Autism Needs Assessment Survey Results for Region 18

Autism Needs Assessment Survey Results for Region 18

Total Number of Responses from Region 18 = 110

Please select your role

Other / 2 / 1.82%
Special Education Director / 6 / 5.45%
Special Education Teacher / 44 / 40.00%
General Education Teacher / 11 / 10.00%
SLP / 12 / 10.91%
PT/OT/AT / 3 / 2.73%
Parent / 8 / 7.27%
Behavior/Autism Specialist / 2 / 1.82%
Assessment Professional / 16 / 14.55%
Paraprofessional / 6 / 5.45%

Other: Principal

Where have you received your training related to autism spectrum disorders in the last 12 months? (select all that apply)

Mentoring/Coaching / 16 / 11.76%
In-District Workshops / 33 / 24.26%
Statewide Conferences / 12 / 8.82%
National Conferences / 3 / 2.21%
College/University Courses / 2 / 1.47%
ESC Workshops / 47 / 34.56%
Advocacy Organizations / 4 / 2.94%
Online (please specify where in "Other" field) / 19 / 13.97%
Online includes: Region 18, Autism Collaborative Speech Pathology.com

Over the past 12 months what topics, related to autism spectrum disorder, were covered in your professional development. (select all that apply)

Academic Instruction / 38 / 10.98%
Social Skills / 56 / 16.18%
Assessment/Evaluation / 25 / 7.23%
Communication / 41 / 11.85%
Assistive Technology / 17 / 4.91%
Behavioral Strategies / 55 / 15.90%
Inclusion Strategies / 23 / 6.65%
Differentiated Instruction / 21 / 6.07%
Transition / 15 / 4.34%
Independent Living (functional skills) / 4 / 1.16%
Evidence-Based Practices / 26 / 7.51%
Executive Functions / 15 / 4.34%
Other: IEP ProloQuo 10 2.89%

Are there topics you are interested in, but find it difficult to attend professional development because it is not offered?

Physical education classes
SEVERE behavior issues with individuals who have Autism
(violence prone individuals and helping school staff deal with
verbal and physical abuse from students)
Social skills
Strategies for SLP's to use with adolescents with autism.
Support identification strategies
time and travel
Toilet Training and home training for parents
Using iPad for assistive device for speech
Using tablet to the maximum with Autistic Children
YES AVOCACY
Yes, but it is difficult to attend because of logistics or time constraints.
Online courses work best.
yes. and I just don't have the money or time to take oof to attend those in other cities.

Please select any barriers to your attendance in professional development opportunities.

Time / 53 / 23.87%
Travel / 42 / 18.92%
Cost / 44 / 19.82%
Scheduling / 40 / 18.02%
Staff or Class Coverage / 29 / 13.06%
Technology / 2 / .90%
Expertise (unavailable in your area) / 12 / 5.41%
Other:

What do you feel is the number one barrier in your ability to obtain professional development related to autism spectrum disorder?

Time / 15 / 17.24%
Travel / 11 / 12.64%
Cost / 28 / 32.18%
Scheduling / 16 / 18.39%
Staff or Class Coverage / 13 / 14.94%
Technology / 0 / 0%
Expertise (unavailable in your area) / 4 / 4.60%
Other:

As a teacher, have you received training on how to manage other adults in a classroom environment?

Yes / 9 / 12.16%
No / 42 / 56.76%
N/A / 23 / 31.08%

As a paraprofessional, I feel prepared to implement evidence-based practices for students with autism spectrum disorder.

Yes / 8 / 12.70%
No / 9 / 14.29%
N/A / 46 / 73.02%

As a paraprofessional, I understand the characteristics of autism and can effectively work with my students.

Yes / 10 / 16.13%
No / 7 / 11.29%
N/A / 45 / 72.58%

Please identify areas of need in professional development regarding ASSESSMENT. (please select at least three choices)

Classroom assessment tools / 61 / 20.68%
Instructional strategies to prepare students for the STAAR, STAAR-Modified, STAAR-Alternate. / 54 / 18.31%
Understand current assessment practices (student progress) / 54 / 18.31%
Assistive Technology Assessment / 15 / 5.08%
Speech/Language Assessment for students who are higher functioning / 18 / 6.10%
Behavior Intervention Plan / 49 / 16.61%
Toddler Evaluations (3-5) / 20 / 6.78%
5-10 year evaluations / 10 / 3.39%
10-15 year evaluations / 9 / 3.05%
15-20 year evaluations / 5 / 1.69%

