# Autism Services Across America ## Road Maps for Improving State and National Education, Research, and Training Programs **Edited by** Peter Doehring, Ph.D. ## Excerpted from Autism Services Across America: Road Maps for Improving State and National Education, Research, and Training Programs Peter Doehring, Ph.D. --- ## Contents 1. About the Author 2. Contributors 3. Foreword Fred R. Volkmar 4. Acknowledgments 5. Introduction - I. Understanding the Scope - 1. About Autism Spectrum Disorder - 2. Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: What Can This Include? - 3. An Overview of the Training, Research, and Policy Supporting Systems of Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder - 4. How It Works: The Infrastructure of Agencies and Organizations That Support Services, Training, Research, and Policy - II. Exemplary Regional, Provincial, and Statewide Programs - 5. Autism Spectrum Disorder Services, Training, and Policy Initiatives at the West Virginia Autism Training Center at Marshall University - 6. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Autism Services and the Department of Education: Providing Educational and Community Services Across the Life Span - 7. Delaware Autism Program: Statewide Educational Services in the Public Schools - 8. Indiana Resource Center for Autism: Promoting Local Capacity Statewide Through Research, Education, and Policy - 9. Regional Autism Intervention Program and Related Research Activities at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Ontario - III. Exemplary National Initiatives - 10. Learn the Signs. Act Early.: The Public Health Approach to the Early Identification of Children at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Disabilities - 11. National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Emerging National Educational Strategy - IV. Facing Autism Nationally: How to Improve Services Through Training, Research, and Policy - 12. What We Have Learned: How to Create Integrated Networks that Improve Access, Increase Capacity, Develop Expertise, and Address Meaningful Outcomes - 13. Where We Can Start: Immediate Opportunities for Improving the Lives of People with Autism Spectrum Disorder ## About the Author After completing his doctoral training as a clinical and research psychologist in Canada, Peter Doehring, Ph.D., began his career developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening and early intervention programs within a regional psychiatric hospital in Montreal. He then served as Statewide Director for the Delaware Autism Program (DAP), the largest specialized public school program of its kind in the United States. As Director of Regional Programs at the Center for Autism Research (CAR) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, he then initiated a wide range of hospital- and community-based training programs. He served as Autism Training Director for the hospital’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program, helped to establish a regional consortium for training, services, and research, and obtained funding from the National Institutes of Health to begin a regional research registry. As Director of Autism Services for Foundations Behavioral Health, he led the development of a new inpatient treatment program for children and adolescents with ASD in behavioral crisis. Through his consultation services—ASD Roadmap—he now provides training and strategic support to families and agencies struggling to organize, expand, and improve services and programs. ## Introduction There has been a tremendous increase in the interest in and awareness of autism spectrum disorder (or ASD) since the 1990s. This increased interest has been accompanied by increases in the services available to them and the research conducted to identify causes, characteristics, and effective treatments for ASD. My career choices reflect my conscious attempts to bridge these gaps and overcome these barriers through increased understanding and improved coordination across elements of services, training, research, and policy. I believe that the greatest potential now lies in bridging these gaps to create a new synergy rather than reinforcing the isolated silos of expertise and the boundaries between disciplines and domains. ## SECTION I: UNDERSTANDING THE SCOPE When I originally conceptualized this book, I realized that no single volume provided a succinct summary of the scope of services needed by people with ASD across the life span. The first section of this book seeks to provide such a summary, showing how ASD affects individuals and families from many different backgrounds, in many different ways, and with many possible outcomes. ## SECTION II: EXEMPLARY REGIONAL, PROVINCIAL, AND STATEWIDE PROGRAMS This section highlights model regional and state programs that are doing innovative work in providing services, training, research, and policy initiatives related to autism spectrum disorders. ## SECTION III: EXEMPLARY NATIONAL INITIATIVES As work on the book progressed, I learned of statewide initiatives that were inspired and shaped by the efforts of national organizations. By following closely the work of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network, I gained insights into how research can mobilize significant policy implications. ## SECTION IV: FACING AUTISM NATIONALLY: HOW TO IMPROVE SERVICES THROUGH TRAINING, RESEARCH, AND POLICY In this section, I examine how to create integrated networks that improve access, increase capacity, develop expertise, and address meaningful outcomes for people with ASD.