Autism Training Needs in Alberta: What We Know So Far Veronica Smith, PhD University of Alberta

Context for the study Objective: To assist in planning for the delivery of services to individuals with autism and their families by determining the training needs of clinical, educational, community, and family members in the province of Alberta Objective: To assist in planning for the delivery of services to individuals with autism and their families by determining the training needs of clinical, educational, community, and family members in the province of Alberta Magnitude of the training needs Magnitude of the training needs To enumerate the existing training programs in the province and the nature of the training needs by group To enumerate the existing training programs in the province and the nature of the training needs by group Identify the range of content, acceptable delivery models, and to compare this to evidence based training programs across groups Identify the range of content, acceptable delivery models, and to compare this to evidence based training programs across groups

Methods Web-based survey (anonymous) Web-based survey (anonymous) Parents Parents Service Providers Service Providers Interviews with service providers (June) Interviews with service providers (June) Environmental scan of the province (training programs – post secondary, institutional) (ongoing) Environmental scan of the province (training programs – post secondary, institutional) (ongoing) Focus Groups in six regions of the province (to be completed late June and July) Focus Groups in six regions of the province (to be completed late June and July)

1 person 5 people 25 people Parents Professionals Parents = 165 Service Providers = 285

Who have we heard from? Parents 93% female 93% female years of age (M = 38yrs) years of age (M = 38yrs) 96% Caucasian 96% Caucasian 94% English 94% English

Who do we need to hear from? More Dads!!!

Who do we need to hear from? More people from rural Alberta!!!

Who do we need to hear from? More parents from Calgary!!!

Parent: Where do they live? 35% Rural/ Small town 65 % Urban

Parents: Diagnosis

Parents: Early Intervention HoursAdequate?Expense? Urban < 10 = 16%  10 = 84% 26% NO 55% YesRural < 10 = 42%  10 = 58% 52% NO 40% Yes

Parents: School Inclusive Adequate knowledge? Urban 54% 27% No 51% Partial 22% yesRural95% 52% No 48% Partial 0% Yes

Parents: Care (respite) Respite Hard to obtain? Satisfaction? Urban 92% 57% hard 70% YesRural88% 60% hard 68% Yes

Parents: Physician

Parents: Age of Child

Parents: Satisfaction Across the Ages Preschool Diagnosis Diagnosis 31%> 1yr 31%> 1yr 78% too long 78% too long EI EI 90%> 10 hrs 90%> 10 hrs Services Meet needs Services Meet needs 60% YES 60% YES School Age Diagnosis Diagnosis 52%> 1yr 52%> 1yr 64% too long 64% too long EI EI 80%> 10 hrs 80%> 10 hrs Services Meet needs Services Meet needs 40% YES 40% YES Adult or Young Adult Diagnosis Diagnosis 70%> 1yr 70%> 1yr 82% too long 82% too long EI EI 55%> 10 hrs 55%> 10 hrs Services Meet needs Services Meet needs 10% YES 10% YES

Parents: Needs Across the Ages Preschool Speech /Language School Age Self help Self help Behaviour Behaviour Speech Speech Adult or Young Adult Advocacy Advocacy Transition Transition Safety Safety

Parents: To complete survey Or see Steph and Andy in the booth in the lobby

Who have we heard from? Service Providers 98.2% female 98.2% female years of age (M =41 yrs) years of age (M =41 yrs) 88.2% Caucasian 88.2% Caucasian 97.7% English 97.7% English

Service Providers

1 person 5 people 25 people Parents SLP, OT, Behav Teacher Aid Parents = 165 Service Providers = 285

Service Providers: Training Preferences

Training Priorities

More work to be done!! Parent Information - who needs what where and how Service Providers - what are training priorities

Focus Groups: Content and Delivery of Training Two groups: parents and service providers Two groups: parents and service providers Locations: Locations: Grand Prairie Grand Prairie Ft. McMurray Ft. McMurray Lethbridge Lethbridge Medicine Hat Medicine Hat Edmonton Edmonton Calgary Calgary Please give Andy or Steph your contact info if you are interested in participating Please give Andy or Steph your contact info if you are interested in participating

Special Thanks Research Assistants Research Assistants Andy Lever Andy Lever Steph Patterson Steph Patterson All the parents and professionals who have already completed the survey All the parents and professionals who have already completed the survey