Please identify your highest area of need in professional development regarding ASSESSMENT. (choose one)

Classroom assessment tools / 15 / 17.05%
Instructional strategies to prepare students for the STAAR, STAAR-Modified, STAAR-Alternate. / 27 / 30.68%
Understand current assessment practices (student progress) / 11 / 12.50%
Assistive Technology Assessment / 2 / 2.27%
Speech/Language Assessment for students who are higher functioning / 3 / 3.41%
Behavior Intervention Plan / 21 / 23.86%
Toddler Evaluations (3-5) / 7 / 7.95%
5-10 year evaluations / 0 / 0%
10-15 year evaluations / 1 / 1.14%
15-20 year evaluations / 1 / 1.14%

If you have additional needs in the area of ASSESSMENT, please specify those needs below.

A distributor show and tell of current evaluation instruments would be awesome
Also I would like to be able to understand current assessment practices (student progress).
Assessment Tools created at the rigor of State Test
Classroom management assessment
communication matrix for autistic students
How the DSM - V labeling of AU has changed On question 11, I clicked toddlers 3 - 5
as my response and I could not proceed until I clicked other responses.
How to document progress and how often?

Please identify your areas of need in the area of professional development in INSTRUCTION. (please choose at least three)

Understand issues related to autism / 35 / 9.72%
Provide support to students along the continuum / 45 / 12.50%
Early child development / 21 / 5.83%
Social/pragmatic needs / 46 / 12.78%
Cognitive and communication development / 41 / 11.39%
Language needs (syntax and vocabulary) / 36 / 10.00%
Math instruction / 17 / 4.72%
Science Instruction / 11 / 3.06%
Social Studies Instruction / 11 / 3.06%
Reading Instruction / 19 / 5.28%
Writing Instruction / 23 / 6.39%
Behavioral Interventions / 55 / 15.28%

Please identify your highest area of need in the area of professional development in INSTRUCTION. (choose one)

Understand issues related to autism / 13 / 14.61%
Provide support to students along the continuum / 14 / 15.73%
Early child development / 5 / 5.62%
Social/pragmatic needs / 12 / 13.48%
Cognitive and communication development / 8 / 8.99%
Language needs (syntax and vocabulary) / 3 / 3.37%
Math instruction / 1 / 1.12%
Science Instruction / 1 / 1.12%
Social Studies Instruction / 2 / 2.25%
Reading Instruction / 2 / 2.25%
Writing Instruction / 3 / 3.37%
Behavioral Interventions / 25 / 28.09%

If you have additional needs in the area of INSTRUCTION, please specify those needs below.

getting our student to communicate want and eeds
How to bridge the gap between home and school as far as instruction of schedules and routines.
i have no need
math instruction
provide support to students along the continuum and issues related to autism
Technology usage to support the child in learning.
These areas are more than adequate, if we could just attend.

Please identify your areas of need related to TRANSITION. (please choose at least three)

Access to resources, transition information, and independent living curricula for teachers serving students with autism. / 55 / 25.11%
Document transition services in the IEP to ensure alignment with State Performance Indicator 13. / 34 / 15.53%
Collaborate with DARS, post-secondary education, and other community agencies in the transition process. / 28 / 12.79%
Use informational materials to education parents and families about the transition process. / 53 / 24.20%
How to speak with parents, educators, and community about beginning the transition discussion at an early age. / 49 / 22.37%

Please identify your highest area of need related to TRANSITION. (please choose at least three)

Access to resources, transition information, and independent living curricula for teachers serving students with autism. / 43 / 27.39%
Document transition services in the IEP to ensure alignment with State Performance Indicator 13. / 24 / 15.29%
Collaborate with DARS, post-secondary education, and other community agencies in the transition process. / 22 / 14.01%
Use informational materials to education parents and families about the transition process. / 33 / 21.02%
How to speak with parents, educators, and community about beginning the transition discussion at an early age. / 35 / 22.29%

If you have additional needs in the area of TRANSITION, please specify those needs below.

Discussion, ideas, and opportunities for kids graduating from high school that are not high functioning enough to enter college but not low enough for a group home.
Having more communication between ECI and school. I am unaware until right before the ARD process begins. ECI needs to build a better relationship with the school teacher and campus staff as well as the sp ed office and administration.
We live in a remote region and do not have any resources...DARS is UNRESPONSIVE!

