MN Statewide ASD Newsletter

This newsletter is designed to provide all MN educators the necessary resources to increase their skills in teaching students with ASD. Special education teachers, related service providers, administrators, and paraprofessionals alike are encouraged to subscribe to this monthly newsletter.
The MN Low Incidence Project is here to support you!

Greater MN only!! Scholarships available for AuSM Conference Registration!!

Learn about Identifying Girls with Autism

Check out Minnesota's Autism Resource Portal

Share registration for Winning Strategies Para conference in March

Register for April's State AuSM Conference

...and more!

Kari Dunn Buron, native Minnesotan and Author of The Incredible 5-point Scale, has revamped her materials and books! Not only will we be taking a sneak peak at her work but we will also be offering you FREE materials including the first 4 issues of The Social Times and bonus accompanying teacher tips! We can't wait to bring you all this and more next month!!

Welcome to the February MN ASD Newsletter!

This month's newsletter includes information and resources to help us better identify girls on the autism spectrum. Recent research shows that girls are significantly under-identified with ASD compared to boys. The resources included here will help us better serve girls on the spectrum here in Minnesota.

We continue to have almost 1,200 viewers of this monthly newsletter and would love to expand so that all ASD educators can benefit from the resources provided here. So PLEASE SHARE with your colleagues and friends far and wide across MN!

Please reach out to me if you have ideas on how to make this newsletter even better and most useful for YOU!

Stay Healthy & Warm,

Tami Childs, Statewide ASD Specialist

Metro ECSU

tami.childs@metroecsu.org

• Monthly Featured Highlight!
• MN ASD Upcoming Events and Opportunities
• MN ASD Updates
• ASD Teacher and Related Service Provider Resources
  
• New Teacher/Educator Support & Training (NEST)
  
• STAR/LINKS
• MDE News and Resources
• Assistive Technology Tip of the Month
• ASD RESOURCE REPOSITORY

Meet Christy Zubke and Jill Yost from Greater Minnesota - way up north in Regions 1 & 2!! Christy and Jill have been supporting Regions 1 & 2 as well as longstanding members of the Statewide ASD Community of Practice!

Christy and Jill are very passionate about educating students with ASD. For the past year, I have been working with them to update the ASD Assessment Manual. Really, THEY did all the work! We are so proud to have educators like Christy and Jill here in MN to help forward the field of teaching students with ASD! Thank you, Christy & Jill!!

Click here for a link to the NEW ASD Assessment Guide

Flyer with more details: Winning Strategies Conference Flyer

Conference Goal: Due to the continued need for virtual opportunities, we will provide registrants a link to a web page filled with pre-recording presentations, replacing the in-person conference of the past. This link will include eight different one-hour professional development segments to provide practical strategies to develop potential, eliminate negativity, address challenges, and enhance school culture.

Four lucky registrants will win door prizes which will be mailed to your location of choice! Please share with colleagues, send to paraprofessionals, and post at your schools!

Introductory ADOS-2 Trainings are being offered by the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. These trainings are scheduled for February 28-March 1, 2022 and April 25-26, 2002. For more information on all ADOS-2 and ADI-R trainings: https://med.umn.edu/pediatrics/divisions/clinical-behavioral-neuroscience/education/autism-training

These FREE webinars are open to all MN educators who are using or planning to use the STAR curriculum. In these quarterly webinars, we will provide guidance on the steps of implementing STAR as well as share resources and answer individual questions.

The 2022 Minnesota Autism Conference will be held IN PERSON on April 27-29, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Bloomington, MN. Registration is now open! For more information: https://ausm.org/events/state-autism-conference/

To apply for a scholarship that covers the registration cost of the conference you will need to complete the registration form. The application for scholarships is included in the registration form. Just click "yes" to the statement at the bottom of the registration form "I would like to apply for a scholarship to cover the cost of the conference". Scholarship applications must be completed by April 1 to be considered.

The STAR Online Learning System (including the STAR Media Center) is FREE To anyone in MN for the 2021-2022 School year!

Click here for more information about these tools

The Statewide ASD Updates presentation is updated two times per year and available to all MN educators. This is the current state updates presentation from November 2021. Please feel free to share this presentation with your staff.

New statewide update and current ASD Child Count Numbers coming April 2021!

https://www.mnlowincidenceprojects.org/documents/asd/Fall_2021_ASD_State_Updates.pdf

Linked here are four resources that provide more information to help us adequately identify girls with autism. The first resource is an actual checklist, the second and third include “lists” of symptoms, and the fourth is a research article on the under-identification of girls using the ADOS.

