The Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (CSESA) is excited to announce the availability of its newest resource, the Understanding Autism Professional Development Curriculum. Created in collaboration with the Organization for Autism Research (OAR), this comprehensive tool provides middle and high school teachers with the foundational knowledge and evidence-based strategies they need to support students with autism in their classrooms.
While students with autism attend school alongside peers in general education classrooms more now than ever before, research indicates that many teachers feel unprepared to serve this population. In order to address this problem, districts need ready-made, flexible resources to better support professional development – large group (e.g. staff meetings or in-services), small teams (e.g. professional learning communities and department meetings), self-study, and/or one-on-one coaching. CSESA and OAR developed the new curriculum with this in mind and envision it will meet a very real and immediate need in schools.
The materials include two 75-minute training presentations, to be used together or separately, with video clips, participant handouts, activity worksheets, and facilitator notes.