1. Author/Contributor Information Organization Information RATIONALE Non profit organizations must continue grant and project activities that include the process of facilitating trainings and meeting, even in the times of ever tightening state and federal budgets (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, n.d.). There are many ways to accomplish project goals with low expenditures, while maintaining the quality of activities by using free or low cost technology. METHODS A review of the literature revealed that organizations rank productivity and cost reduction as their main concerns (Luftmand and Derksen, 2012). Team members of the ASD Early STEP project used low and no-cost technologies to facilitate autism screening and diagnostic tools trainings, meetings, and collaboration while maintaining the quality of project activities, and meeting project goals and objectives. Tools used: Doodle and Meeting Wizard – free tools used for scheduling meetings with stakeholders and team members Google Drive – a free tool used for collaboration, and file sharing Google Voice – a free tool used for making phone calls, and participating in conference call Google Sites and Google Groups – a free tool to create websites, and discussion boards. Used to create a temporary project website, with an integrated Google calendar and discussion board WebEx Meetings – tool used for virtual meetings. The premium plan is $49 a month Event Brite – a free tool used for training registration, promotion, and disseminate training information Evite – a free tool used for inviting stakeholders to meetings Survey monkey – a free survey tool that was used to send training evaluations to participants Facebook and LinkedIn – free social media tools that were used to promote trainings and disseminate information By the use of free or low cost technology solutions the project team was able to facilitate autism screening and diagnostic tools trainings, collaborate, and meet virtually with diverse stakeholders, while adding little or no expense to the budget. CONCLUSION REFERENCES Insert Logo Here Using Free or Low Cost Technology to Facilitate Autism Screening and Diagnostic Tools Trainings Shannon M. Haworth, MA, Donna Gilles, Ed.D., Deana Buck, MA, Parthy Dinora, Ph.D., Dana Yarbrough, MA Partnership for People with Disabilities Children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental disabilities (ASD/DD) in Virginia and their families face significant challenges in accessing family focused, culturally competent, affordable coordinated health care, early intervention, and education. Some reasons include: too few professionals trained in the use of evidence-based practices in screening and diagnosis; too many gaps in availability and quality of screening, diagnosis, and intervention services for children with ASD/DD and their families; The Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening and Diagnosis: Early Systematic Training in Effective Practices (ASD Early STEP) addresses this issue by creating a model for systemic change that includes training on valid screening, and diagnostic tools for professionals, as well as providing resources and supports for families. Throughout the use of facilitating these trainings, the use of free or low cost technologies were used to disseminate information, facilitate trainings, and collaborate with community partners. INTRODUCTION Contact: Shannon Haworth haworths@vcu.eduhaworths@vcu.edu 2014 RESULTS Using free or low cost technology is a way to meet project goals, and maintain quality of activities without adding substantial cost to tight state and federal budgets. These technologies can be used to facilitate virtual, an in person meetings, facilitate and plan training events, and collaborate with community partners. Virtual meetings significantly lower travel costs, and productivity time, while still allowing teams to collaborate and achieve project goals. RESULTS Google Drive Google Sites Google Groups Collaboration EventBrite Survey Monkey Facebook LinkedIn Trainings Doodle Meeting Wizard Evite Google Voice WebEx Meetings Meetings Luftman, J., and Derksen, B. (2012). Key issues for IT executives 2012: Doing more with less. MIS Quarterly Executive, 11(4), 207-218 Office of Personnel Management (OPM). (n.d.). Training and development policy wiki- low cost training options. Retrieved from: http://www.opm.gov/wiki/training/Low-Cost-Training-Options.ashx http://www.opm.gov/wiki/training/Low-Cost-Training-Options.ashx