Autism Training Workshops

Autism Family Centered Training & Technical Assistance – This paper provides a quick look at how OTAC specialists approach working with families to help increase their understanding of autism and how it relates to their child. Through our technical assistance and training, families can learn positive, proactive strategies to help them succeed and even to live happier, more ordinary lives with their child.

Aware­ness Train­ing (3-hour work­shop) This is an intro­duc­tory train­ing intended to give par­tic­i­pants an aware­ness or gen­eral under­stand­ing of autism. This work­shop focuses on the char­ac­ter­is­tics of autism and the visual sys­tems that help peo­ple with autism to under­stand their envi­ron­ment. It is an ideal begin­ning for direct care staff, fam­ily mem­bers, respite sup­port staff and in-home care work­ers as well as pro­gram managers.

Knowl­edge Level Train­ing (6-8 hour work­shop) This train­ing focuses on autism facts, char­ac­ter­is­tics and strate­gies that help peo­ple with autism to have more inde­pen­dence in their daily activ­i­ties. Par­tic­i­pants will gain a bet­ter under­stand­ing of:

• How the char­ac­ter­is­tics of autism affect the indi­vid­ual;
• Orga­niz­ing the envi­ron­ment to max­i­mize under­stand­ing, inde­pen­dence and suc­cess;
• Devel­op­ing visual sup­ports to accom­mo­date the individual’s learn­ing style;
• Begin­ning expres­sive and recep­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion sys­tems;
• Design­ing and adapt­ing mate­ri­als that will pro­vide clear instructions.

Work­shop par­tic­i­pants will focus on an indi­vid­ual they know. This work­shop is espe­cially designed for peo­ple imple­ment­ing visual strate­gies such as direct care staff, fam­i­lies, edu­ca­tors and agency administrators.

Hands-On Train­ing (4 day Work­shop) In this work­shop, par­tic­i­pants will prac­tice apply­ing the prin­ci­ples of visual struc­ture under the guid­ance of OTAC train­ers. Three indi­vid­u­als with autism will be present for the work­shop as co-trainers. Work­ing in teams led by OTAC train­ers, par­tic­i­pants will con­duct assess­ments, develop mate­ri­als and teach indi­vid­u­als with autism. This practicum is designed for peo­ple using visual struc­ture on a reg­u­lar basis, such as pro­gram man­agers, care staff, edu­ca­tors and others.

Fam­ily Train­ing (1 or 2 day work­shop) This train­ing will focuses on how envi­ron­men­tal struc­ture, visual sys­tems and rou­tine ways of pre­sent­ing infor­ma­tion can help a child under­stand more. Par­ents will learn how to look at their child’s behav­ior through the cul­ture of autism. They will be pro­vided with a process that will help cre­ate a pos­i­tive sup­port plan for their son or daugh­ter.

Key top­ics cov­ered include:

• The char­ac­ter­is­tics of autism and what they look like in a child
• The impor­tance of envi­ron­men­tal struc­ture for a child with autism
• How visual sys­tems and rou­tine ways of pre­sent­ing infor­ma­tion can help a child with autism under­stand more
• Expres­sive and recep­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tion
• Pos­i­tive behav­ioral sup­port strategies

Model Sites
OTAC’s Autism Sup­ports pro­gram has avail­able fam­ily model sites that show how visual strate­gies can be used in a fam­ily home and for excur­sions in the com­mu­nity. Vis­its sched­uled by appointment.

For more infor­ma­tion about any of our Autism Spectrum Disorder resources, please con­tact us.