ASAP! Program

The ASAP! Program was funded by a 2-year grant from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, with the goal of promoting an integrated approach to early identification and intervention for children under three years old. Through this grant, the READi Lab provided free training workshops in autism screening and treatment for birth-to-three and early childhood providers across the state. The success of our activities through this grant allowed us to secure a $3.9M grant from NIMH (the SRT grant) that will expand the ASAP! training model to include both medical and early intervention providers. Over the next 5 years, we will develop and evaluate an innovative health care delivery system in our state that employs a preventive intervention approach to autism for children under 2 years old.

The UW ASAP! Team

From left to right: Robin Talley, MEd, BCBA, Lisa Ibanez, PhD, Colleen Harker, MS, Wendy Stone, PhD, Amy Rodda, PhC, CCC-SLP, Ashley Penney, MEd, BCBA, Sarah Edmunds, BA

Not pictured: Thanh Nguyen, MA, Lizzy Karp, BA, Courtney Froehlig, BA, Salloni Nanda, MA

Between February 2013 and January 2015, the READi Lab provided 30 free training workshops for early intervention providers. The workshops were conducted in 12 counties throughout Washington State (see map below), and reached over 670 providers. Workshops on the Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers (STAT; Stone et al., 2000; 2004; 2008) taught providers how to use an interactive screening measure with toddlers with suspected autism, and how to develop social-communication goals and intervention activities based on the screening results. Workshops on Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT; Ingersoll & Schreibman, 2006; Ingersoll 2010) taught providers how to use a play-based, autism-specialized intervention that is fun and easy for parents to implement.

We have collected information about provider knowledge and practices before and after the training workshops and will share those data when analyses are completed.

Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers (STAT)	The STAT is a 20 minute play-based screening that assesses children's play, imitation, and communication behaviors. In addition to indicating risk for autism, the STAT can be used to develop intervention goals and activities so that treatment can begin quickly. Training workshops on the use of the STAT for screening and intervention planning are offered to community providers working in medical, behavioral, mental health, educational, and other service delivery settings.
Reciprocal Imitation Training (RIT)	RIT is a play-based intervention that has been shown to improve children's social, communication, and imitation skills. It is easy to learn and can be used by family members as well as service providers. Training workshops are available for caregivers, birth-to-three personnel, speech-language pathologists, child psychologists, day care providers, and other community providers working with young children with autism.

ASAP! Training Locations