Episode 16: Understanding the Spectrum: Navigating Autism with CAHELP Experts

In this episode of Fostering Futures, host Athena Cordero welcomes Jennifer Rountree, a Program Specialist, and Melissa de Silva, an Intervention Specialist, both from the California Association of Health and Education Linked and Professions (CAHELP). With over two decades of combined experience in Special Education (SPED), Jennifer and Melissa dive into the complexities of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in honor of Autism Awareness Month. The conversation centers on understanding autism not just as a medical diagnosis, but as a neuro-developmental disability that uniquely impacts social communication and behavior across a broad spectrum of needs.

They explain the "spectrum" nature of autism, detailing how it affects individuals at varying levels—from those requiring minimal support (Level 1) to those needing intensive, day-to-day assistance (Level 3). They demystify the assessment process by discussing tools such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and the differences between medical and educational identification.

Listeners will gain practical insights into how educators and parents can support students through structured routines, visual supports, and specific Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs). Melissa and Jennifer also address common misconceptions, such as viewing "stimming" or disruptive behaviors as intentional "naughtiness," reframing them instead as internal sensory needs or communication attempts. By highlighting resources like the Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM) website, the episode provides a roadmap for anyone looking to foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for autistic youth.

Highlights

• The 13-year professional history between Athena Cordero and the Special Education (SPED) team at the California Association of Health and Education Linked and Professions (CAHELP).
• Defining Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as a neurodevelopmental disability affecting social communication and repetitive behaviors.
• The difference between the three levels of support in a medical diagnosis.
• Why a medical diagnosis doesn't automatically trigger Special Education (SPED) services in a school setting.
• An introduction to the California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN) and its mission.
• How the SELPA (Special Education Local Plan Area) Autism Implementation Team (SAIT) supports local districts.
• The "Power of the Visual": Using stop signs, schedules, and color-coding to reduce student anxiety.
• Understanding "stimming" and sensory processing as non-intentional behaviors.
• Real-world examples of "Prompting," from hand-over-hand physical guidance to simple gestures.
• Accessing free training through the Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM) website.

Key Takeaways

• Meet One, Meet One: If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve only met one person; the spectrum is incredibly diverse.
• Function Over Form: Behavior is often a form of communication or a way to regulate the body, not a choice to be "bad."
• Structure as Safety: Predictable routines allow students to spend less energy on "what happens next" and more on learning.
• The Bridge of Coaching: Moving from theory in a workshop to "real-time" classroom coaching is essential for the successful implementation of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs).
• Collaboration is Key: A strong partnership between parents, medical providers, and school assessment teams ensures the best support for the child.

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram | www.cahelp.org | podcast@cahelp.org

Transcript

00:00:09 Intro 

The relentless pursuit of whatever works in the life of a child. 

00:00:18 Athena Cordero 

Welcome to Fostering Futures with CAHELP, a podcast dedicated to our relentless pursuit of whatever works in the life of a child. 

00:00:26 Athena Cordero 

I'm your host, Athena Cordero, inviting you to join me and countless others as we share our unique perspectives and expertise in the world of special education, behavioral health, social-emotional well-being, and community. 

00:00:39 Athena Cordero 

Follow us on Buzzsprout, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 

00:00:45 Athena Cordero 

Welcome to Fostering Futures, everyone. 

00:00:48 Athena Cordero 

I'm Athena Cordero, and today I have Jennifer Roundtree and Melissa de Silva. 

00:00:54 Athena Cordero 

You guys both work here at CAHELP. 

00:00:57 Athena Cordero 

I've known Jen for, how long have we worked together? 

00:01:01 Athena Cordero 

Almost 10 years. 

00:01:02 Jennifer Rountree 

Probably longer than that. 

00:01:03 Jennifer Rountree 

Maybe close to like 13? 

00:01:06 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, I'm trying to think, when did I start? 

00:01:07 Athena Cordero 

I think I started in 16. 

00:01:09 Jennifer Rountree 

Oh, okay. 

00:01:10 Athena Cordero 

This 16. 

00:01:11 Jennifer Rountree 

So. 

00:01:12 Athena Cordero 

It's been a little bit. 

00:01:13 Athena Cordero 

A little bit. 

00:01:13 Athena Cordero 

I like 10 years. 

00:01:14 Athena Cordero 

But you've been here for how many years? 

00:01:15 Jennifer Rountree 

So I've been here since 2012. 

00:01:20 Jennifer Rountree 

Okay. 

00:01:21 Jennifer Rountree 

So yeah, a long time. 

00:01:24 Athena Cordero 

And Melissa, how many years have you been with CAO? 

00:01:27 Melissa de Silva 

Well, I started here in 2022, so much shorter time than the two of you. 

00:01:33 Athena Cordero 

That's okay. 

00:01:33 Melissa de Silva 

But I am almost reaching my four year mark. 

00:01:36 Athena Cordero 

Okay, we'll just celebrate. 

00:01:37 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, why not? 

00:01:38 Athena Cordero 

We'll celebrate. 

00:01:39 Athena Cordero 

So you came right after we were remote and got to do trainings over Zoom for the first time ever in history. 

00:01:46 Athena Cordero 

All of that. 

00:01:47 Athena Cordero 

Yes. 

00:01:48 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so that was probably a transition enough to make you feel like you've been here for 10 years though. 

00:01:52 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah. 

00:01:54 Athena Cordero 

Okay, we're going to talk about Autism Awareness Month. 

00:01:58 Athena Cordero 

But first, just so we can give the audience just a little bit more, listeners a little bit more about you guys, can you tell me about the work that you do here at CAHELP, your role, and how autism fits into that? 

00:02:10 Athena Cordero 

Jen, you want to go first? 

00:02:12 Jennifer Rountree 

Sure. 

00:02:12 Jennifer Rountree 

So I'm a program specialist and my area of focus is autism. 

00:02:17 Jennifer Rountree 

So pretty much everything I do in addition to supporting our districts is around autism. 

00:02:22 Jennifer Rountree 

So that's from training to coaching in classroom consultations, all kinds of things around that, as well as, you know, supporting our families as questions come up and things like that. 

00:02:36 Jennifer Rountree 

But also I'm part of 

00:02:40 Jennifer Rountree 

a group across the state that does work related to autism, which is captain, which I'm sure we'll talk about a little bit, right? 

00:02:48 Jennifer Rountree 

And I also lead our peers program, which is a program for the education and enrichment of relational skills for kids on autism, right? 

00:03:00 Jennifer Rountree 

Yeah. 

00:03:01 Jennifer Rountree 

So it's something that we've been doing for a while. 

00:03:04 Jennifer Rountree 

So that's 

00:03:06 Jennifer Rountree 

part of my role as well. 

00:03:07 Jennifer Rountree 

And then I lead our SOPA autism implementation team where we really work on what's needed within our districts, what's needed across our region. 

00:03:16 Athena Cordero 

Awesome. 

00:03:17 Athena Cordero 

It's a lot. 

