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Autism Leadership Team » Autism Leadership Team (ALT)

Autism Leadership Team (ALT)


Members:  Wendy Fenton, OTR;  Stacey Baxter, M.A., CCC-SLP; Jodi Rhodus, M.S. CCC-SLP


Mission: The role of the ALT is to offer requested support to school teams regarding two specific aspects of serving students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in accessing their educations and participating in the school environment:

  • Evaluation: Completion of high quality evaluations for the educational identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Programming:  Provision of evidence-based programming/interventions for students educationally identified with ASD. 
 
Approach:  The ALT utilizes the coaching model of support, which offers a specific approach to supporting teams in organizing their internal resources and communication as first steps before moving forward with more specific needs.  These specific needs may require steps such as team interviews, direct observations completed by the ALT, team training/PD, support with problem-solving, parent support/resources; or ongoing coaching and progress-checks.

Referral Process:  There are two avenues of support provided by the ALT: 

1) Team Referrals:  The ALT relies on referrals from school team members.  Team members are required to complete an initial referral form (Please see ALT Referral Form tab on the right).  All key team stakeholders (Team Lead/School Psychologist, Case Manager, Parent, General Education Teacher, and SSPs) should be aware of/in agreement with the referral for ALT coaching.  Once the referral form has been submitted, the following steps will occur:

* Your SPED Director will follow up with an informal team consultation, review of existing supports/information, and a student observation to be completed within 2 weeks of the referral.  This consultation will include your building administrator and possibly several key team members to better understand the nature of the request. 
* The SPED Director will determine whether the team needs support at the systems level (stakeholder communication and problem-solving), ASD-specific evaluation/programming support, or both.
* The SPED Director will then make a recommendation to the ALT regarding the type of support that will likely be most beneficial.  
* If ALT coaching support is recommended, ALT will review the information and reply to the person submitting the request to schedule a follow-up phone/zoom consultation with the team.
* If team systems and communication is determined as the area of need, alternative plans of support may be recommended as foundational first steps prior to ALT coaching.
 

2) Individualized/Professional Referral:  If a team member would like to initiate personalized coaching support from the ALT (problem-solving, specific resources, implementation strategies, training, networking, etc...) please send an email to the following link stating the request and basic need/topic. The ALT will reply within 1 week of receiving the request and set up an initial 30 minute coaching appointment.  

ALT Email Address: [email protected]