Supporting Families and Individuals with ASD
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.
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.
The Regional Autism LCC Summit will provide a forum for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), family members, caregivers, providers, professionals and other community stakeholders across Marion, Hancock, Hamilton, Shelby, Johnson, Morgan, Hendricks and Putnam Counties to provide input regarding the next phase of evolution of the state’s LCCs.
On July 17, the event opens with check‐in at 8:30am, providing participants with a light breakfast and opportunity to network with other community stakeholders. The Summit activities will run from 9:00am – 4:00pm in Fesler Hall, room #315 (1130 W. Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202). Lunch and parking provided.
Historically, LCCs in collaboration with HANDS in Autism® have identified community‐specific needs, as well as created and implemented targeted solutions adapted to meet local needs. LCC members have also provided community‐specific input to state‐level initiatives, such as the Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council (or IIACC). This State advisory group, also facilitated by HANDS in Autism®, actively addresses Indiana needs and gaps surrounding autism services, as well as the Indiana the associated Comprehensive State Plan for Autism Services.
Since the initial launch of the LCCs in 2010, State and federal gaps, priorities, and initiatives related to ASD service access and delivery have changed. In addition, as the IIACC has expanded in membership and activity, the role that individual members and communities can play within this initiative have also evolved and expanded. While the LCCs have been an essential component of the State’s ASD support framework, it is time to carefully review their role within this current context to ensure they continue to serve to effectively address local needs of local communities, while also providing input regarding state priorities.
The goal of the current LCC Summit is to use data from research, ongoing statewide assessments, and local community input to inform the process such that LCCs help to directly enhance, support and grow local community capacity to address the needs of individuals with ASD and their families, caretakers and providers. Additionally, the group will explore how LCCs can best contribute to the support and advancement of collective statewide initiatives.
HANDS in Autism® invites community stakeholders, who live or work in the Central LCC Region, and are interested in being involved in an expanding network to support the growth of local capacity and join in state‐level initiatives.
The Summit is free, but registration prior to the event is required.
Additional information about the Summit.
Learn more about the LCCs on the HANDS in Autism® website.
Needs Assessment: Novel Recruitment Methods
On May 9th, members of the Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council (IIACC) met at the Indiana Government Center South in Indianapolis, IN for the spring quarterly meeting.
There was a segment devoted to updating IIACC meeting attendees of what has been in motion since the February meeting:
The main focus for this meeting was recruitment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to take the Indiana Autism Needs Assessment Survey. We spoke about the need for such an outreach and potential obstacles to authentic and accurate communication with transition-age and adults with ASD who may experience difficulty communicating via spoken or written word.
As groups we used a card-sorting activity to gain feedback about where participants stood on various communication methods and modes. They were asked to rate each on their level of Interest, Accessibility, Appropriateness, Efficiency, and urgency.
To wrap up, attendees were updated on the highlight efforts of the DISI award, with this informational video:
Here is a list of downloads of resources presented at the meeting:
Be sure to join us for the next meeting on Thursday, September 5th, 2019. RSVP
For the first meeting of 2019, Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council(IIACC) members met to discuss the implementation of a number of new goals for 2019. The meeting began with an overview of the results of the December IIACC meeting, in which the IIACC Annual Report for 2017-2018 was previewed and discussed. A revised copy of the Annual Report was distributed to demonstrate how comments and critiques were applied.
Additionally, members were presented with a draft of the 2019 Indiana Comprehensive State Plan for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In order to have a cohesive plan, it is important to align it with the considerations of all IIACC members.
Facilitators from HANDS in Autism® gave a brief refresher on the What?, Who?, How? and Why?’s of PLC’s and the IIACC’s vision for their use in deep dives into specified goals in the Comprehensive State Plan.
A timeline was presented with anticipated dates for 2019, in which PLC’s for Justice and Public Safety, Culturally Responsive Implementation, and Transition would be formed. For information on becoming involved with these PLC’s, fill out the survey here.
One of the focus areas for 2019 will be Goal 5, Successful Youth Transition. IIACC members received a review of the goal, the data used to determine this need, and objectives. One of the first priorities is to collect more transition-aged responses to the Indiana Autism Needs Assessment.
For the last meeting of the year of the Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council, we gathered to discuss the progress made in 2018 as well as goals for the coming year. We want to thank everyone who generously shared their time this year in an effort to accomplish the goals set for in the Indiana Comprehensive State Plan for Autism. Below is a summary of the discussion points from the meeting as well as links to referenced documents and resources.
The 2017 IIACC Driver of Innovative Service and Implementation in ASD (DISI) Award was awarded to a group dedicated to supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the Spanish-speaking community – Grupo de Apoyo para Latinos con Autismo Indianapolis or GALA. Learn more.
Here are flyers you may use to distribute information, as well as links to materials mentioned during the meeting:
A large portion of the goals during this meeting was to solicit input from IIACC members about spreading information to stakeholders about the work we’re doing. If you did not have a chance to fill out any of these surveys, they will remain open until the end of December 2018.
In addition to planning for the future, plans were laid out to improve the IN Innovations section of this website. Going forward, we would like to have ongoing highlights of groups and individuals that are supporting the goals in the Indiana Comprehensive plan. This is in addition to the DISI Award,which is a yearly recognition of an outstanding community member/group working to achieve at least one of the 8 goals.
The 2017 IIACC Driver of Innovative Service and Implementation in ASD (DISI) Award was awarded to a group dedicated to supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the Spanish-speaking community – Grupo de Apoyo para Latinos con Autismo Indianapolis or GALA. Starting with only four families in 2016, the group has since grown to regularly engaging 35 families. GALA focuses on sharing information about ASD, interventions, and resources available in Indianapolis as well as advocacy and self-advocacy.
Most importantly, GALA provides a community in which families can share their challenges and successes. We met with Aura Roblero, the leader of this advocacy group and an active IIACC member, to learn more about GALA. Continue reading “DISI Profile: Aura Roblero and GALA”
2017-2018 IIACC Annual Report is now available. Learn about our successes in the past year and about our plans for the upcoming year!
Thank you for being part of our efforts!
The third IIACC meeting of the year was a demonstration of Professional Learning Communities in action. After a brief reminder of notes from the May meeting, facilitators led sub-groups through the process of organizing toward a learning goal in order to produce a final project. These “speed PLCs” were meant to introduce the concept more fully to IIACC members to gear up for their full implementation as a tool of the IIACC.
Lastly, we viewed the following video as a group to better explain the purpose and function of PLCs.
If you would like to review further notes and materials from the meeting, you can find them here on the Padlet
To express interest in being a part of the inaugural PLC related to the justice system and its intersection with the ASD and disabilities community, fill out the form here.
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On May 10th, 2018 the Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council met for their spring meeting. During the meeting they summarized conclusions and discussions from the winter meeting in February about Cultural Responsivity and the INformation Network. Additionally, a video briefly summarizing the history and purpose of the IIACC was shown to attendees and is available below.
