The Department of Educational and School Psychology and Special Education at The Pennsylvania State University are seeking general education teachers who have included children with autism in their classrooms to join an online discussion group.

They are interested in learning about the strategies that these teachers have used to include and promote children with autism in general education classrooms and who also use AAC - Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Those teachers that qualify will take part in an online discussion group at a website. Each participant will be able to type and post comments, as well as read the comments of the other participants. They will descrive strategies that they have utilized in their general education classrooms.

Participants will learn new strategies for including children with autism. Each participant will receive $50 for their time and effort.

This project has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects at The Pennsylvania State University. The procedures will be explained fully, and informed consent will be received from all participants before any research activities begin.

The discussion will start sometime in July 2006 and run for 4-6 weeks. Parents can help identify potential participants for this project. You can explain the project to the teacher and give their information to David McNaughton, Ph.D., Associate Professor or have the teacher contact David directly.

David McNaughton, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
227 CEDAR Building
Dept of Educational and School Psychology and Special Ed
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
email - dbm2@psu.edu
phone - (814) 865-7159
fax - (814) 865-7066
https://espse.ed.psu.edu/sped/faculty/McN/McNaughton.html

Please pass along this information to families you know that utilize AAC and have a child in general education classes. This project takes place online. This is a great opportunity for general education teachers to discuss and strategize what works for children on the Autism Spectrum and gain further insight into AAC.

Educational Autism Tips for Families 71 page resourceful ebook for families entering the school system with a recent autism diagnosis. Find out what issues take place over the course of a school day and meet these challenges head on.