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Quick Facts
2007 Summer Training Event
6 weeks notice to organize the events
14 sites over a 2-week period
8000 meals and refreshment breaks
16000 handout packages
150 pages of translated materials
70 hours of video tape
35 display booths
70 volunteers form ASD School Support Program
17 presenters
50 GCA staff as facilitators
10 administrative staff
2000 name tags
Geneva Centre for Autism’s 23rd Annual Summer Training Institute was the biggest to date involving the training of approximately 2000 people via video conferencing to 7 different sites across Ontario.
This year, Geneva Centre for Autism received funding from the Ministry of Education to provide two sets of training at various locations across the province. The Centre’s staff had 6 weeks to pull the event together.
The first training was specifically related to the Ministry’s new policy on the use of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) in schools. On May 18, 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Education issued the Policy/Program Memorandum 140, commonly referred to as PPM 140. Its purpose is to give direction to all publicly funded school boards and school authorities to incorporate the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis in their programs designed for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
PPM 140 – Incorporating Methods of Applied Behaviour Analysis into Programs for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
The first training was specifically related to the Ministry’s new policy on the use of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) in schools. On May 18, 2007, the Ontario Ministry of Education issued the Policy/Program Memorandum 140, commonly referred to as PPM 140. Its purpose is to give direction to all publicly funded school boards and school authorities to incorporate the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis in their programs designed for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).
Approximately 850 people participated in this one-day training conducted in Toronto, Barrie, London, Ottawa, Sudbury, and Thunder Bay. In addition to incorporating ABA principles in teaching students with ASD as the main focus of the day, the session included:
- Ministry of Education update on PPM 140 with a focus on implementation guidelines and the Ministry’s expectations around school boards’ compliance
- Transition planning for students with ASD (Presented by ASD School Support Program representative)
- Introduction to Effective Instructional Contexts for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (EIC-ASD). This involved looking at current best practices in developing and implementing individual education program (IEP) and how to sustain quality program in the classroom by identifying appropriate professional development opportunities for teaching staff,
- Q&A
The second training event took advantage of Geneva Centre for Autism’s Annual Summer Training Institute. This year’s topic - Using the Principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis and Multidisciplinary Perspective to Enhance the School Experience for Children with an ASD - provided an opportunity to offer school team members exposure to important training on the use of ABA.
Approximately 1200 people participated in this 4-day training, from August 20 to 23. The training event was designed primarily for teachers and teachers’ assistants. Geneva Centre for Autism held the training at Fairmont Royal York and it was telecast live to accommodate participants in Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Ottawa, Barrie, London, and the French session in Toronto.
As well, Geneva Centre for Autism partnered with Ontario’s ASD School Support Program to provide facilitation at each site during the training. Approximately 70 facilitators from the Regional School Support Programs across the province assisted over 50 Geneva Centre for Autism staff with group activity sessions.
Whereas the training highlighted practical demonstrations of how to incorporate ABA principles in teaching a student with ASD, the training also stressed the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to enhance a student’s learning experience in the classroom, i.e. addressing sensory issues and social communication. Speakers were Leslie Cohen, PhD. and Antoinette Falco, both Board Certified Behaviour Analysts (BCBA), Ellen Yack, Occupational Therapist, and Jean Loeffelhardt, Speech/Language Pathologist and Educational Consultant.
There were Q&A sessions in each day of training where participants from all 7 locations were given the opportunity to ask questions. The Q&A sessions proved to be a great learning tool for participants as each question highlighted real-life challenges faced by teachers and teachers’ assistants in supporting students in the classroom. Realizing that these questions may arise again and again in classroom settings across the province, Geneva Centre for Autism has posted the Summer Training 2007 Q&A in its E-Learning website.
It is important to note that this year’s Summer Training Institute content is only a first step in building knowledge in the use of ABA in the classroom and was not designed specifically in relation to the implementation process of PPM 140. Other initiatives that will help some aspects of the implementation process are the ASD School Support Program established in 2004 and the Teachers’ Assistant Training Initiative, which was started in 2006. For any questions around the PPM 140, please contact the Ministry of Education’s local regional office near you.
Please visit Geneva Centre for Autism’s website www.autism.net for further training opportunities and support related to this topic.
It is very encouraging that we are seeing investment in the ongoing training of school staff and administrators across the province on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Knowing and understanding ASD is the first step to identify how best to accommodate our students in the classroom. But most important of all, our goal is for schools, through the leadership of school administrators and teaching staff, to promote awareness and acceptance of students with ASD among young people. After all, support and accommodations go beyond the confines of a classroom.
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Summer Training Institute 
