Event Details
Day 1: Thursday, March 30, 2023 - 9:30am to 2:45pm Pacific Time
Autism can be diagnosed at 12 to 24 months of age, and yet the average age of diagnosis still hovers at 4-5 years in the US and higher in other countries, making the need to improve screening and early detection pressing. Day 1 of this two-day presentation will begin with video clips to illustrate early indicators in social communication and repetitive behaviors in young children using the DSM-5 framework. Research findings of the NIH-funded FIRST WORDS® Project on early detection of autism in infants and toddlers will be presented.
The morning session will describe how to build community capacity with Autism Navigator, a collection of web-based courses and tools, using extensive video footage to bridge the science-to-practice gap, and to engage families earlier with our companion website Baby Navigator. The need for community-viable evidence-based intervention models for toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a global priority as earlier diagnosis is possible.
The Early Social Interaction Project (ESI) teaches parents of toddlers with ASD how to embed evidence-based intervention strategies and supports in everyday activities in natural environments to promote their child's active engagement. The principles of ESI and research findings from our NIMH-funded randomized controlled trial will be presented and illustrated with video vignettes, showing how to achieve the intensity needed to improve outcomes of young children with ASD.
View Day 1 details
Session 1 - 9:30am to 10:30am Pacific Time
What does autism look like at 12-24 months or younger?
Session 2 - 10:45am to 11:45am Pacific Time
Using Autism Navigator and Baby Navigator to Improve Early Detection of Autism and Access to Evidence-based Early Intervention
Session 3 - 12:30pm to 1:30pm Pacific Time
Framework of the ESI Model to Improve Outcomes of Toddlers with ASD—the Lens of Active Engagement, Layer Cake of Supports, and Coaching Arrow
Session 4 - 1:45pm to 2:45pm Pacific Time
How to Achieve the Intensity Needed to Change Developmental Trajectories of Young Children with ASD
Learner Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- Describe early indicators of autism based on video observation of clinic and home observations.
- List the 16 early signs of autism in each of the two DSM-5 diagnostic domains that distinguish ASD in toddlers.
- Describe Autism Navigator and Baby Navigator tools to share information about the early signs of autism to build partnerships with primary care, early intervention, schools, and families to improve early detection and intervention outcomes.
- Describe strategies used in the ESI collaborative coaching model to build the capacity of families to improve outcomes of children with ASD.
Day 2: Friday, March 31, 2023 - 9:30am to 2:45pm Pacific Time
Building on the Day 1 presentation, Day 2 will offer more in-depth training on implementation of the ESI model. Video clips will be shown to illustrate how to promote active engagement and coach families of toddlers with ASD to implement the layer cake of supports. The Classroom SCERTS® Intervention (CSI) model builds upon ESI as a classroom-based, teacher-implemented intervention for PreK to 2nd grade students with ASD.
In the afternoon session, research findings from our IES-funded cluster randomized trial of CSI that show improvement in active engagement, adaptive communication, social skills, executive functioning, and problem behavior will be highlighted with video illustration. The 2nd day will end with a discussion of how to manage challenging behavior using positive behavior support within the ESI/CSI models with video clips of implementation strategies in action.
View Day 2 details
Session 1 - 9:30am to 10:30am Pacific Time
The 3 Layer Cake: Evidence-based Intervention Strategies and Supports for Parents to Promote Active Engagement in Toddlers with ASD
Session 2 - 10:45am to 11:45am Pacific Time
Achieving the Intensity Needed using ESI Coaching Families to Change Developmental Trajectories of Toddlers with ASD
Session 3 - 12:30pm to 1:30pm Pacific Time
Classroom Supports for Promote Active Engagement for PreK to 2nd Grade Students with ASD
Session 4 - 1:45pm to 2:45pm Pacific Time
Managing Challenging Behavior using Positive Behavior Support with the ESI/CSI Coaching Models
Learner Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- List evidence-based intervention strategies and supports for parents organized into three layers to promote active engagement in natural environments for toddlers with ASD.
- Identify the active ingredients of collaborative coaching used in the Early Social Interaction model to promote caregiver independence and shared decision making.
- Describe how the CSI model builds on ESI to support teacher-implemented intervention and promote active engagement in classroom settings for PreK to 2nd grade students with ASD.
- Describe how to incorporate positive behavior support to manage challenging behavior using the ESI and CSI coaching models.
About the Presenter
Amy M. Wetherby, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences and Director of the Autism Institute in the Florida State University College of Medicine and the Laurel Schendel Professor of Communication Disorders. She has over 40 years of clinical experience with Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Her research has focused on improving early detection of autism and communication disorders and providing community-viable evidence-based early intervention for toddlers with autism and their families.
More presenter details
She is the Executive Director of the Florida State University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. She served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee for Educational Interventions for Children with Autism and on the DSM-5 Neurodevelopmental Workgroup of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Wetherby is Director of the FIRST WORDS Project, a longitudinal research investigation on early detection of ASD and other communication disorders, funded by the US DOE/OSEP, NIDCD, CDC and NICHD. She has been Co-PI on several randomized clinical trials, including the Early Social Interaction Project, an early treatment study to teach parents of toddlers with ASD how to support social communication in everyday activities funded by Autism Speaks and NIMH. She was Co-PI on a multisite health services grant funded by NIMH using Autism Navigator® for Primary Care with an automated screening tool, the “Smart” Early Screening for Autism and Communication Disorder (ESAC), developed by the FSU Autism Institute, which will have important implications for mobilizing communities to improve family action, participation, and engagement in early screening and diagnosis of ASD and entry into early intervention. She is PI on an Autism Center of Excellence Network—the ACE ACTION Network, that has blended clinical effectiveness and implementation research designs to study individual and combined effects of 2 evidence-based interventions in real world settings. She is also PI on a new collaborative research project to implement an effectiveness randomized clinical trial of Mobile Coaching with the ESI model for parents of toddlers with ASD identified at 18 months. The overarching goal of the collective efforts of her research is to build the capacity of healthcare systems to improve early detection and provide access to cost-efficient early intervention that is feasible for far-reaching community implementation.
Cost
| Date | Professionals | Family Members, Autistic Adults, Para-Professionals & Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird Rate | March 27, 2023 | $250 | $200 |
*Last day to register is Monday, March 27, 2023
Group Discounts
Receive a 10% discount when registering 3 or more attendees at the same time.
Bursaries
TTHE BURSARY APPLICATION HAS NOW CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT.
ACT provides bursary funds from our own resources and through support from private donors. Anyone wishing to attend an ACT event is eligible to apply if the cost is a barrier to attending the event. Bursaries are provided as reduced event registration fees. You are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as bursary funds are limited. Visit ACT's Event Bursary page for more information on our bursary programs. Donate to our bursary fund.
Complete ACT's Bursary Form to apply before March 23, 2023. If you identify as Indigenous, or work for an Indigenous organization, complete our Bursary Form for Indigenous Community.
Autism Funding
If you wish to use your child’s Autism Funding to pay for your registration, ACT can invoice the Autism Funding Branch directly. If you are paying in advance to be reimbursed, you must contact the Autism Funding Branch for approval first.
For information on how to register with your Autism Funding, visit Workshop Registration Using Autism Funding.
Level Introductory
Focus Early years
For Community professionals, Educators, and Caregivers
Approach Early Social Interaction (ESI)
Autism-Specific? No
