Supporting Families and Individuals with ASD
This report provides a year-in-review snapshot. It reviews actions of the Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council (IIACC), updates about global research findings, and plans moving forward in pursuit of the 8 stated goals of the IIACC.
Download your copy today, and share with your colleagues.
Welcome to the Indiana INformation Network, a collaborative system of resources for individuals, families, and communities affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The INformation Network is driven by the shared community responsibility of supporting and caring for those with ASD, as well as their families, as represented in the Indiana Comprehensive State Plan for Individuals with ASD.
Learn more about this project by visiting About the Network page.
The Day of Learning at the Autism Science Foundation (ASF), is a TED-style science conference that brings together leading autism researchers to present new findings to members of the autism community. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Day of Learning was held virtually. Over 800 people from across the world took part in the event.
Dr. Lord called for a new term: “profound autism.” Announced publicly for the first time at the Day of Learning, the term is intended to help individuals with the highest level of needs gain access to appropriate services and to increase research participation by this understudied subpopulation.
Read More: What is ASD?
Dr. McPartland explains that many of the advancements made this year amid the pandemic will benefit individuals on the autism spectrum long after the current crisis is over.
Read More: About the Diagnosis, What is Evidence-Based?
Dr. Matthew Lerner explained how he and his team are moving toward an “evidence-based menu” of interventions to develop social skills in adolescents with autism, which will allow families to take more targeted actions to improve outcomes.
Read More: Transition
Dr. Pellecchia outlined some of the historic problems of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and showed how increased knowledge of childhood development has significantly improved the practice in recent years, with a greater emphasis on fun, play-based therapy sessions and a de-emphasis on “teacher-led, didactic” sessions.
Read More: Applied Behavior Analysis
Dr. Hus Bal argued that while support for adults with autism often focuses on the transition to adulthood and associated milestones, there is not enough being done to provide adults with ongoing support throughout their lives.
Read More: Adulthood and Aging
Dr. Scassellati demonstrated the powerful effect that robots can have as autism therapy partners and explained what parents should look for in evaluating these solutions.
Read More: Technology
Join us for the final quarterly meeting of the Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council (IIACC) on December 3rd, 2020 from 9am to 11:30am.
All meetings are free and open to the public and in the interest of maintaining a safe environment for everyone, we are hosting December’s meeting online via Zoom.
Please RSVP to receive a link to attend this meeting.
Contact hands@iupui.edu with any questions.
In order to let folks plan ahead and make time to join in with this statewide community, please distribute the following dates and mark them on your calendar for 2021!
Our HANDS team and LCC members have been busy brainstorming ways to engage stakeholders in autism awareness events throughout the state—as well as bringing training and resources to Indiana communities. Here are some of the things we’ve been up to:
In the coming month, Cadres will continue to work on the needs identified in their regions through a variety of activities and methods, including:
Fill out this survey to let us know you want to be engaged in your LCC today and we’ll send you regular email updates.
A common activity across all regional cadres will be assisting in the facilitation and sharing of the Needs Assessment for ASD Survey across stakeholders in each of their communities. The goal of this joint activity is to increase the current ASD-related data used by the Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council (IIACC) and the State in addressing gaps and needs across the state in supporting ASD.
Additionally, LCC members are invited to participate as a Community Advisory Group Member in the Upcoming IIACC quarterly meetings to provide their unique perspectives and input regarding ASD successes, needs, gaps and challenges in their communities.
Between quarterly meetings, our LCCs will be engaging in community building, ASD-supporting activities based upon the goals for the region. Individuals living or working in the Central LCC Region are invited to participate in the Employer Toolkit dissemination activities currently taking place on Canvas. Canvas is an interactive platform that is easy to access and use on your time frame.
There are no prerequisites or time commitments for participating. You can participate in the way that best meets your needs and capacity. We look forward to and value your input and assistance in developing a plan for and helping to disseminate the recently completed Central Region LCC Employer Toolkit.
HANDS in Autism® is engaging a diverse pool of individuals from the Central Indiana area to take part in the first of several Regional Autism Local Community Cadre (LCC) Summits on July 17, 2019 at the IUPUI campus in Indianapolis, IN.
Continue reading “HANDS IN AUTISM® HOSTS CENTRAL REGION AUTISM LOCAL COMMUNITY CADRE SUMMIT”