00:03:18 Jennifer Rountree 

It's a lot. 

00:03:19 Athena Cordero 

No, it is. 

00:03:19 Athena Cordero 

It's a lot and it's really awesome work. 

00:03:21 Athena Cordero 

Thank you for summing it up. 

00:03:22 Jennifer Rountree 

It's the billing work. 

00:03:23 Athena Cordero 

Oh, I love it. 

00:03:24 Athena Cordero 

I wish folks could see the look on your face when you say it because it is. 

00:03:27 Athena Cordero 

It absolutely is. 

00:03:29 Athena Cordero 

Melissa. 

00:03:31 Melissa de Silva 

So my role is intervention specialist. 

00:03:35 Melissa de Silva 

I am on the program specialist team. 

00:03:38 Melissa de Silva 

So I work alongside Jennifer in a lot of what she shared. 

00:03:42 Melissa de Silva 

Within the SAIT teams, the SELPA Autism Implementation Team, we do the autism trainings and like we mentioned, CAPTIN, which we'll talk about. 

00:03:53 Melissa de Silva 

Another acronym for you all is the California Autism Professional Training and Information Network. 

00:04:00 Melissa de Silva 

That's a big part of my role. 

00:04:02 Melissa de Silva 

I get to go into many different classrooms and implement evidence-based practices and coaching 

00:04:09 Melissa de Silva 

teachers, the paras, and just supporting to if they want to work on visual supports or prompting, reinforcing. 

00:04:17 Melissa de Silva 

There's 28 evidence-based practices that I can go into the classrooms and help. 

00:04:23 Athena Cordero 

Man, you guys are busy. 

00:04:26 Athena Cordero 

I just want to clarify, because we talk about training and coaching all the time. 

00:04:32 Athena Cordero 

You guys are trainers, and when you say coaching, we're not talking soccer and softball. 

00:04:38 Athena Cordero 

give us an idea or kind of describe for us what coaching looks like for teachers in the classroom. 

00:04:43 Jennifer Rountree 

Go ahead, Melissa. 

00:04:45 Melissa de Silva 

So sometimes they may have gone through one of our autism trainings or they may have completed one of the free AFIRM modules and it 

00:04:56 Melissa de Silva 

sparks their interest. 

00:04:57 Melissa de Silva 

They're more curious, like, am I doing this right? 

00:04:59 Melissa de Silva 

Or I've never tried that. 

00:05:01 Melissa de Silva 

I'm a little scared to try it. 

00:05:02 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah. 

00:05:03 Melissa de Silva 

It's all focused around autism and implementing those evidence-based practices. 

00:05:08 Melissa de Silva 

Maybe it's a specific visual support that they want to try during transitions, during a certain time of their day. 

00:05:16 Melissa de Silva 

Okay. 

00:05:16 Melissa de Silva 

That's when they would reach out to the autism team and we would 

00:05:21 Melissa de Silva 

kind of set up a pre-conference to see what the specific need is and a good time to set up to go in person to see in their classroom and help support. 

00:05:31 Melissa de Silva 

And that is what coaching for autism looks like. 

00:05:34 Athena Cordero 

Nice. 

00:05:34 Athena Cordero 

So you guys really get in there in the environment and help them see how to implement those things in real time. 

00:05:40 Melissa de Silva 

We definitely get in there. 

00:05:43 Melissa de Silva 

space. 

00:05:44 Melissa de Silva 

It is their, this is their classroom and they're welcoming us into, it's like their home, right? 

00:05:50 Melissa de Silva 

They're welcoming us. 

00:05:51 Melissa de Silva 

They, a lot of times the teachers too offer like, oh, can I offer you a drink? 

00:05:56 Melissa de Silva 

It's really, it's just amazing that relationship that we do get. 

00:06:00 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah. 

00:06:00 Melissa de Silva 

And to me, it's exciting. 

00:06:03 Melissa de Silva 

It is so exciting when they reach out for that support because they want to make a difference and they're very passionate about their autistic students and how to support them. 

00:06:13 Athena Cordero 

I love it because it takes the information, the content from the training and puts it in the application so you can actually see it and live it. 

00:06:21 Athena Cordero 

So I love it. 

00:06:22 Athena Cordero 

Anytime there's coaching available or we can offer that anyway, I think that makes all the difference when it comes to the info. 

00:06:28 Jennifer Rountree 

I agree. 

00:06:28 Jennifer Rountree 

I mean, we can give trainings all the time, give you all the information. 

00:06:32 Jennifer Rountree 

You can hear what's out there, but until you actually go in and try to do it and put it into practice and trial and error and how do we fix this and how do we adjust for this 

00:06:43 Jennifer Rountree 

situation, that's really where the difference is made. 

00:06:46 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, and you can't beat the real time feedback and support. 

00:06:51 Athena Cordero 

Like I'm trying to have a question and there's someone right there to kind of walk me through it. 

00:06:55 Athena Cordero 

That's invaluable. 

00:06:57 Athena Cordero 

Okay, I want to get into how autism is described as a spectrum. 

00:07:02 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so can you give me, I want to say a definition, a description. 

00:07:09 Athena Cordero 

the accurate way to look at autism and why we look at it as a spectrum. 

00:07:16 Jennifer Rountree 

So when you think about autism, it is a spectrum because it's something that has an impact on the individuals that are diagnosed with autism at different levels. 

00:07:29 Jennifer Rountree 

So what does that mean exactly? 

00:07:31 Jennifer Rountree 

So it's autism spectrum disorder. 

00:07:34 Jennifer Rountree 

And it is specifically 2 areas that are impacted when someone is diagnosed as having autism or has received the label of having autism. 

00:07:47 Jennifer Rountree 

It's A neurodevelopmental disability, meaning it impacts how the brain is receiving information, processing information. 

00:07:56 Jennifer Rountree 

all of those different pieces. 

00:07:57 Jennifer Rountree 

And then there's two specific areas, which is one, social communication. 

00:08:02 Jennifer Rountree 

Okay. 

00:08:03 Jennifer Rountree 

And then two, restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior. 

00:08:06 Jennifer Rountree 

So social communication, meaning how I understand social context. 

00:08:12 Jennifer Rountree 

How do I understand the back and forth in a conversation or in communication or how to interact with someone? 

00:08:18 Jennifer Rountree 

Restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior related to 

00:08:23 Jennifer Rountree 

Routines, consistency, how do I regulate myself? 

00:08:27 Jennifer Rountree 

What are the things that I am needing in order to basically process my day-to-day? 

00:08:34 Jennifer Rountree 

With it being a spectrum, you'll have those that are highly impacted by their symptoms related to social communication or restrictive patterns of behavior, all the way to those that are 

00:08:47 Jennifer Rountree 

mildly impacted by those symptoms where they may need no support at all, and really it's not affecting their day-to-day functioning. 

00:08:57 Jennifer Rountree 

So even students or individuals that have an autism diagnosis don't necessarily always receive additional support. 

