The Autism Task Force

GRAYS HARBOR & NEIGHBORING COUNTIES

January 2017 Review

Hello Team,
14 of us gathered at The Arc for our January meeting. 2 joined us
virtually and there were new faces around the table, from North Beach
to South Bend! Thank you to Matt Woodard, M.Ed., BCBA for presenting
the Q & A in ABA meeting! The following are the main questions asked:

What is ABA?
How do you get ABA?
Can ABA be done in schools as well? How?
Can parents learn ABA independently?
What are some quality resources for learning about ABA?
How do you decrease problem behaviors?

Our time was used up quickly and there were many other questions
remaining. Matt is willing to return in the future and bring specific
instruction in areas such as ABA in the classroom and increasing desired
behaviors. The basic answers to these questions are detailed in this
newsletter. There is also a list of requested resources.

Upcoming Events
February 8, 2017
February is Exploring
Community Resources
month!

A film:
Understanding Autism: Reflections
and Insights from Parents and
Professionals
Presented by theREADi Lab at
University of Washington

Invite & Share Night!

Meeting Location: The Arc of Grays
Harbor, from 6-7 PM
523 W First in Aberdeen, WA

PLEASE RSVP on our site

for dinner & seating

www.autismtaskforce.weebly.com

Februarys meeting will be hosted by Claude Ouellette, as Tess will be February 9-10, 2017
gone at ADOS-2 training in Nashville. Thank you for taking the lead this
month, Claude! And thank you, Jeff Meeks, for the dinner you are
providing- I am sure it will be wonderful!

The emphasis of Februarys meeting is Exploring Community Resources

and we will be viewing Understanding Autism. See description
under Upcoming Events.

Invite others who may benefit!

View a resource available for local caregivers. Fill in any
knowledge gaps about ASD and intervention.
This film can be viewed for parents by appointment at The Arc
of Grays Harbor. Contact: 360-537-7000
Free copies of this quality resource is available through the UW
READi Lab. You can order your own copy here
Bring & Share! Bring other community available resource
options for autism (autism-friendly groups, events, programs).

ADOS-2 training with Vanderbilt

University, Nashville, TN.
This month, we are taking big steps
toward gaining assessment tools
for ASD diagnosis! The following
Task Force members are getting
ADOS-2 certified and will bring it
back to the Harbor: Lea Green,
Lena Stoddard, and Tess Lawson.

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford

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Upcoming
Presenters

Unpacking the ABA Q&A

Here are answers to the main questions asked at Januarys
meeting with ABA Q&A.

From the UW
March 8th, 6-7:30 PM

Is there ABA in our area? How do you get ABA?

These questions are very common and a bit tricky to answer. I (Tess)
made an animated clip to help inform [further editing on the way].
Click for Get ABA tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvHwxLEWavI&t=612s

Can ABA be done in schools as well? How?

Yes, if it is deemed medically necessary, ABA can be implemented
within school settings. In fact, ABA interventions are most effective if
used in the home, community, and school. Creating and
implementing ABA treatment plans require professional
consideration and full examination of teacher, OT, PT, and SLPs
particular interactions with the child. It is common a Registered
Behavior Technician works directly (1:1) with the child, under the
supervision of a BCBA; eventually ABA service are faded out as the
problematic behavior is decreased, and school personnel
understand the ABA program applications.
How long is ABA done? [Duration of services]
There is not a simple answer to this. It depends on the intensity of
services required. An intensive program requires 15-20 hours a week
for about a year, then a re-evaluation is done. At the 2 year mark
there is an evaluation to determine discharge. This an example.
Every case is different. In general, programs are a minimum of 10 and
up to about 20 hours a week for approximately 2 years.
Can parents learn ABA independently/How do you
decrease problem behaviors? What are some quality
resources for learning about ABA?
There are many resources out there to learn ABA principles. It is
important to use safety and seek intervention from a BCBA, as harm
can be unintentionally done. Behaviors that cause physical harm
can be increased if a procedure is done wrong. There are specific
type of ABA principles that are helpful to learn, such a prompt
hierarchies, prompt fading, and principles of differential
reinforcement. Here are some ABA resources parents may benefit
from-- suggested by those in our group:

Kate Orville, MPH

Co-Director MHPP
&
Amy Carlsen, RN,
Family-Professional
Partnerships
CHDD
Dont miss March!
This is a dynamic duo
coming to teach us about
establishing community
autism services via
Community Asset Mapping
[CAM] with the Washington
State Medical Home
Partnerships Project for
Children and Youth with
Special Health Care Needs
(MHPP)!
Thank you, Julie Zambas
for this amazing
connection!
Click here:
http://medicalhome.org/st
ateinitiatives/communityasset-mapping/

Dr. Steven Altabet

(April 2017)
Dr. Altabet is the former
Clinical Director of UW
Tacoma Autism Center. He
is tuning in from North
Carolina, to bring us a
presentation on increasing
independent thought and
behavior in ASD.

http://www.lebauer.com/lebaue
r-healthcare-provider/stevenaltabet-ph-d/

Click for ADEPT modules UC Davis (in Spanish too!):

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute /centers/cedd/cedd_adept.html

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford

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Upcoming
Presenters

Unpacking the ABA Q&A cont.

Click for Autism Internet Modules (certificate & credit available)
http://www.autisminternetmodules.org/

Click for CSEFEL modules Vanderbilt:

http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/index.html

Parent Panel
(May 2017)
Dr. Mark Dixon. (TBD)

Click for PRT Book:

https://www.abainternational.or

https://www.amazon.com/PRT-Pocket-Guide-TreatmentDisorders/dp/1598571052/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485929590&sr=12&keywords=pivotal+response+treatments+for+autism

px

Click for Pro-Ed Series (tiny books for parent & professionals for
using scientifically based methods):
http://www.proedinc.com/customer/ProductView.aspx?ID=3596

g/constituents/bios/markdixon.as

Our list is still growing!

Thank you for
emailing your ideas
_____________________

Online Resource of
the Month
Our Very Own Webpage!
www.autismtaskforce.
weebly.com

This webpage will is where

we will eventually land for

all RSVPs, news, and
community resources.
Please RSVP on this site
from now on. We will work
on adding to it this year, and
getting it in working order for
the community. Please
become familiar with it so
we can all determine:

What we like about it

What it needs

What to change

The current contents are

flexible! We will set a
month this year to tighten
up our
mission/vision/website
content criteria.

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. Henry Ford

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