Education and Training in Developmental Disabilities - Division on ...

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Addison, & Kuhn, 2004; Simpson, McKee, Teeter, & Bevtien, 2007; Snell, 2003; Stahmer, Coll<strong>in</strong>gs, & Pal<strong>in</strong>kas, 2005), bridg<strong>in</strong>g the research-practice gap <strong>in</strong> the field of special education is even more difficult due to a number of challenges present <strong>in</strong> the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of special education teachers. Problems with Special <strong>Education</strong> Certification One problem cited by the Study of Personnel Needs <strong>in</strong> Special <strong>Education</strong> [SPENSE] (2002) <strong>and</strong> others (Scheuermann, Webber, Boutot, & Goodw<strong>in</strong>, 2003; U.S. Department of <strong>Education</strong>, 2002) is the chronic shortage of special education teachers (Bergert & Burnett, 2001; Bill<strong>in</strong>gsley, 2004; Boyer & Gillespie, 2000; Gersten, Keat<strong>in</strong>g, Yovanoff, & Harniss, 2001; Sach, 1999). This shortage has prompted states to hire uncertified or partially certified teachers <strong>and</strong> has also prompted a movement to alternative certification programs. The goal of such alternative programs is to shorten the length of time required to earn a teach<strong>in</strong>g certificate. Although students <strong>in</strong> alternative programs perform adequately <strong>in</strong> terms of pass rates on certification exams (U. S. Department of <strong>Education</strong>, 2002), research conducted by Darl<strong>in</strong>g-Hammond (2002) suggests that these students are less able when evaluated on measures of student performance. A second problem stems from the nature of the teacher certification programs themselves. While certification requirements vary from state to state, the shortage of special education teachers nationwide has produced a trend favor<strong>in</strong>g noncategorical or multicategorical certification where disability-specific tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> licensure is not provided (Ma<strong>in</strong>zer & Horvath, 2001; National Information Center for Children <strong>and</strong> Youth With <strong>Disabilities</strong> [NICHY], 1997; Scheuermann et al., 2003). Those concerned with these traditional <strong>and</strong> alternative special education teacher preparation approaches question the ability of such programs to provide <strong>in</strong>struction <strong>in</strong> the range of specialized skills needed by special education teachers whose students enter classrooms with widely diverse backgrounds <strong>and</strong> with widely diverse needs (Kle<strong>in</strong>er, Porch, & Farris, 2004; McLeskey, Tyler, & Flipp<strong>in</strong>, 2004). In particular, traditional categorical <strong>and</strong> alternative “fast track” programs may be of limited usefulness for special educators who serve specific populations with significant need, such as students with autism <strong>and</strong>/or behavioral challenges (Henderson & Kle<strong>in</strong>, 2005) unless such programs <strong>in</strong>clude autism-specific tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g or tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> applied behavior analysis. Autism Specific <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong> 344 / <strong>Education</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Developmental</strong> <strong>Disabilities</strong>-September 2009 A major concern related to the tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g of special education teachers is the lack of tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g specific to the education of children with autism. Given the complexity, comprehensiveness, <strong>and</strong> spectrum of autism symptoms, coupled with the fact that only a small percentage of the vast array of <strong>in</strong>terventions for children with autism are supported by rigorous research (Simpson, 2005), there is also a need to ensure that teachers <strong>in</strong> tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g learn about those <strong>in</strong>terventions that are empirically validated (Lerman et al., 2004). In an effort to create a model that would attempt to address these concerns, two universities collaborated <strong>and</strong> adapted an exist<strong>in</strong>g non-categorical special education teacher tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g program <strong>in</strong> mild to moderate disabilities to <strong>in</strong>clude tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> an EST for children with autism. S<strong>in</strong>ce one of the universities was well-known for the development of the EST, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), this was the method chosen to <strong>in</strong>clude <strong>in</strong> the teacher tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. PRT is documented as one of only four of 33 <strong>in</strong>terventions/treatments to receive the highest rank<strong>in</strong>g, a “scientifically based practice,” <strong>in</strong> a study conducted by Simpson (2005). PRT is a comprehensive service delivery model that uses both a developmental approach <strong>and</strong> applied behavior analysis (ABA) procedures <strong>and</strong> aims to provide opportunities for learn<strong>in</strong>g with<strong>in</strong> the context of the child’s natural environment. Pivotal areas are those that, when targeted, lead to large collateral changes <strong>in</strong> other-often untargeted-areas of function<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> respond<strong>in</strong>g. Pivotal responses, once acquired, result <strong>in</strong> widespread <strong>and</strong> generalized improvement <strong>in</strong> children with autism (Koegel, Openden, Fredeen, & Koegel, 2006, p. 4). PRT is also characterized by the coord<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>in</strong>volvement of relevant stakeholders (e.g., parents, sibl<strong>in</strong>gs, teachers, consultants, peers) so that the <strong>in</strong>tervention