00:09:04 Jennifer Rountree 

They don't always need, for instance, special education or other things because how their autism presents looks different, 

00:09:14 Jennifer Rountree 

depending on where they fall within the spectrum. 

00:09:18 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so Melissa, did you want to add anything? 

00:09:20 Melissa de Silva 

Well, just if you've met one person with autism, you've only met one person. 

00:09:25 Melissa de Silva 

And that's exactly what Jen was describing because it's going to show up differently in each and every individual. 

00:09:33 Athena Cordero 

So with, okay, now I understand the spectrum. 

00:09:37 Athena Cordero 

I understand the two parts. 

00:09:41 Athena Cordero 

What's the test, right? 

00:09:43 Athena Cordero 

I mean, the next thing someone will ask is, how do I test for it? 

00:09:46 Athena Cordero 

How do I diagnose it? 

00:09:48 Athena Cordero 

Like, what does it look like? 

00:09:49 Athena Cordero 

What does the kid have to go through? 

00:09:51 Athena Cordero 

Walk me through that. 

00:09:52 Jennifer Rountree 

So there's two different things. 

00:09:53 Jennifer Rountree 

So you have a medical diagnosis that can happen, which happens, right, through insurances or outside in the medical setting, where an individual can receive an autism diagnosis where they're considered either 

00:10:10 Jennifer Rountree 

having autism level 1, level 2, or level 3. 

00:10:14 Jennifer Rountree 

Level 1, two, or three basically is just stating the amount of support that an individual needs. 

00:10:21 Jennifer Rountree 

So 1 limited to support all the way to three being very intensive support needed to function on a day-to-day basis. 

00:10:28 Jennifer Rountree 

When we think about our school setting, though, 

00:10:31 Jennifer Rountree 

It looks a little bit different because, like I said, just because you have an autism label or a diagnosis from a medical setting doesn't necessarily mean that you are identified within the school setting as having the need for special ed services. 

00:10:48 Athena Cordero 

So, okay, and I'm going to walk it slow. 

00:10:52 Athena Cordero 

If I may be diagnosed at a level one, but it has not presented itself in the school setting in any way that my teachers might ask my parents or caregivers, you know, I've noticed these things, then my school might not even ever need to know that I have this diagnosis. 

00:11:07 Jennifer Rountree 

Yeah, that's correct. 

00:11:08 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:11:09 Jennifer Rountree 

So within the school setting, right, you'll go through, you can go through an assessment process where there's a recommendation from either 

00:11:18 Jennifer Rountree 

parents, schools, service providers, educator, whoever it happens to be, saying, hey, there's a need here. 

00:11:23 Jennifer Rountree 

Can we do an assessment to see what else may be going on? 

00:11:27 Jennifer Rountree 

So they'll go through that process and. 

00:11:30 Jennifer Rountree 

they may be identified as having autism based off of characteristics that are presenting within the school setting that are impacting their day-to-day functioning. 

00:11:39 Athena Cordero 

And is it one particular test or assessment that you could determine that from, or is it like several different kinds? 

00:11:46 Jennifer Rountree 

No, so there's all kinds of tests out there that are used from questionnaires that include parent and teacher voice within it, as well as specific 

00:11:59 Jennifer Rountree 

tests such as some people have heard of the ADOS, which you're going to ask me the acronym, and in this moment I can't come up with it, but it's the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scales. 

00:12:11 Jennifer Rountree 

I believe that's what it is, but I may be wrong. 

00:12:13 Jennifer Rountree 

Anyway, there are some very specific tests out there that are looking for those that are pulled together with other questionnaires, and all that information is brought together to see, hey, how is this presenting and how may this be impacting our school. 

00:12:27 Athena Cordero 

So is it fair to thank you for 

00:12:29 Athena Cordero 

Is it fair to say that depending on where someone is on the spectrum, a teacher might see the behavior sooner than a parent or a parent might see the behavior sooner than a teacher? 

00:12:40 Jennifer Rountree 

Absolutely, because it impacts different things. 

00:12:44 Jennifer Rountree 

So even though it's only social communication and restrictive patterns of behavior, those two areas actually show up in a whole bunch of different ways. 

00:12:52 Jennifer Rountree 

In fact, we were talking about this earlier today and 

00:12:56 Jennifer Rountree 

It can impact someone's ability to understand communication and language. 

00:13:00 Jennifer Rountree 

It can impact someone's ability to participate related to their social skills or how they process information. 

00:13:08 Jennifer Rountree 

So they're thinking and learning. 

00:13:10 Jennifer Rountree 

So with that, right. 

00:13:11 Jennifer Rountree 

In the school setting, we may see challenges related to participating in group activities, doing work that's outside of a specific interest, being able to join conversations with peers, things like that may show up as little red flags within the school setting. 

00:13:29 Jennifer Rountree 

At home, we may see other things where specific day-to-day functions, they're not able to do as effectively maybe as someone else. 

00:13:38 Jennifer Rountree 

So what parent sees or family sees 

00:13:41 Jennifer Rountree 

may look completely different than what we're seeing in the school setting, especially as different activities and different, different skills are being presented or tasked. 

00:13:54 Athena Cordero 

So if I'm gonna try to just make up some examples, you tell me where, if I'm doing okay. 

00:14:00 Athena Cordero 

I'm thinking socially, it might be a kid that doesn't understand sarcasm or jokes. 

00:14:06 Athena Cordero 

right? 

00:14:07 Athena Cordero 

And then something else, maybe at home, the process of getting ready for bed every night might not just come natural, where you do these three things the same all the time. 

00:14:20 Athena Cordero 

They might need help with where to start or how to keep moving. 

00:14:23 Athena Cordero 

Is that fair to say? 

00:14:24 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, absolutely. 

00:14:25 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:14:27 Athena Cordero 

I'm asking, you know, because I think as parents, 

00:14:31 Athena Cordero 

If we see something that seems a little off, whether we have one child or we've got five, we notice something, we don't want to diagnose our kids, but we do kind of want to understand what we're looking at. 

00:14:42 Athena Cordero 

And we don't, not everybody has the expertise in the background or, ABA, expertise or background to look at things the way they are. 

00:14:50 Athena Cordero 

If a parent was curious, you know, if they're seeing something like that, what would be that first step? 

00:14:55 Athena Cordero 

You know, what could they do? 

00:14:57 Jennifer Rountree 

I think it depends on where they are within their school setting, right? 

00:15:03 Jennifer Rountree 

And their relationships with different individuals. 

00:15:05 Jennifer Rountree 

Those that are school age, I'd reach out to a teacher and just say, hey, these are some of the things that I'm noticing. 

00:15:13 Jennifer Rountree 

Are you noticing that as well? 

00:15:15 Jennifer Rountree 

So that could be a first step. 

00:15:17 Jennifer Rountree 

If it continues to be something where we feel like it's really impacting 

00:15:22 Jennifer Rountree 

their day-to-day or their ability to do things in school. 

