PROJECT OVERVIEW Application PROJECT OVERVIEW "Improving The Preparation Of Related Services PersonnelTo Serve Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders"

Note:Trainees will participate in the project for a maximum of two years. Trainees may be in Year 1 in Speech-Language Pathology (i.e., with undergraduate degrees in communicative disorders) or in Years 1, 2, or 3 in School Psychology).

Rationale

During the last decade the country has experienced a tremendous growth in the number of children with autism from 22,664 children in 1994, to 141,022 children ages 6 to 21 in 2003, and up to 163, 773 children when children 3 to 5 years are included. In California, enrollment growth for autism increased almost 400% from 1994-2003, a significant change that could not be explained by changes in the criteria used to make a diagnosis or to greater in migration into California.

Differential assessment and programming is complicated by the fact that the majority of these children in California are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This presents unique challenges to teachers and related services personnel in California because of (1) critical shortages of speech-language pathologists and school psychologists in the state; (2) limited evidence-based knowledge and skills of practicing clinicians in the area of autism spectrum disorders (ASD); and (3) gaps in preparation to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse children with ASD.

The TASP was designed to offer a transdisciplinary preservice training program for speech-language pathologists and school psychologists with the following goals to: 1) increase the number of speech-language pathologists and school psychologists with shared evidence-based expertise in serving diverse children with ASD; 2) provide a model transdisciplinary and collaborative preservice training approach; 3) improve the quality of speech, language, and psychological services for diverse children with ASD; and 4) impact the SDSU programs beyond the project.

Design and Activities

SPED 530 Issues in Autism provides an overview of ASD, legislation, and practice issues. The course will be taken during the first semester of training on four Saturdays. The bi-weekly Autism Seminar (Friday afternoons) will target specific competencies in each of the 3 remaining semesters with a focus on transdisciplinary assessment/intervention for different types of ASD, including Asperger’s. The Seminar will be facilitated by researchers in the area of ASD. Parents will be invited to participate and to share their experiences in parent panel presentations. Trainees will collaborate with faculty to structure the seminar, and will be responsible for their own learning and for contributing to the learning of their cohort. The Seminar will incorporate models of collegial support, peer collaboration, and professional inquiry.

Autism Fieldwork (one morning a week):

Institutes

Institutes are offered at the beginning of each semesters of training to provide more intensive instruction & skill building. The four Institutes will be open to SDSU students and faculty. Invitations will be sent to all program stakeholders.

Conference Participation/Presentations

National Autism Association Conference) is required to develop a greater understanding of ASD and their professional roles in the specialty area. Participation in conferences further expands the trainees’ transdisciplinary experiences.

Project Evaluation

Participants will formally evaluate activities triennially (Dec., May, & Aug.) and will provide continuous feedback in trainee meetings and mentoring sessions. The TASP will prepare 24 future speech-language pathologists and school psychologists, thus directly addressing the shortage of SLPs and SPs in Southern California. Because of the competencies to be acquired by the TASP trainees, it is expected that they will influence the knowledge and skills of peers and faculty of the respective programs (SLP, SP) by bringing their knowledge to bear upon paper assignments, class presentations, and collaborative learning class activities.

TASP Traineeships Available: Apply Now

Speech-language pathology trainees must be students in good standing in SDSU’s Speech-Language Pathology Master’s Program and seeking California’s credential in clinical-rehabilitative services for practice in the public schools. This program is an intensive 2-year, year-round program of studies. Program application procedures and forms are posted at the Master of Arts page

School psychology trainees must be students in good standing in SDSU’s School Psychology Program, a 4-year full-time sequence of studies culminating in the Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree and California credential as a school psychologist. TASP traineeships are open to school psychology students in their first or second years of study (and, on special arrangement, open to third year students). Program application procedures and forms are posted at the School Psychologist page.

The Financial Support Package provides monthly stipends of $300 for year-round study plus reimbursement for registration fees (academic year and summer); only partial support is available to offset the cost of out-of-state tuition. The project purchases specialty books and materials for trainees, and covers the expense of conference travel. Potential trainees must be aware that this support is intended specifically for practitioners who will serve children with disabilities in the public schools following completion of their training programs. The U.S. Department of Education requires that two years of such service be given for each year of traineeship awarded.

The TASP Project is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, #H32K055203.

Application