What are the keys to effective autism programs-and how do they solve their biggest challenges and meet the needs of all children and families? Find out in this book, an in-depth roadmap of autism services, research, and policies that are strengthening outcomes for children across the country.

With detailed reviews of 9 innovative state and national initiatives in public and private settings, this book gives researchers, administrators, and educators models they can use to help develop an efficient, cost-effective autism program--or expand their existing services. Leaders of these model programs give readers a complete overview of each initiative, covering factors such as structure, objective, population served, and staff roles and responsibilities. Readers will come away with invaluable insights on each program's key success factors, including

• Clearly identifying viable funding sources
• Improving screening and early identification of autism
• Planning family- and person-centered activities that support each child's goals
• Implementing positive behavior interventions and supports
• Engaging caregivers in coordinating services for their child and advocating for change
• Translating scientific breakthroughs into evidence-based services
• Developing teacher training programs that build awareness and expertise
• Conducting comprehensive, parent-friendly assessments
• Creating an integrated network of health, education, and community programs
• Putting effective transition supports in place

Readers will see how these model programs overcame common barriers to success, and they'll get specific recommendations at the end of the book for both new and established autism programs. Essential reading for administrators, policymakers, and anyone with a hand in shaping programs for children with autism, the foundational information in this book is key to ensuring the best possible services for children with autism and their families.

Barbara Becker-Cottrill, Ed.D., BCBA
Executive Director, Th e West Virginia
Autism Training Center
Marshall University
Huntington, West Virginia

Jennifer Bogin, MS.Ed., BCBA
Association of University Centers on Disabilities
Silver Spring, Maryland

Judith M. Holt, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Utah Regional
Leadership Education in
Neurodevelopmental
Disabilities Program
Utah State University
Logan, Utah

Sue Lin, M.S.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau
Health Resources and Services
Administration
Washington, D.C.

Michael Miklos, M.S., BCBA
Lead Educational Consultant
PaTTAN Autism Initiative
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Peter Doehring received his doctorate in clinical and developmental psychology from Concordia University in Canada in 1993. He has worked in the field of autism for then, and as the Statewide Director of the Delaware Autism Program (DAP) since 1999. Dr. Doehring has presented and published internationally on screening / diagnosis, professional /organizational development, and educational programming. He serves on the advisory boards for the Autism Society of Delaware and the Center For Autism and Developmental Disorders-Epidemiology and Johns Hopkins, and will begin a term on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders in 2008.

Samuel L. Odom, Ph.D., is the former Director of the Frank Porter Graham (FPG) Child Development Institute where he remains as a Senior Research Scientist. Prior to his work at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Odom served in faculty positions at Indiana University and Peabody College/Vanderbilt University. Dr. Odom received a master's degree in special education in 1976 and an educational specialist degree in educational psychology from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1979. He earned his doctorate in 1982 in education and human development from the University of Washington.

Throughout his career, Dr. Odom has held positions as a preschool teacher, student teaching supervisor, program coordinator, teacher educator, and researcher. Dr. Odom's research interests include interventions and teaching approaches that promote social competence of young children, effective intervention approaches for children with autism, and early childhood curricula that promote children's school success. He is the author or co-author of over 175 journal articles and book chapters and has edited 10 books on early childhood intervention and developmental disabilities. His current research is addressing treatment efficacy for children and youth with ASD in elementary and high school grades. Also, he is the Co-Director of the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice at FPG. Dr. Odom is an associate editor for Exceptional Children and is on the editorial board of Journal of Early Intervention, Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly. He received the Special Education Outstanding Research Award from the American Educational Research Association Special Education Special Interest Group in 1999, the Merle Karnes Contribution to the Field Award from the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in 2001, and the Outstanding Special Education Research Award from CEC in 2007. In 2013, he received the Arnold Lucius Gesell Prize awarded for career achievement in research on social inclusion and child development from the Theordor Hellbrugge Foundation in Munich, Germany. In 2016, he received an honorary doctoral degree from Stockholm University. He is currently a visiting professor at Stockholm University and San Diego State University.