1. Autism In Girls Checklist https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Education/Access-to-learning/Graduated-response-toolkit/School-toolkit/Communication-and-interaction/Social-communication-autism/SEN-support-in-school/Autism-in-Girls-checklist.pdf

2. Signs of Autism In Girls https://www.verywellhealth.com/signs-of-autism-in-girls-260304

3. Pay attention to these hints that ASD may be the correct diagnosis:

• A girl who never fits in socially, or has only had a few friends ever, or whose friendships, on detailed review, are not truly reciprocal and spontaneous.
• A girl who has acquired many diagnoses but there still seems to be unexplained features.
• A girl whose parents describe very unreasonable behavior— but who do not recognize it as abnormal anymore after many years.
• A girl who takes it upon herself to study the behavior of others so that she can learn how to behave socially and not be noticed.
• A girl who has other atypical features which may have gone unnoticed: fixated on routines, delayed echolalia, some motor and sensory habits, intense, though ordinary girl interests. Atypical behaviors and interests must also be present in addition to social impairment to make an autism diagnosis.
• Girls, however, socially incompetent, may still be interested in ‘people’. A social interest does not rule out autism.
• Even a previous negative autism assessment done when the girl was younger, though apparently ruling it out, attests to early suspicion.

Source: https://thischangedmypractice.com/autistic-spectrum-disorder-in-girls/

4. The ADOS misses identification of Girls more than Boys https://www.spectrumnews.org/news/diagnostic-tests-miss-autism-features-girls/

This repository will include all evidence based practice resources that have been shared in the newsletter. This is your go-to place to access the tools that ASD educators need! We will add to this as we continue to roll out excellent resources!

Don't forget about the other FREE resources Autism Internet Modules and AFIRM Modules. Information on these resources is available in the ASD RESOURCES REPOSITORY at the end of this newsletter.

The NEST is designed specifically for all of you teachers out there who are new to working with students with ASD. Feeling overwhelmed? We get it and want to help!

Special educators are often called upon to help families be aware of and navigate services and supports for their child across environments. If you are new to working with students with ASD, you likely need to learn this information yourself.

Here in MN, we have a Minnesota Autism Resource Portal that provides guidance to families and service providers. In the portal, the Pathway to Services and Support for ASD document is a great place to start understanding the services available as well as differences in educational eligibility versus medical diagnosis. Take a look!

MN has a STAR/LINKS Resource webpage available to assist educators in implementing these programs. Check it out at https://www.mnlowincidenceprojects.org/Projects/star/index.html

Additionally, there are opportunities for educators to receive training, coaching, and free resources for STAR/LINKS implementation. For more information, contact Tami Childs at tami.childs@metroecsu.org

Minnesota Access Center Open Office Hours coming up: March 1, 2022

Purpose of MAC Open Office Hours:

The purpose of MAC Open Office Hours is to provide an opportunity for individuals to ask questions, discuss issues, and connect with specialists, colleagues, and vendors.

Click here for more information for each date.

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

Tami Childs, MN ASD Statewide Specialist

Gail Jankowski, MN Low Incidence Project Support

Email: tami.childs@metroecsu.org
Website: https://www.mnlowincidenceprojects.org/Projects/asd/index.html
Location: 2 Pine Tree Drive, Arden Hills, MN, USA
Phone: 612-638-1527
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/525786611465791

This repository will include all evidence based practice resources that are shared in the newsletter on a given month. This is your go-to place to access the tools that ASD educators need! We will add to this as we continue to roll out excellent resources!

The Autism Focused Intervention Resources & Modules (AFIRM) are free, self paced modules on evidence based practice strategies for individuals with ASD. These modules include step-by-step guidance on each of the EBPs from the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence & Practice (formerly NPDC-ASD). These modules include activities, case examples, and videos as well as resources such as an implementation checklist and data collection sheets.

Click here to view

The Autism Internet Modules (AIM) include 50 free, self paced modules on evidence based practice strategies for individuals with ASD. They include case studies, instructional videos, discussion questions, activities and more.

Check out the modules that are labeled “Autism in the Classroom”!

Click here to view

This 1.5 hour training video is an essential training for ALL educators working with students with ASD. Consider having your paraprofessionals or others who are new to working with students with ASD watch this video for professional development. This training includes insight and information directly from individuals with ASD.

Click here to view

These interventions support all learners, including those with ASD. Completed and blank templates are free and available to download. Each intervention has a how-to explanation so it can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each individual you support.

Click here to view