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT For individuals who have campus or district support responsibilities (behavior or autism specialists, principals, directors, assessment professionals, etc.) Please rank the following as they apply to your area(s) of need when working with students with autism needs If you do not have campus or district support responsibilities, please select N/A.

Great Need / Some Need / Little Need / NA
Provide training for support staff who work with students with autism. / 15 / 15 / 1 / 26
Provide training for general education teachers who work with students with autism. / 22 / 17 / 4 / 0
Provide training for special education teachers who work with students with autism. / 7 / 7 / 16 / 4
Provide training for related service providers who work with students with autism. / 5 / 5 / 11 / 10

If you have additional needs in the area of PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, please specify those needs below.

General education staff often lack training in dealing with students with special needs.
I would like to see more training for paraprofessionals.
It didn't let us note that all those areas are a huge need. However, Sped teachers are a
priority as we are seeing huge turnovers in staff due to not feeling supported.
It should be possible for teachers and paraprofessionals to attend trainings together;
it would build a greater team dynamic and all would receive training at the same time.

For Direct Service providers (teacher, SLP, paraprofessional, OT, etc.) I would like more PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT in.... (select your top 3 areas of need) If you are not a direct service provider, please select N/A.

/ 1 / 2 / 3 / Total /
N/A, I am not a Direct Service Provider / 21 / 0 / 4 / 25
Autism 101 / 3 / 2 / 4 / 9
Executive Functioning Skills / 3 / 4 / 8 / 15
Communication and Autism / 7 / 5 / 4 / 16
Behavior and Autism / 19 / 12 / 4 / 35
Social Skills / 2 / 9 / 9 / 20
Functional Behavior Assessment / 5 / 8 / 7 / 20
Data Collection / 5 / 0 / 3 / 8
Classroom organization / 4 / 4 / 3 / 11
Understanding the concept of Evidence-Based Practice / 2 / 4 / 0 / 6
Implementation of Specific Evidence-Based Practices (for a list provided by the National Professional Development Center, please go to http://autismpdc.fpg.unc.edu/content/briefs) - Indicate the specific Evidence-Based Practice(s) below where Specific Topics are identified. / 5 / 3 / 6 / 14

Please tell us how you prefer to receive your professional development (select your top two preferred methods, 1 being your most preferred)

/ 1 / 2 / Total /
Face-to-face workshops / 52 / 6 / 58
Webinars (Live) / 10 / 18 / 28
Online Courses / 8 / 20 / 28
Webinars (Recorded) / 10 / 15 / 25

Please indicate the amount of time you prefer when taking an online course

6 hours / 9 / 11.11%
1 hour / 59 / 72.84%
30 minutes / 8 / 9.88%
10-20 minutes / 3 / 3.70%
Less than 10 minutes / 2 / 2.47%

I am interested in professional development that...

– /
Provides me with philosophical and background information as well as strategies / 20 / 24.69%
Provides me with multiple strategies / 53 / 65.43%
Provides me with a single strategy that I can implement the following day / 8 / 9.88%

The ideal professional development for me is....

As an OT, how can I know how to help teachers with their students with autism
without asking too much of the teacher.
builds on things my students need to know, curriculum!
customized for my particular students
data collecting and video examples
development based upon multiple strategies
during work hours and to the point
face to face
face to face and hands on
Face to face training a
Face to face where I have notes as well to go by so I can make notes of my
own to the side.
hands on practical things I can use
how to manage all my strategies so they are more immediately accessible.
(No Digging Required)
I don't know
In person w/ someone who has been there in the 5 years
Is targeted of my area of interest (earlychildhood) and uses time efficiently!
Don't spend 6 hours telling me what can be said in 2.
on line
one that includes strategies and ideas to build from.
one that is practical and engaging.
online
online and can be accessed anytime
online, so I can do it at home
practical & effective
Practical and full of examples
practical and may be implemented immediately
real examples of strategies used in classrooms
real world strategies
simply, easy to understand, and it makes sense
someone who can go into classroom and model
something I can use when I get back to class.
Something that can be used in the classroom with behavioral strategies.
That is hands on
to be able to take my paraprofessional and parents and we can implement a
plan together.
To have more background knowledge and strategies and information that I
can take back and share
Total immersion in a 2-3 day event that covers how my students learn best
Webinars (Live) or short Online Courses
Webinars focusing on useful strategies!
workshop inservice
XIII

If you have additional needs in the area of PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, please specify those needs below.