with ASD and other developmental disabilities. Emphasis will be placed upon evidence-based decision making for skill acquisition of socially significant behaviors. Topics covered include language development, current empirically supported assessment methods (e.g., VBMAPP, PEAK, etc.), methods for teaching communication skills, and a variety of other techniques such as shaping, chaining, prompting, and discrete trial instruction. Students will gain knowledge and skills in understanding and applying a range of ABA methods to improve outcomes for the clients and students they serve.

* Students can take our Understanding ASD course or Autism Spectrum Disorders: Issues in Assessment & Intervention at UVM.
** Students can take Behavior Planning for Students with ASD and Other Developmental Delays or the Instructional Methods in ABA. We also offer ABA I every fall and that would count as the “behavior” requirement.