The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

We have researched and developed a training manual to enable individual schools or districts to provide paraeducators with an introduction to : 1. Working for a school district 2. Being a Paraeducator 3. What Special Education is and how students are placed in special education 4. Autism, what is it, how might it present itself in a variety of students. 5. Suggestions and examples of “personalized” training/student notebooks for paraeducators. Participants will receive a CD with a complete editable manual. According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), paraprofessionals who are appropriately trained and supervised can assist in the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities, including those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). It is apparent that this mandate has facilitated paraprofessionals becoming an integral part of the educational system as is evidenced by the 48% increase in paraeducators from 1990 to 1998. Concomitantly, the number of children receiving special education increased by only 13% during the same time period (NCES, 2000). Paraeducators fill a multitude of roles (NCLB, 2001and Picket, Gerlach, Morgan, Likins and Wallace, 2007). For example, in many rural districts, paraeducators are the only “special education” personnel who provide service to the student with special needs on a daily basis. With the continuing teacher shortage, paraprofessionals have begun to assume the same role in metropolitan areas. This is particularly problematic when students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are served. These students, whose prevalence rate is now 1 in 150 (CDC, 2007) and who have extremely complex needs, are often served by primarily by paraprofessionals who have little understanding of the disorder. Clearly, the need to provide paraeducators information about ASD is greater now than ever before. Despite the IDEA mandate and burgeoning growth in number of paraprofessionals, only 13 states have some type of paraprofessional credentialing systems. In addition, only two states prepare special educators to supervise paraprofessionals as they support students with special needs (Pickett & Gerlach, 2003). Thus, it appears that no systematic method is in place to train paraeducators nor is a system available to ensure that they carry out their responsibilities effectively. Thus, a need exists to develop a methodical and efficient manner to deliver the information that paraeducators need to be effective in their roles. In response to this need, we have developed a Paraeducator Training Manual (ASD Version) and Daily Program Guide. The manual is designed to provide paraeducators with an overview of ASD, insight into the tasks that they may be asked to perform (i.e., data collection, modification of assignments, implementation of the behavior management program, interventions that are routinely used with students with ASD) as well as a template for schools/districts to follow regarding the district and student specific information that should be shared with paraeducators and a framework by which to share that information. This manual will be piloted in five rural districts and one metropolitan district in the state. Feedback will be solicited from paraeducators, special educators and administrators. The second component of the manual is the daily program guide. The Daily program Guide will provide the paraeducator with a completed Comprehensive Autism Program System (CAPS) matrix (Henry and Myles, 2007) as well as in depth information regarding interventions used with specific students. Participants will leave with a modifiable copy of that manual on a CD. In addition, they will be provided with an example of a completed Daily Program Guide

Learning Objectives: