The Rural Schools Association of New York

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Free Resource for Finger Lakes Regional Schools

Suzannah Iadarola, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Assistant Professor and Director of the Rochester Regional Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder at the University of Rochester Medical Center, reached out to us asking if we could help get the word out about a resource they offer in the Finger Lakes area. She says:

In our division we house the Rochester Regional Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder, a state-funded resource center for individuals with ASD and their families. We develop and disseminate programs across 12 counties: Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates.

This fall, we are offering school districts in those counties the opportunity to participate in a tele-mentoring program around supporting students with autism spectrum disorder in classrooms. Tele-mentoring involves regular, group-based meetings (usually 1 hour, either weekly or every other week) that are conducted via video-conferencing. Through these meetings, participants will have access to an interdisciplinary team of experts in ASD (including psychologists, educators, behavior analysts, social workers, parents, and medical providers). At each meeting, this interdisciplinary team will present information on a topic related to supporting students with ASD. Then, the participating schools can present cases to the team (such as those that might be challenging) and receive feedback from the group about possible solutions.

We are inviting school administrators, school psychologists, social workers, and teachers to participate. The program will be time-limited (likely around 8 sessions) and will be provided at no cost. I have attached a flyer that gives an overview of the tele-mentoring model. We are very interested in engaging schools in rural districts who may not always be able to take advantage of local trainings and professional development offered in the Rochester area. We have to limit enrollment to the 12 counties listed above, but otherwise any school staff are welcome to participate. This is not a research project. It is just an educational opportunity that we’d like to offer to districts.

For more information, click on the image of the flyer above.

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