00:15:26 Jennifer Rountree 

They absolutely could request an assessment to kind of narrow down what they're seeing, but they could also reach out to their medical insurance to say, hey, you know, can we do a checkup? 

00:15:40 Jennifer Rountree 

These are things of concern, right? 

00:15:42 Jennifer Rountree 

And then through the medical lens, they could also reach out to see. 

00:15:46 Athena Cordero 

And no matter what route they take, they'll still be 

00:15:51 Athena Cordero 

I guess what I'm wondering is they'll still understand what level of support their child might need. 

00:15:56 Jennifer Rountree 

I think it'll look different, right? 

00:15:59 Jennifer Rountree 

With the medical diagnosis, we still have to go through the school process, right? 

00:16:02 Jennifer Rountree 

The medical diagnosis may be opening the door to, hey, there's something going on here. 

00:16:07 Jennifer Rountree 

And now, right, we want to have these conversations with teachers and others that are interacting with their kiddo to say, are we seeing this at school as well? 

00:16:16 Jennifer Rountree 

Are we seeing other challenges? 

00:16:18 Jennifer Rountree 

Or I'm noticing they're not keeping up with the pace of the 

00:16:21 Jennifer Rountree 

the classroom that they maybe are not having as much success as friends when it comes to playing and things like that. 

00:16:30 Jennifer Rountree 

So there's things that are coming up as little red flags where at that point, having that conversation with the teacher or at the district and saying, hey, we do have this diagnosis. 

00:16:41 Jennifer Rountree 

I notice there's other things that are 

00:16:44 Jennifer Rountree 

not working well at school or coming up as red flags, can we go ahead and do an assessment to find out if there's needs? 

00:16:51 Athena Cordero 

That sounds like teamwork and absolutely it needs to be a strong partnership to help a kiddo out. 

00:17:00 Jennifer Rountree 

100%. 

00:17:00 Athena Cordero 

Is there, do you guys see any like common misconceptions about autism in the school setting? 

00:17:08 Jennifer Rountree 

You want to jump in, Melissa? 

00:17:11 Melissa de Silva 

Well, I think a lot of time it is 

00:17:15 Melissa de Silva 

they're not being naughty. 

00:17:16 Melissa de Silva 

Sometimes it's something internal that they need to do. 

00:17:21 Melissa de Silva 

So it might be the stimming where they're kicking the wall or they're screaming out loud or talking over and over again the same words or phrases. 

00:17:31 Melissa de Silva 

And it's not them being disruptive or being naughty. 

00:17:34 Melissa de Silva 

It's just a need. 

00:17:36 Melissa de Silva 

It's coming with the autism, right? 

00:17:38 Melissa de Silva 

So it's just, that is, 

00:17:41 Melissa de Silva 

Often it looks like they're being bad or they're being disruptive on purpose and it's not that at all. 

00:17:47 Athena Cordero 

It's not intentional. 

00:17:48 Athena Cordero 

Yeah. 

00:17:49 Athena Cordero 

Is it fair to say it's like the body's way of like serving as an outlet for whatever is going on internally? 

00:17:59 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah. 

00:17:59 Athena Cordero 

Because this is what it feels like. 

00:18:01 Athena Cordero 

I'm trying to understand if I'm processing things differently, if I'm taking information in differently, then the way I spit it out probably is going to look different too. 

00:18:10 Athena Cordero 

Is that 

00:18:11 Athena Cordero 

Make sense? 

00:18:12 Jennifer Rountree 

Absolutely. 

00:18:12 Athena Cordero 

Yeah. 

00:18:13 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:18:14 Athena Cordero 

So what's one small shift then maybe teachers, educators can make to support students on the spectrum? 

00:18:22 Athena Cordero 

Just something small that every classroom could do. 

00:18:26 Jennifer Rountree 

I think one of the things that's super helpful is really being clear as to what your classroom structure and routine is. 

00:18:34 Jennifer Rountree 

When we think about our students on the spectrum specifically, but I think it's good for all students in general, but 

00:18:41 Jennifer Rountree 

With the challenges a student on the spectrum has, when we can have clear structure within the classroom and clear routines, it makes it more predictable, easier to manage. 

00:18:54 Jennifer Rountree 

I understand what's coming next. 

00:18:56 Jennifer Rountree 

I may not completely understand how 

00:19:01 Jennifer Rountree 

expectations or rules or things are being shared with me, but the structure of my room is clear and the schedule is clear for me so I can go through those day-to-day things without having to spend too much time focusing on it or figuring it out. 

00:19:17 Jennifer Rountree 

And instead I can expend my energy on trying to work through these communication struggles or these social challenges or how do I get myself regulated? 

00:19:26 Athena Cordero 

That's okay. 

00:19:27 Athena Cordero 

That's really helpful. 

00:19:28 Athena Cordero 

So what's something, what are some things in a classroom already that we probably already have in there that are, that are helpful, that teachers wouldn't even realize? 

00:19:39 Athena Cordero 

Like what's something you guys could name? 

00:19:42 Melissa de Silva 

Oh, visual supports are being used and we don't even realize they're being used most of the time. 

00:19:49 Melissa de Silva 

It can be something as little as a stop sign that's hung up. 

00:19:54 Melissa de Silva 

And it's really helping to know this is where I stop. 

00:19:57 Melissa de Silva 

Or maybe it's just a red line. 

00:20:00 Melissa de Silva 

That's a visual support and it's a super easy way for students to understand I stop here. 

00:20:06 Athena Cordero 

Okay, what about like a calendar or agenda or, you know, what time lunch is, like those types of things. 

00:20:19 Athena Cordero 

If they're in the classroom but we don't, 

00:20:21 Athena Cordero 

maybe point them out, are they still helpful or is it necessary for us to kind of bring them into the instruction? 

00:20:27 Melissa de Silva 

Oh, absolutely. 

00:20:28 Melissa de Silva 

I like that you said, can they still be up even if they're not, we're not pointing them out, right? 

00:20:34 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah, because it doesn't hurt to be there, all right? 

00:20:37 Melissa de Silva 

It's still supporting those that do need to follow it. 

00:20:40 Melissa de Silva 

Oh, we just finished PE. 

00:20:41 Melissa de Silva 

I can see the schedule there and now I know it's time for science. 

00:20:45 Melissa de Silva 

Gotcha. 

00:20:45 Melissa de Silva 

After science, I get to go to lunch and it's all up there. 

00:20:48 Melissa de Silva 

They can see it. 

00:20:49 Melissa de Silva 

They know where to look at it. 

00:20:52 Melissa de Silva 

But not everybody's gonna, some can just go with the flow, right? 

00:20:55 Melissa de Silva 

But some rely on that schedule. 

00:20:57 Melissa de Silva 

It doesn't hurt anybody to be posted up there. 

00:21:00 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah. 

00:21:00 Melissa de Silva 

Sometimes it can even be an individual schedule taped to a desk. 