Georgina Peacock, M.D., MPH
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center on Birth Defects
and Developmental Disabilities
Atlanta, Georgia

Cathy Pratt, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Director, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana

Harper Randall, M.D.
Medical Director
Utah Department of Health
Division of Family Health and Preparedness
Salt Lake City, Utah

Jo-Ann Reitzel, Ph.D.
Clinical Director
Autism Intervention Program
McMaster Childrenâ (TM)s Hospital
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Cheryl A. Rhodes is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a licensed professional counselor with expertise in working with families of children with disabilities. She holds a masterâ (TM)s degree in counseling from City University of New Yorkâ "Brooklyn College. Ms. Rhodes has been a trainer, project director, consultant, and counselor for more than 25 years. She has designed programs and conducted support groups for siblings of children with disabilities and for grandparents rearing grandchildren with disabilities. She is involved in initiatives for families of children with disabilities at the state and national levels and serves as Chair of the Family Consortium for the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children. She has worked with Georgiaâ (TM)s early intervention program since the mid-1990s. She is the parent of three children, two daughters and a son, ages 22, 20, and 18. Her younger daughter acquired a disability at age 13 months.

Sally J. Rogers is a developmental psychologist who has been the principal investigator of several autism research programs, including a ten-year CPEA program project from NICHD and two NIMH/NICHD funded Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) network projects. She is the director of an NIMH funded T32 interdisciplinary postdoctoral training grant for interdisciplinary autism research and a LENDinterdisciplinary training grant for professionals in NDD funded by the US Dept of Health and Human Services. She has carried out major clinical and research activities involving autism at the national and international levels, including past vice presidency and presidency of the International Society for Autism Research, associate editor of the journal Autism Research, member of the Autism Speaks Global Autism Public Health Initiative, and a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, and the International Society for Autism Research. She was a member of the Autism, PDD, and other developmental Disorders workgroup for the DSM 5. She has received many awards of her teaching, research, and clinical contributions, including the UC Davis School of Medicine Research Award in 2008 and the John W. Jacobsen Career Award from the American Psychological Association in 2013. The intervention model that she first developed with colleagues at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and then elaborated with Geri Dawson and colleagues at the University of Washington, and her own team at University of California Davis â "- is internationally known and was recognized by Time.com and Autism Speaks as one of the 10 main medical breakthroughs of 2012. The treatment manual. Early Start Denver Model for Young Children with Autism: Promoting Language, Learning and Engagement, and instrumentation for this approach have been translated intomany languages and are being used across the globe. The self-help treatment manual for parents, An Early Start for your Child with Autism, was awarded the #1 Consumer Health publication of 2012 by the American Journal of Nursing.

Cathy Scutta, OTD, OTR/L, BCBA-D
The Competent Learner Model (CLM)
PaTTAN Autism Initiative
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania

Lee Stickle, M.S.Ed.
Kansas State Department of Education
Technical Assistance Systems Network (TASN)
Kansas City, Kansas

Lisa H. Sullivan, Ph.D.
Educational Researcher
University of Californiaâ "Davis
Davis, California

Jane Summers, Ph.D.
Psychologist, Autism Intervention Program
McMaster Childrenâ (TM)s Hospital
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Peter Szatmari, M.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Katherine Szidon, M.S.
Special Education Developmental Disabilities
Professional Development
Specialist, Waisman Center
University of Wisconsinâ "Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

Linda Tuchman-Ginsberg, Ph.D.
Program Director for Early Childhood and Education Professional
Development, Waisman Center
University of Wisconsinâ "Madison
Madison, Wisconsin

Matthew E. Brock, M.A.
National Professional Development Center
on Autism Spectrum Disorder
Frank Porter Graham Child Development
Institute University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Paul S. Carbone, M.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Nina Wall-Cote, M.S.S.
Bureau Director
Bureau of Autism Services
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Erica Wexler, M.S.
Senior Communications and Training Coordinator
Bureau of Autism Services
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sarah Winter, M.D.
Associate Professor
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah

Lana L. Collet-Klingenberg, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsinâ "Whitewater
Whitewater, Wisconsin

Ann W. Cox, Ph.D.
Director, National Professional
Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder
Frank Porter Graham Child
Development Institute
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Ellen L. Franzone, M.S., CCC-SLP
Program Coordinator
Allies in Autism Education CESA 6
Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Sarah Hoff meier, LMSW
Family Service & Training Coordinator
TASN Autism & Tertiary Behavior Supports
Kansas City, Kansas

Vincent Winterling, Ed.D.
Statewide Director
Delaware Autism Program
Christina School District
Newark, Delaware

Rebecca B. Wolf, M.A.
Team Leader
Learn the Signs. Act Early Prevention Research Branch
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
Atlanta, Georgia