Treatment is a collaborative effort between Autism Partnership and parents, as well as schools and other agencies providing services. Your contribution is critical to the effectiveness of intervention. Therefore, we ask parents to participate in the therapy process. The following is what we ask of parents:

• Follow through, outside of therapy, on both skill acquisition and behaviour management targets.
• Know the targets that the therapists are teaching; reinforce and generalize those targets when they occur in the natural environment.
• Be available for a portion of therapy sessions without any distractions.
• Participate in parent training sessions.
• Attend workshops and team meetings.
• Participate in a portion of therapy sessions.
• Review the notebook regularly.
• Participate in community and family activities with your child to work on generalizing skills.
• Schedule regular in-person contact with your Program Supervisor which meets the outlined supervision minimums.
• Support and arrange for regular and ongoing staff training.
• Strive to create a pleasant working environment, with open communication among all members of the team; discuss any problems directly with involved parties and with Supervisor.
• Hire (and terminate) staff as needed.
• Communicate with other professionals (Speech Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, Psychologist, Physiotherapist, Teacher, etc.) *
• Keep materials and toys organized and accessible. *
• Actively participate in setting up playdates when applicable. *
• Schedule staff to cover applicable shifts. *
• Obtain program materials and reinforcers. *
• Provide information as required by funding authority.

• One parent or designee should be at home during therapy.

Some Tips:

• Be flexible with the inevitability that 1:1 sessions may occasionally need to be cancelled or rescheduled due to events.

• Have a contingency plan in place for such an event, so that other staff are never expected (although they may be requested) to take responsibility for a shift cancellation or other unforeseen event.
• Discuss your expectations re: duties and responsibilities with all staff at the start.
• Maintain staff morale, support efforts of staff - view your staff as the professionals they are, and expect them to act accordingly.

• Conduct training workshops for families and/or schools.
• Train parents, staff and teachers in Applied Behaviour Analysis.
• Provide ongoing training and feedback to 1:1 staff.
• Monitor curriculum regularly.
• Review log book regularly.
• Review data regularly.
• Observe program implementation.
• Discuss concerns and observations of care providers (parents, staff and/or teachers).
• Revise curriculum as needed.
• Interface with adjunctive service providers and other professionals, as well as representatives from schools and other agencies.
• Assist parents in submitting a funding application.
• Provide an annual progress report.
• Assist with development and oversight of the child’s individualized treatment plan.

• Implement the child’s individualized treatment plan.
• Demonstrate programs at team workshops and staff meetings.
• Honour your commitment by attending all shifts for which you are scheduled.
• If you cannot make a particular session, have someone cover your shift; if that also does not work, then call the parent to discuss the possibility of rescheduling /canceling the session.
• Arrive on time for all sessions.
• Dress appropriately for the nature of the work.
• Attend all meetings and workshops.
• Read write-ups in binder to prepare for session.
• Observe and record the child’s behaviours and skills.
• Communicate with parents and Lead Therapist.
• Share your ideas and experiences to contribute to team problem-solving process.
• Target Sheets – contribute to accurate and current record which clearly outlines the current / mastered targets for each program; record intro and mastery dates.
• Follow through on feedback given by lead therapist and Program Supervisor (it helps to take notes at workshops/meetings!).
• Keep materials and toys organized and accessible.
• Contribute to the collection of program materials/stimuli as needed.
• View yourself as the professional you are, and act accordingly.
• Confidentiality: do NOT discuss the child’s treatment with anyone outside of that child’s treatment team.

(in addition to all responsibilities of the 1:1 Team outlined above)

• Review all programs (academic, behavioral, self-help) to monitor the child’s progress.
• Read all write-ups in binder - note trends, breakthroughs, creative ideas, effective and ineffective procedures, obstacles to learning.
• Analyze data (create summary table or graph it, note trends, identify plateaus or declines in performance).
• Monitor the occurrence of self-stimulatory behaviours.
• Monitor behaviour management interventions for effectiveness.
• Suggest possible interventions and solicit ideas from the rest of the staff team.
• Target Sheets: keep an accurate and current record which clearly outlines the current / mastered targets for each program; ensure intro and mastery dates are being recorded.
• Log Book: update; file old notes.
• Staff Meetings: plan and conduct them, prepare all meeting notes and minutes, identify obstacles and issues for discussion; keep an ongoing record of programming history through meeting minutes.
• Support approaches to teaching skills which are individualized to the child’s needs and interests (ex. teaching counting using train models), and monitor their effectiveness.
• Maintain staff morale, support efforts of other staff. *
• Assist with staff training - new and ongoing.
• Periodic supervision of therapy techniques of other staff team members

• Workshops:

- pre-workshop preparation: prepare a summary of current functioning including any current difficulties / issues which need to be addressed; outline any programs / situations which you feel the Program Supervisor should observe, and make any necessary arrangements to set that up

- take notes at workshops

- post-workshop summary and staff meeting

• Contact Program Supervisor between workshops as needed.

• Access outside resources when necessary (publications, Internet).
• Communicate with other professionals (SLP, OT, PT, Teacher, etc.) *
• Integrate goals of contributed by Program Supervisor, SLP, OT, PT, teachers, etc.
• Assist parents regarding personnel issues (ex. hiring).
• Design/revise data forms (data, program checklist, behaviours, timesheets, etc.) and ensure adequate supply .
• Keep materials and toys organized and accessible. *
• Monitor progress in school environment. *
• Assist in planning of play-dates when applicable. *
• Stimuli: make, collect, buy, delegate as necessary. *
• Support parents in staff scheduling. *
• Obtain program materials. *

is it for us?  -  autism partnership main