00:21:05 Athena Cordero 

So that goes back maybe to those levels of support. 

00:21:07 Melissa de Silva 

Yes. 

00:21:08 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:21:08 Athena Cordero 

Exactly. 

00:21:09 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so every kid can benefit from knowing what comes next, but Athena might need a different type of schedule with the layout a little differently in the corner of her desk. 

00:21:20 Jennifer Rountree 

Yeah, I think when you brought up, right, calendars and agendas and things that we're using for all students, when we think about our students with autism, that may be too broad or too general and not 

00:21:32 Jennifer Rountree 

Pointing out some of the specific details that we need or catching our attention enough in order to really find out what it is that they should be doing in that moment, so... 

00:21:46 Jennifer Rountree 

like Melissa was mentioning, right? 

00:21:47 Jennifer Rountree 

Move it to their desk. 

00:21:49 Jennifer Rountree 

So if it's something that's up in the front of the room that we're all using and it's there all the time, but our students not necessarily engaged in it, right? 

00:21:57 Jennifer Rountree 

How do we bring it closer to them and make it more individualized and match how they understand or what they need from that within an agenda? 

00:22:07 Jennifer Rountree 

Sometimes our kiddos get lost and there's so much information on that agenda, right? 

00:22:13 Jennifer Rountree 

But we can bring some clarity by saying, okay, everything related to math, we're going to put with a blue highlight. 

00:22:19 Jennifer Rountree 

Everything related to language arts, we're going to put with a red highlight. 

00:22:22 Jennifer Rountree 

Everything related to science is going to be highlighted yellow. 

00:22:26 Jennifer Rountree 

So then they can quickly look at it and see, okay, this is what I have to do, or this is where I am. 

00:22:32 Jennifer Rountree 

So even in helping them maybe with transition, knowing what room to go to, we match the yellow for science or social studies. 

00:22:40 Jennifer Rountree 

I don't remember what I said, but yeah. 

00:22:42 Athena Cordero 

That's so, and I'm looking at that thinking, it reminds me a lot of, with the support that I used to be able to give in the classroom, just a multi-tiered system of support. 

00:22:54 Athena Cordero 

What do you offer for tier one, tier two, tier three? 

00:22:56 Athena Cordero 

It sounds exactly the same. 

00:22:58 Athena Cordero 

And I know there's some evidence behind that. 

00:23:01 Athena Cordero 

Can we get into the evidence-based practices and maybe captain a little bit? 

00:23:06 Melissa de Silva 

So like I mentioned earlier, there are 28 evidence-based practices. 

00:23:10 Melissa de Silva 

And there are free modules to learn more about it on AFIRM. 

00:23:15 Melissa de Silva 

It's a website that we could probably include the link for. 

00:23:19 Melissa de Silva 

We can. 

00:23:20 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah, and so you can learn more about it, but there are 28 evidence-based practices. 

00:23:24 Melissa de Silva 

And that's what I mentioned earlier. 

00:23:26 Melissa de Silva 

I can go into the classrooms. 

00:23:28 Melissa de Silva 

It's part of my role to support implementing any of those. 

00:23:31 Melissa de Silva 

And we do trainings on 

00:23:34 Melissa de Silva 

those evidence-based practices. 

00:23:36 Melissa de Silva 

So what's one of them? 

00:23:38 Melissa de Silva 

Prompting. 

00:23:39 Melissa de Silva 

Prompting. 

00:23:39 Melissa de Silva 

That's a fun training. 

00:23:40 Melissa de Silva 

Okay. 

00:23:41 Athena Cordero 

Yes. 

00:23:42 Melissa de Silva 

Okay. 

00:23:42 Melissa de Silva 

All of them are fun. 

00:23:44 Ad 

Hey guys, get ready on April 14th, 00 AM to 3:30 PM for a fun-filled day of learning, connection, and inspiration at the eighth annual Regional Autism Conference, Navigating Autism Across the Lifespan. 

00:23:57 Ad 

Join us at the West End Educational Service Center in Rancho Cucamonga for an exciting day featuring breakfast and lunch, an inspiring keynote by Dr. 

00:24:06 Ad 

Jennifer Cork. 

00:24:07 Ad 

So don't miss out. 

00:24:08 Ad 

Find the registration link on the CAHELP website. 

00:24:11 Ad 

Can't wait to see you there. 

00:24:14 Athena Cordero 

So with prompting, what could that look like in the classroom? 

00:24:18 Athena Cordero 

And at home, actually, if you can give me an example of both. 

00:24:22 Jennifer Rountree 

So with prompting, right, there's different prompts that we can do from our most intrusive is where we have some type of physical prompt where we're helping guide the student through or the child through an activity. 

00:24:33 Jennifer Rountree 

So like at home, prompting them through using physical prompt would be hand over hand, helping them brush their teeth, for instance. 

00:24:41 Jennifer Rountree 

That might be a prompt that we're doing. 

00:24:43 Jennifer Rountree 

And then as they get 

00:24:45 Jennifer Rountree 

more successful in doing that, we may ease up on holding and instead maybe we just put our hand on their shoulder. 

00:24:52 Jennifer Rountree 

Or we might even move up to something less restrictive and gesture to where the toothbrush is. 

00:24:59 Jennifer Rountree 

So then that's the prompt they need to know, oh, hey, I need to be brushing my teeth. 

00:25:03 Jennifer Rountree 

Gotcha. 

00:25:04 Jennifer Rountree 

In the classroom, right, it could be. 

00:25:07 Jennifer Rountree 

that, again, let's start with the gesture. 

00:25:09 Jennifer Rountree 

We have a student with work on the desk and we walk by and we just gesture to the space where they should be doing their work in order to call their attention and get them started. 

00:25:19 Jennifer Rountree 

Or even it could be positioning, so moving their paper closer to them as a way to prompt their attention to, hey, this is what I should be doing. 

00:25:27 Athena Cordero 

Gotcha. 

00:25:28 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so 

00:25:30 Athena Cordero 

I can think of a prompt my mom gave when we were kids, it was the look. 

00:25:34 Athena Cordero 

But I'm thinking that's probably not going to be as helpful in this case, but it did get me moving, I'll tell you that. 

00:25:39 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, okay, it works. 

00:25:42 Jennifer Rountree 

When you think about prompts, prompts are things that work, but when we think about it as moving from our everyday, day-to-day things that we're doing, because we do it all the time, the look, right? 

00:25:52 Jennifer Rountree 

I can go say something to my kids to go get it, and we're saying it to all of them, but it's when 

00:25:58 Jennifer Rountree 

We find someone that's really not being successful or really struggling, and this is where prompting turns into an evidence-based practice, where we're using it specifically to teach a skill. 

00:26:09 Jennifer Rountree 

OK, so with the... 

00:26:11 Jennifer Rountree 

Home example of brushing teeth, we're teaching the skill of picking up the toothbrush and brushing our teeth. 

