Autism Credentials Pathways FAQ

This program is free for participants. Project ACCESS has a staff of Autism Resource Specialists around the state and as we are funded through DESE, our training services are free. From time to time, Project ACCESS may bring in an outside presenter who has knowledge to share or who offers an "official" training certficate, and we alway try to make these events free when possible. Much of this training consists of online coursework on Brightspace or Zoom meetings, and we don't have expenses for these methods. A few in-person events may have a "cost recovery" small fee to cover the expenses related to room rental, drinks and snacks, parking fees, etc.

This is completely up to you. In fact, you can engage with the learning without completing any levels if that meets your needs. If you want to complete a level, you can finish as quickly as you want or take as long as you need. The Autism Credential Pathway is unique to you, and most of the learning is available anytime, anywhere and at your own pace. You can start and finish any module at any time. As our system rolls over courses each year, you wil need to finish any component within that year.  Remember, a component is about three hours of learning. You would have from July 1st to June 30th each year to complete any components that you sign up for during that year. We have in mind a robust method of record-keeping involving micro-credentials that will allow you to document your learning and mark your unique pathway through the content. You can read more about micro-credentials and badges below. 

The modules of each level and the components of each module are listed on the Tiers Detail Page. In a nutshell, Level One (the blue level) focuses on Autism Core Principles and Behaviors, as these are generally the most immediate needs of educators. Level One also targets classroom-level knowledge and skills (including functional behavior assessment and behavior intervention plans). Level Two (the green level) focuses on Social Skills and Independence, and the evidence-based interventions on this level are the socially mediated interventions. This level targets building- or program-level knowledge and skills (including learning about essential features of autism programs and rating your program/building in order to develop a growth plan). Level Three (the red level) includes verbal behavior, language, and communcation strategies. It targets district-wide best practice procedures (such as making special education eligibility determinations in the area of autism) for your district. The Tiers Detail Page includes a link to a pathways grid that provides more information about modules and components, including the mode (online, in-person, Zoom) used to deliver each training. 

Most learning occurs at the "component" level, meaning you can register for a single component or a few and work on them as time allows. Some special modules require that components be completed together and in order; when you register for these, they will be bundled so that you get enrolled in the appropriate group. For example, the FBA Consult Model training (which prepares you to complete an FBA and a BIP for students) involves training that occurs in phases. If you enroll in this module, you will need to complete the phases in sequence and within one semester. This particular training will guide you through creating an authentic FBA for a real behavior presented by a real student, so you will need to participate in this module from start to finish during the semester. This module, in particular, occurs synchronously via Zoom. 

For the most part, you can pick and choose to create your own path. Some modules have been designated as "endorsements" (not to be confused with DESE certification endorsement), by which we mean that you can earn a pin for that module. For example, if you complete the FBA Consult Model training, you will do so in order and as a collection of components that make up the module. Some components will require you to have completed other components first; these will be outlined in the grid and in workshop descriptions. Each online workshop that requires a previous module to be mastered will indicate so in the workshp description and in the self-service registration system. 

An IDAC is intended to develop school personnel who can consult on programming, in-service school district personnel about autism, and serve as the autism "expert" on eligibility determination teams. This might have been a lot for one person. Training for all of these roles is included in our new program, but participants can now pick and choose PD that meets their needs. Also, we have "disaggregated" IDAC training so that one person can serve all three of these roles in a smaller district, while it might be three different educators in a larger district. We have moved away from a "one size fits all" approach and made PD modular, customizable, and digestible.

This extensive PD program has three levels. Each level has five modules.  Each module contains about eight components (or workshops, if you prefer). You can earn any level, all levels, or no levels at all. However, each level also has a special module that addresses a requirement imposed by IDEA or the Missouri State Plan for special education. For example, IDEA requires a FBA in certain cases of discipline (we also believe FBA is foundational for behavior intervention in many cases). Who can conduct an FBA in a school? IDEA is not very specific but does state that anyone with specialized training in FBA can conduct one in a school. Project ACCESS will offer a "FBA" endorsement and, upon completing this module, you will receive a pin to put on a badge for your lanyard. Another endorsement is the APC (Autism Programming Coach) Endorsement, where participants learn what high-quality autism programs should include (this is built around the APERS). The third endorsement is for AET (Autism Eligibility Team), and this training will prepare a participant to be the individual with special expertise in autism that sits on eligibility teams. So, you can earn any or all of the three levels of credential and/or you can earn any or all of the three endorsements. If you complete a level, you will have earned that level's endorsement. 

