Strategies for teaching students with autism based on research

This 20-part professional development video series covers a wide array of topics related to teaching students with autism. These include the most relevant evidence-based practices along with immediately applicable information for: 

• Parents and Caregivers – Learn effective methods to assist individual with ASEM as they grow and thrive.
• Teachers – Integrate best practices into classrooms to ensure success for every student.
• School Staff – Expand your repertoire of strategies to further support neurodiversity in schools.
     

The guidebooks/transcripts for each video are available for sale ($6 each or $100 for the entire 20 video series) .

Guidebooks and Transcripts   

   This series is dedicated to Dr. Edward Ross Ritvo, with support of Dr. Ariella Riva Ritvo and the Alan B. Slifka Foundation

Dr. Fred R. Volkmar, M.D. presents an introduction to autism including a brief history.

The objectives of this introductory presentation are to familiarize audiences with autism, the understanding of the neurobiological basis of autism, and the implications of this for treatment. We will also discuss how treatment and its outcome have changed over time, and which treatments are known to be effective.
  

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Dr. Meghan Brahm, Ph.D., BCBA, LBA-CT

The objectives for this presentation are to gain a brief understanding of the process and principles of learning and of the factors which impact learning particular to an educational environment.
  

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Dr. Meghan Brahm, Ph.D., BCBA, LBA-CT

The objective of this presentation is to understand the process of reinforcement, differentiate between positive and negative reinforcement, and to discuss token economies as it relates to individuals with autism in school environments.
  

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Dr. Meghan Brahm, Ph.D., BCBA, LBA-CT

The objective for this presentation is to start to understand the importance of consistency and individualized support for people with autism in school settings. We are also going to start to understand threats to consistency and how we can increase consistency when decreasing those threats, particularly in school environments.
   

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Dr. Kari Sassu, Ph. D., and Dr. Kimberly Bean Ed.D.

Our main objectives in this presentation are to first identify team members' roles and responsibilities working with students with autism spectrum disorders in schools. Next, we are going to identify strategies for collaboration in schools. These strategies can be used at both primary and secondary levels.
   

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Dr. Barbara Cook, Ed.D, CCC-SL

Today's presentation will highlight the communication skills that we frequently see in children who are in preschool, school age, and adulthood. We will conclude with five strategies that you can use to support the language and communication development of any individual regardless of their age.
  

Dr. Barbara Cook, Ed.D, CCC-SLP and Dr. Kimberly Bean, Ed.D.

The objectives of this presentation are to describe the different types of transitions that we think about in education, provide information about laws and regulations that guide our work in this area of transition, and present information that will provide some strategies to help you to support students as they transition into different areas of life.
  

Dr. Karen Meers, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA-CT

The objectives for this presentation are to describe prompts and describe what they are used for. We will identify the prompting hierarchy and prompt procedures. Finally, we will explain how to develop an effective prompting implementation plan that you can use for your students with autism.
  

Dr. Barbara Cook, Ed.D, CCC-SL

I will provide you with a way to describe Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC), understand, learn about, and describe low-tech and high-tech systems to support communication, and how to then use these systems to lead to a speech-generating device if needed by the individual.  
   

Deborah Puglia, M.S.

Our objectives for this presentation will be to explain the importance of using visual supports with students on the autism spectrum. We will identify how to use visual supports for these students, and we will learn ways to demonstrate how to effectively design effective visual supports.
  

Dr. Meghan Brahm, Ph.D., BCBA, LBA-CT

The objectives for this presentation are to understand the definition of challenging behaviors, understand why challenging behavior occurs and continues to occur, and to start understanding the basic pieces or processes of a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA).
   

Dr. Barbara Cook, Ed.D, CCC-SL

Our objectives for this presentation will be to provide a definition of social interaction and core behaviors that an individual needs to engage in social interaction. We will think about some of the skills that are important early in an individual's development, and how they are still critical later in life.  I will describe how to do something called an ecological analysis or inventory as it is also known, to identify the expected social behaviors in a situation so that you can teach and facilitate the skills that would be expected for the student. Then I will provide some example strategies.
   

Dr. Bogdan Zamfir, Ed.D.

Our objectives of this presentation are to get an understanding of what assistive technology is and what the assistive technology continuum is. We will also talk about the SETT Framework (Student Environment Tasks and Tools). Then, we will look at assistive technology for communication, assistive technology for transitions, assistive technology for behavior, and assistive technology for executive functioning.
   

Dr. Kari Sassu, Ph.D., NCSP

The objectives for this presentation are to explain the underlying aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and executive function that may cause challenges within the classroom, to identify effective strategies for addressing these commonly encountered classroom challenges, as well as establish connections between those identified challenges and classroom strategies that are likely to relieve those challenges.
   

Dr. Lauren Tucker, Ed.D.

Our objectives for this presentation are to describe the relationship between inclusion and Universal Design for Learning (UDL), explain the three components of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), identify opportunities to incorporate UDL in an inclusive classroom, and describe implementation strategies to promote inclusion through UDL.  
   

Dr. Kristen Powers, Ph.D., OTD, OTR/L

The objectives for this presentation are that participants will be able to define sensory processing and discuss the impact of sensory processing challenges for a student with ASD. Participants will identify the differences between the high and low threshold of arousal and how this may be seen in the classroom. Finally, and most importantly, participants will be able to identify strategies that can be used with students to assist with regulation in the classroom and around the school.  
  

Dr. Kimberly Bean, Ed.D.

The main objectives of this presentation are to identify common challenges students with ASD exhibit in the areas of reading, writing, and math. Then to identify some evidence-based strategies to target those academic challenges.
  

Deborah Puglia, M.S.

Our objectives of this presentation are to explain the importance of data collection, identify the dimensions of behavior for data collection, and explain how to collect data for different dimensions of behavior.  
  

Dr. Kimberly Bean, Ed.D.

The objectives in this presentation are to first identify common best practices in writing measurable IEPs for students with ASD, then to identify how teachers and service providers can work collaboratively when implementing these IEPs.
   

Dr. Fred R. Volkmar, M.D.

This presentation will be an introduction to bullying in general as it exists in the US and around the world, but then also specifically about bullying and autism: What it is, what shape it takes, who is at risk, what happens, and how you can treat it.
   

The videos on this site and all work included in the videos are the copyright of the Southern Connecticut State University Center for Excellence on Autism Spectrum Disorders. All unauthorized sharing, publishing and copying is prohibited.