00:26:16 Jennifer Rountree 

With the classroom example of completing the work, we're teaching the skill of completing the work as opposed to, you know, everyone in the class is off task, we just need to give a little. 

00:26:28 Jennifer Rountree 

Extra. 

00:26:28 Athena Cordero 

Okay, and then you guys mentioned that there's trainings you can attend on any of these 28 evidence-based practices. 

00:26:35 Athena Cordero 

Is it 28 trainings, like one for each evidence-based practice? 

00:26:39 Melissa de Silva 

So for our busy folks out there, the Affirm modules, it's self-paced. 

00:26:45 Melissa de Silva 

So if you have 20 minutes and you want to get started on one of the modules, on one of those 28 evidence-based practices, it's really you work at your own pace. 

00:26:56 Melissa de Silva 

So if you have to get back on there later when you have 

00:26:58 Melissa de Silva 

more time. 

00:26:59 Melissa de Silva 

Maybe today you want to learn about visual supports. 

00:27:01 Melissa de Silva 

Next week you want to learn about prompting. 

00:27:05 Melissa de Silva 

All 28 are available for free at any time of the day at your own pace. 

00:27:10 Melissa de Silva 

So those are not on a schedule basis. 

00:27:12 Melissa de Silva 

Those are awesome for the busy people who just want to go in when they can. 

00:27:17 Athena Cordero 

And try it out. 

00:27:18 Athena Cordero 

Yes. 

00:27:19 Athena Cordero 

What if I have like a day or two to come listen to some awesome trainers? 

00:27:23 Athena Cordero 

What's my options? 

00:27:25 Jennifer Rountree 

All right, so what Melissa's mentioning is the online modules that are available, but we do offer trainings here at the SELPA. 

00:27:32 Jennifer Rountree 

So for instance, we do understanding and managing behaviors and autism training. 

00:27:36 Jennifer Rountree 

Okay. 

00:27:37 Jennifer Rountree 

And within that training, we incorporate many of those evidence-based practices together, some of the most common ones. 

00:27:44 Jennifer Rountree 

So if you have a couple of hours, right, you can come and attend that one. 

00:27:49 Jennifer Rountree 

So that's just an idea of things that we offer. 

00:27:52 Jennifer Rountree 

We do offer 

00:27:54 Jennifer Rountree 

other trainings around, we have an autism and parent supports training, which is, again, a few hours where we're pulling in these different evidence-based practices and matching them to what are some of the situations that we have. 

00:28:10 Jennifer Rountree 

So yes, you can dive into detailed information on each of the 28 evidence-based practices. 

00:28:16 Jennifer Rountree 

That information is there. 

00:28:18 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:28:19 Jennifer Rountree 

But we could also connect with you and provide some training and support around some broader topics where we're bringing in all of those individual pieces. 

00:28:27 Athena Cordero 

Okay, and then how would I find these trainings? 

00:28:30 Jennifer Rountree 

So on our CAHELP website, there is an autism page. 

00:28:37 Jennifer Rountree 

So within the autism page, you can find a variety of things that we're offering from 

00:28:45 Jennifer Rountree 

trainings, updated information on evidence-based practices. 

00:28:48 Jennifer Rountree 

We do a monthly video to share. 

00:28:52 Jennifer Rountree 

We have different resources, so that's one place. 

00:28:56 Jennifer Rountree 

You can also find it on the website under the professional learning section where all of our professional developments are listed. 

00:29:05 Melissa de Silva 

And this month you will find the understanding behaviors and managing behaviors in autism. 

00:29:12 Melissa de Silva 

It's on Zoom and it's free training. 

00:29:14 Melissa de Silva 

It's this month. 

00:29:15 Athena Cordero 

We'll have to see if we can get that up there so folks can find it. 

00:29:19 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, that's awesome. 

00:29:20 Jennifer Rountree 

You can also go on our social media page where we list a bunch of things that are coming up from RCAHELP social media, but also through Captain. 

00:29:28 Athena Cordero 

Let's talk about Captain. 

00:29:29 Athena Cordero 

Yeah. 

00:29:30 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so the evidence-based practice is kind of central to what Captain 

00:29:34 Athena Cordero 

does, right? 

00:29:35 Athena Cordero 

Talk to me about what that is, Captain. 

00:29:37 Athena Cordero 

I'm going to test you guys again. 

00:29:38 Athena Cordero 

What does that stand for? 

00:29:39 Jennifer Rountree 

Go ahead, Melissa. 

00:29:40 Melissa de Silva 

California Autism Professional Training and Information Network. 

00:29:45 Melissa de Silva 

That was beautiful. 

00:29:46 Melissa de Silva 

It is. 

00:29:47 Melissa de Silva 

That's how we use acronyms, right? 

00:29:49 Melissa de Silva 

That was beautiful. 

00:29:50 Melissa de Silva 

Okay, tell me, what does Captain do? 

00:29:52 Melissa de Silva 

What's it about? 

00:29:54 Melissa de Silva 

And actually in Riverside in San Bernardino County is Captain X. 

00:29:58 Melissa de Silva 

Okay. 

00:29:58 Melissa de Silva 

So that's how to distinguish that region. 

00:30:01 Jennifer Rountree 

Yeah. 

00:30:02 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:30:03 Jennifer Rountree 

So Captain is a statewide initiative where we're bringing together a bunch of individuals across practices to collaborate on what are the needs for our autistic community from education to family resources to higher ed, 

00:30:23 Jennifer Rountree 

our regional center so we have our educators we have regional center families support higher education as well as autistic individuals coming together to talk about what are the needs that are out there what are the evidence-based practices that are out there how do we disseminate information so make sure everyone's aware yeah of what's the 

00:30:45 Jennifer Rountree 

The most current information, and then how do we get them the training and support that they need from, like I said, training or coaching, like we mentioned earlier, or just getting them connected to the community so that they're building this way of supporting each other, so through Captain. 

00:31:03 Jennifer Rountree 

being across the state of California, there's multiple regions. 

00:31:06 Jennifer Rountree 

So for our specific area, like Melissa mentioned, we're Captain X. 

00:31:10 Jennifer Rountree 

So it's San Bernardino and Riverside counties coming together. 

00:31:13 Athena Cordero 

I love that there are folks, a part of that network, that team of people that are actually on the spectrum that are included in those conversations and can talk about what the need is. 

00:31:23 Athena Cordero 

That seems like an awesome way to get 

00:31:26 Athena Cordero 

a great view, of how to offer support. 

00:31:28 Jennifer Rountree 

Yeah, absolutely. 

00:31:29 Jennifer Rountree 

And it's not where we started, but it was something that we've grown to just in recognizing, right? 

00:31:36 Jennifer Rountree 

Nothing. 

00:31:37 Jennifer Rountree 

So there's a saying out there, and I'll probably going to say it wrong. 

00:31:41 Jennifer Rountree 

So I apologize for butchering it beforehand, but it's nothing about us without us. 

00:31:46 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:31:47 Jennifer Rountree 

Right? 