Yes! Missouri State University, which offices Project ACCESS, is offering participants an incredible deal on graduate credit. The details are still being worked out, but four graduate courses in Special Eduation can be completed by finishing work on the Autism Credential Pathways program. Since the university does not have to hire and pay instructors, this credit is being offered at a huge discount of $99 per credit hour.  The credit can be applied to the Master's Degree in SPED with an emphasis in autism or to a 12-hour graduate certificate in autism. To qualify for this credit, participants must complete the required components/modules and then apply to get the credit.  One difference between the Project ACCESS version of coursework and the traditional academic route is that Project ACCESS's version is designed for practicing educators who will demonstrate knowledge and skills by applying them with real students in authentic situations in their work environments.

Project ACCESS will be issuing lanyards and badges much in the same way that have done for years for IDACs. These badges will have blue, red, and green stripes on them to represent the different levels of credential that learners have earned. There is space on the bottom of the badge for pins that can be earned for the endorsements (see the information about endorsements above). In addition to badges, Project ACCESS will provide the option for level completers to be listed on our website (and DESE may provide website visitors a link to this listing). Lastly we are planning to offer "micro-credentials" starting in the second half of this school year. Micro-credentials are digital badges that can be downloaded and saved to a "digital backpack" and used as proof of mastery of a skill. Each micro-credential contains "meta-data" about the skill that potential employers can view or that can be shared with the wider public. Think of your digital backpack as an electronic resume or part of a vitae. NEA, LinkedIn, Google, FrontLine and other businesses/agencies are involved in creating sharing spaces for these backpacks. Most of these are free. Each micro-credential is evidence of a competency that has been mastered by the holder. Digital backpacks are somewhat akin to electronic portfolios that allow you to showcase your accomplishments. You may not be able to share an IEP with the world, but if you participate in our IEP workshop, we will vet your work and issue you a micro-credential that you can share with the world!

No, but most of it is distance learning. The majority will be online and instructor-led, although will be asynchronous (utilizing recorded videos but will still involving feedback from a live instructor). Some modules will use Zoom and be synchronous. Some training will still be in-person or delivered by specially trained experts that Project ACCESS deploys. Additionally, some modules may have classroom coaching components that involve a visit from a Project ACCESS Autism Resource Specialist. 

We have not worked out all of the details regarding how this will work, but our plan is to give you credit for skills and knowledge that you have already mastered. Each online workshop includes a knowledge component and a skills component. In each case, there is a way to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge and mastery of a skill through a micro-credential. Basically, if you produce redacted artifacts verifying skills, we can issue you a micro-credential for work you have already completed. More information about this is coming soon. 

No. You can serve any role in a school and participate in the training. We expect teachers, process coordinators, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, para-educators, administrators, and others to participate in trainings. To earn college credit, you will have to have completed a bachelor's degree, as the credit is at the graduate level. We welcome everyone to participate in our programs. One of the main reasons (besides COVID) that we migrated much of the content to an online format was to make a program that had been limited to a small number of participants available to more people. If you do not have a special education caseload, some skills training we work on with you may involve you partnering with a teacher to assist with a student. We value authentic learning, and this may require working with a school team if you do not have a caseload of your own. 

Project ACCESS is developing training tracks for ancillary personnel alongside these modules in this training. For example, we are working on a free Registered Behavior Technician training program that involves offering 40 hours of PD that meets the task list requirements for people who want to sit for the RBT exam. This will provide valuable behavior training for para-educators, whether they want to obtain a RBT license or not. We also are building a program for building principals that teaches  skills in organizational behavior management repertoire (a field of applied behavior analysis). We teach teachers to shape behavior by manipulating environmental variables to produce the desired outcomes. Building principals can help make this learning maximally effective by shaping teachers' behaviors using similar strategies!

Yes! Project ACCESS uses the evidence-based practices (EBPs) taxonomy developed and maintained at the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder at the University of North Carolina. There are just under 30 EBPs on this list.  The middle module in each autism credential level (that is, Module 3, Module 8, and Module 13) is the "EBP module" for that level and covers 8 to 10 EBPs. If you complete these three modules of the total 15, you will have a good grounding in the autism evidence-based interventions.  

No, not by itself. Some of the modules can earn you graduate credit through Missouri State University, and some of that coursework is applicable to such a program, but Project ACCESS is not able to prepare you for that exam by ourselves. Additional training will be necessary if this is your goal.