implemented is consistent across people <strong>and</strong> environments thus provid<strong>in</strong>g the child with the most comprehensive of treatments with the primary goal of movement toward a typical developmental trajectory (Koegel et al.). This article describes the collaborative effort to: 1) tra<strong>in</strong> teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students <strong>in</strong> EST’s for children with autism, <strong>and</strong> 2) provide empirically supported treatments to local families with children with autism. Also described are issues that arose dur<strong>in</strong>g program implementation, <strong>and</strong> the benefits the program yielded for teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students, children with autism <strong>and</strong> their families. The Collaborative Model The follow<strong>in</strong>g section will describe: a) the nature of the two universities participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the collaborative model, b) the three tiered service delivery system used by the “research university” to provide PRT to families, c) the Integrated M.A./Special <strong>Education</strong> Credential Program of the “teacher prep university” <strong>and</strong> d) the <strong>in</strong>clusion of teacher-c<strong>and</strong>idate graduate students <strong>in</strong> the three tiered service delivery model. Universities The program was delivered by two collaborat<strong>in</strong>g western <strong>in</strong>stitutions of higher education located 100 miles apart. One university is a master’s-grant<strong>in</strong>g university with a primary mission of tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g teachers. This university will be referred to hereafter as the “teacher prep university.” Although, cl<strong>in</strong>ical services are available to families <strong>in</strong> the “teacher prep university” county, this university had not been active <strong>in</strong> the provision of PRT or any other EST for families with children with autism prior to the start of the program. The second university is a research <strong>in</strong>stitution with an established autism research center, cl<strong>in</strong>ic, <strong>and</strong> a doctoral tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g program <strong>in</strong> special education with a specialization <strong>in</strong> autism <strong>in</strong>tervention. This research center <strong>and</strong> cl<strong>in</strong>ic is particularly well known for its work <strong>in</strong> PRT. Cl<strong>in</strong>ical services are provided by this research center both to local families as well as to families located <strong>in</strong> other states <strong>and</strong> coun- tries. This university will hereafter be referred to as the “research university.” Community-based Model <strong>and</strong> <strong>Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g</strong> of Teacher-C<strong>and</strong>idate Graduate Students The three tiered service delivery model used to deliver cl<strong>in</strong>ical <strong>in</strong>tervention for children with autism <strong>and</strong> tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g for their families by the “research university” was adapted to fit the collaborative, two university project. Tier One In Tier One, undergraduates or B.A. level persons receive cl<strong>in</strong>ical tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> PRT <strong>and</strong> provide direct support to children with autism. Tier One cl<strong>in</strong>icians receive <strong>in</strong>itial didactic tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> then videotape themselves as they work with children each week <strong>and</strong> br<strong>in</strong>g their tapes to supervision/tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g sessions held each week with their Tier Two supervisor (see description of Tier Two below). Tier One cl<strong>in</strong>icians are paid employees whose salaries are generated by State monies used to support services for children with disabilities <strong>and</strong> their families. Tier Two In Tier Two, M.A. level cl<strong>in</strong>icians with both tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> experience <strong>in</strong> PRT provide parent/family tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g as well as view <strong>and</strong> provide feedback on videotaped footage provided by Tier One cl<strong>in</strong>icians. Tier Two cl<strong>in</strong>icians also provide direct support to children with autism as needed. As they have more tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> are responsible for parent tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, Tier Two cl<strong>in</strong>icians are paid employees at a higher rate of pay than Tier One cl<strong>in</strong>icians. Tier Three In Tier Three, a Ph.D. Level or doctoral c<strong>and</strong>idate cl<strong>in</strong>ician views videotaped footage of all children on a weekly basis, provides feedback <strong>and</strong> supervision to Tier Two cl<strong>in</strong>icians, <strong>and</strong> visits families/children on an as-needed basis. As the Tier Three cl<strong>in</strong>ician is the person primarily responsible for the cl<strong>in</strong>ical program <strong>and</strong> has advanced tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g, s/he is a paid at a higher rate of pay than Tier Two cl<strong>in</strong>icians. Learn by Do<strong>in</strong>g / 345
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