00:31:47 Jennifer Rountree 

So as we continue to talk about all of these different things from evidence-based practices to what our community needs, right? 

00:31:54 Jennifer Rountree 

We should hear from the community. 

00:31:56 Athena Cordero 

That's awesome. 

00:31:56 Jennifer Rountree 

Right. 

00:31:57 Athena Cordero 

Very awesome. 

00:31:58 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so Autism Awareness Month, I also heard it a little differently. 

00:32:06 Athena Cordero 

autism acceptance. 

00:32:08 Athena Cordero 

What's the difference? 

00:32:09 Athena Cordero 

When did that come about? 

00:32:12 Jennifer Rountree 

So it's come about informally over the last few years. 

00:32:19 Jennifer Rountree 

This past year in California, it was specifically recognized as autism being Autism Acceptance Month. 

00:32:27 Jennifer Rountree 

And really the difference is, right, it's one thing to be aware that something is present or someone or some need is present, right? 

00:32:36 Jennifer Rountree 

it's another thing to be accepting of it. 

00:32:38 Jennifer Rountree 

So looking beyond, okay, I know about it, but now how do I incorporate it? 

00:32:43 Jennifer Rountree 

How do I support it? 

00:32:44 Jennifer Rountree 

How do I bring others together around it? 

00:32:50 Jennifer Rountree 

and do something differently. 

00:32:53 Jennifer Rountree 

But then there's even that additional layer of the inclusivity piece of it. 

00:32:57 Jennifer Rountree 

So, and that's where I think, right, this past year specifically and really focusing on bringing in that autistic voice to the work that we're doing. 

00:33:05 Jennifer Rountree 

So from awareness to acceptance and even beyond acceptance, how are we included in the conversation? 

00:33:11 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so when I see the puzzle pieces, I'm thinking autism awareness, right? 

00:33:18 Athena Cordero 

Is this kind of shift to acceptance going to change that? 

00:33:22 Athena Cordero 

Because I feel like that's my, you know, that's what I see and I know what the symbol means. 

00:33:28 Athena Cordero 

I know what I'm getting. 

00:33:30 Athena Cordero 

Is that going away or is that just part of the move? 

00:33:35 Melissa de Silva 

It's a movement. 

00:33:36 Melissa de Silva 

It's not going away. 

00:33:37 Melissa de Silva 

It's a preference. 

00:33:39 Melissa de Silva 

So there's no right or wrong. 

00:33:41 Melissa de Silva 

It's just they're both preference. 

00:33:43 Melissa de Silva 

Promoting awareness, right? 

00:33:45 Melissa de Silva 

But now the infinity symbol is here for acceptance. 

00:33:49 Melissa de Silva 

Okay. 

00:33:50 Melissa de Silva 

There's no right or wrong way. 

00:33:52 Athena Cordero 

So autism awareness, I'm still going to see the puzzle pieces. 

00:33:56 Melissa de Silva 

Yes. 

00:33:57 Jennifer Rountree 

You may still see puzzle pieces out and about. 

00:33:59 Jennifer Rountree 

There are many individuals who still identify with the puzzle piece themselves as individuals on the spectrum or their family. 

00:34:08 Jennifer Rountree 

And in moving in this direction of acceptance, 

00:34:12 Jennifer Rountree 

I think it's kind of counterintuitive to push that aside. 

00:34:15 Jennifer Rountree 

If there's people that are already identifying with it, right, we're accepting of that. 

00:34:19 Jennifer Rountree 

But then there's others that are really voicing within the community, we're not a puzzle to be solved, right? 

00:34:25 Jennifer Rountree 

We are who we are, which is different and unique, and it works. 

00:34:31 Jennifer Rountree 

So, right, that shift and transition to the infinity sign is really recognition of we all fall in different places along the spectrum. 

00:34:39 Jennifer Rountree 

And 

00:34:40 Jennifer Rountree 

Again, it's an individual preference. 

00:34:41 Jennifer Rountree 

So no different than you may have heard us say individuals with autism, students with autism versus autistic individuals or autistic people. 

00:34:51 Jennifer Rountree 

Because again, that language, whether it's person first or identity first is also a preference because there's people out in the community that prefer to be called autistic and there's others that prefer to be called by their names simply, right? 

00:35:04 Jennifer Rountree 

So that's cool though. 

00:35:05 Athena Cordero 

I mean, it does kind of speak to, 

00:35:08 Athena Cordero 

You choosing how you want to identify your level of awareness and how you move with that, right? 

00:35:14 Athena Cordero 

Okay, I can dig it, you guys. 

00:35:16 Athena Cordero 

Okay, you have some events actually coming up this month. 

00:35:20 Athena Cordero 

Talk to me about those. 

00:35:22 Jennifer Rountree 

So the first one coming up, actually, the second one coming up is our autism conference. 

00:35:30 Jennifer Rountree 

So it's on April 14th. 

00:35:32 Jennifer Rountree 

It is a regional conference where we pull in people from Riverside and San Bernardino counties to participate in a full day event. 

00:35:40 Jennifer Rountree 

Our focus is on transitions across the lifespan. 

00:35:44 Jennifer Rountree 

So what does it look like as a little as we're transitioning into the school setting? 

00:35:49 Jennifer Rountree 

information there for parents as well as other care providers or early educators. 

00:35:55 Jennifer Rountree 

Transitions from middle school, high school, moving into that secondary setting, as well as transitions out of school and into the young adult world. 

00:36:03 Jennifer Rountree 

So a broad spectrum of things that we're offering through our breakout sessions. 

00:36:09 Jennifer Rountree 

So we have, like you said, it's a full day, so we'll have breakfast, we have our keynote, open your *** up, right? 

00:36:15 Jennifer Rountree 

Food. 

00:36:16 Jennifer Rountree 

Oh, there. 

00:36:17 Jennifer Rountree 

Yeah. 

00:36:19 Jennifer Rountree 

Our keynote opening us up and actually she's an autistic adult that was late identified who actually works as a mental health provider and is talking about really how do we support those mental health needs related to transitions as well. 

00:36:33 Jennifer Rountree 

So we'd have that. 

00:36:35 Jennifer Rountree 

We have breakout sessions throughout the day, tons of resource booths that are being available throughout the community so we can connect with folks there to get 

00:36:45 Jennifer Rountree 

additional pieces, lunch, and raffles. 

00:36:48 Jennifer Rountree 

Oh my gosh. 

00:36:49 Jennifer Rountree 

Oh my gosh. 

00:36:50 Jennifer Rountree 

And a photo booth. 

00:36:51 Jennifer Rountree 

How do I go? 

00:36:53 Jennifer Rountree 

Is it too late to sign up? 

00:36:55 Jennifer Rountree 

No, it's not too late to sign up. 

00:36:57 Jennifer Rountree 

One, you can find that information, like I said, on our CAHELP website. 

00:37:02 Jennifer Rountree 

It is advertised there as well as through our Captain X social media page. 

00:37:07 Jennifer Rountree 

You can find that. 

00:37:09 Jennifer Rountree 

And it is down in 

00:37:13 Jennifer Rountree 

Rancho Cucamonga at the West End SELPA. 

00:37:17 Jennifer Rountree 

But one thing, oh, I want to share that as a parent, if you're listening and you're a regional center client, we are a vendor for that event. 

00:37:25 Jennifer Rountree 

So you can reach out to your regional center case manager to see about how to get connected and have the fee covered for you. 

00:37:34 Jennifer Rountree 

It is a minimal fee, but it's still a fee, right? 

00:37:37 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, that's awesome. 

00:37:38 Jennifer Rountree 

But yeah, so come join parents. 

00:37:41 Jennifer Rountree 

service providers, educators, anyone. 

00:37:45 Jennifer Rountree 

Oh, you know what else I forgot to share? 

00:37:47 Jennifer Rountree 

At the end of the day, we end with a panel of autistic adults sharing about their experience. 

00:37:52 Jennifer Rountree 

So first and voice. 

00:37:54 Athena Cordero 

Very cool. 

00:37:56 Athena Cordero 

I appreciate that, you guys. 

00:37:58 Athena Cordero 

Anything else? 

00:37:59 Athena Cordero 

That's one event. 

00:38:00 Jennifer Rountree 

That's another one. 

00:38:01 Melissa de Silva 

Yes, Melissa, what's the other event? 

00:38:03 Melissa de Silva 

So there's another event this month, and it's 

00:38:07 Melissa de Silva 

I love this event because it is a time where we recognize the outstanding work being done out there. 

00:38:14 Melissa de Silva 

I mentioned earlier coaching and that being a big part of my role. 

00:38:18 Melissa de Silva 

Yeah. 

00:38:19 Melissa de Silva 

Well, Captain X, all of Captain, it's one of our commitments and it's what we do. 

00:38:23 Melissa de Silva 

So 

00:38:24 Melissa de Silva 

There's a lot of people out there who are doing the coaching for the autism evidence-based practices. 

00:38:31 Melissa de Silva 

And for those individuals who are committing to it and accepting that coaching and asking the questions and doing work in the classroom, it's amazing to see. 

00:38:43 Melissa de Silva 

And so we do a recognition event every year. 

00:38:48 Melissa de Silva 

and it's our Captain X annual recognition event. 

00:38:51 Melissa de Silva 

It is on Zoom and it's in the late afternoon this month. 

00:38:55 Melissa de Silva 

I believe it's Wednesday, April 8th. 

00:38:58 Melissa de Silva 

Again, it's on our social media and will be, is it shared on the website? 

00:39:04 Athena Cordero 

So anyone can log in. 

00:39:05 Melissa de Silva 

Anybody can log in. 

00:39:07 Melissa de Silva 

We want to really just show everyone the great work everyone's doing. 

00:39:12 Melissa de Silva 

And then we also have a part of our conference that we will kind of do those shout outs as well. 

00:39:19 Melissa de Silva 

That's very cool. 

00:39:20 Jennifer Rountree 

The recognition event is specific to individuals that get nominated, but the more people that join and help celebrate just the work that's being done, I think it's amazing, amazing way to just support all of our wonderful people out there. 

00:39:34 Jennifer Rountree 

that are across the high desert as well as Riverside and San Bernardino counties. 

00:39:38 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, you guys have a lot of great projects and a lot of work. 

00:39:45 Athena Cordero 

I can't, we didn't even get a chance to talk about PEERS, but that's another program that you guys are heavily involved with too. 

00:39:53 Athena Cordero 

I want you to come back. 

00:39:54 Athena Cordero 

I think we could probably do a whole episode just on PEERS alone, but just for the sake of, you know, wanting to get some of it in there, tell me what PEERS stands for. 

00:40:03 Jennifer Rountree 

It's the program for the education and enrichment of relational skills. 

00:40:08 Athena Cordero 

Okay, and you guys have been doing that for how long? 

00:40:11 Jennifer Rountree 

So believe it or not, this fall will be our 10-year anniversary. 

00:40:15 Athena Cordero 

Oh my gosh. 

00:40:15 Athena Cordero 

Great. 

00:40:16 Athena Cordero 

Wow. 

00:40:17 Athena Cordero 

I was going to say because I remember it for as long as I've been here. 

00:40:21 Athena Cordero 

And that is about, it's about 10 years, maybe a little bit more. 

00:40:24 Athena Cordero 

I do think it would be cool for you guys to come back. 

00:40:27 Athena Cordero 

Maybe we could talk about the anniversary, whatever you plan on doing for that. 

00:40:30 Athena Cordero 

would be really cool. 

00:40:31 Jennifer Rountree 

Yeah, I think that would be amazing. 

00:40:33 Jennifer Rountree 

Such great things comes out of that. 

00:40:36 Jennifer Rountree 

And the growth of it and just the impact that it's had on so many. 

00:40:40 Jennifer Rountree 

I love it. 

00:40:40 Jennifer Rountree 

I have passion for me. 

00:40:42 Athena Cordero 

I agree. 

00:40:42 Athena Cordero 

I agree. 

00:40:43 Athena Cordero 

We definitely have to have you come back and talk about it. 

00:40:45 Athena Cordero 

Let's talk about it. 

00:40:46 Athena Cordero 

Thank you guys so much. 

00:40:47 Athena Cordero 

This was so informational. 

00:40:50 Athena Cordero 

You guys gave a lot of really good examples to help us see things in the home, in the classroom. 

00:40:53 Athena Cordero 

We'll get all of those resources up on the landing page so people can find them. 

00:40:58 Athena Cordero 

Thanks. 

00:40:59 Jennifer Rountree 

Thank you. 

00:41:00 Ad 

Appreciate it. 

00:41:00 Ad 

Thank you. 

00:41:03 Outro 

Before we wrap up, we want to remind you that if you or someone you know is facing a crisis, help is available. 

00:41:11 Outro 

You are not alone. 

00:41:13 Outro 

If it's an emergency, please call 911. 

00:41:17 Outro 

For immediate support, you can reach out to the Crisis and Suicide Hotline by dialing 988. 

00:41:24 Outro 

Remember, taking the first step to ask for help is a sign of strength. 

00:41:29 Outro 

Stay safe, take care of yourself, and take care of each other. 

00:41:34 Outro 

Until next time, be well. 

00:41:37 Ad 

What if we stop seeing autism as a list of challenges and start seeing it as a different way of experiencing the world? 

00:41:44 Ad 

Dr. 

00:41:44 Ad 

Jennifer Cork joins Athena to share her story of being a social worker on the spectrum. 

00:41:49 Ad 

They dive into why girls often go unnoticed, the power of good routine, and how we can all be better natural supports for one another. 

00:41:59 Ad 

Tune in next time to hear Dr. 

00:42:00 Ad 

Jennifer Cork's story. 

00:42:02 Ad 

See you next time.