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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects 1 in every 36 children. This means you're likely to have a child with autism in your class every two to three years. If you want to feel more confident understanding and supporting students with autism, the Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) training can help.

Take this online Introduction to Autism training to gain:

Clinical knowledge about autism explained in a way that's useful for early childhood professionals
An in-depth exploration of what autism is and how to recognize signs and characteristics of ASD in young children
Real-world classroom examples and actionable strategies

You’ll leave feeling more prepared to partner with families – whether you have developmental concerns about a child, or their child already has a diagnosis. Whether you’ve been working with children with autism for years or you’re just starting out, this course can benefit you.

4 Lessons
- What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
- Social Communication and Interaction in the Classroom
- Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in the Classroom
- Partnering with Families Around Autism

Get to know us

Meet Your Trainers

We have a team of multidisciplinary professionals who have developed this training and are excited to present to you live!

Kelsey Henderson-Wasmund, IMH-E®

Inclusion Specialist, Creative Lead

Kelsey has been in the field of Early Learning for over 15 years. After graduating from Washington State University with her bachelor’s in human development and certification in Early Childhood, Kelsey began her career as an early learning educator supporting infants and toddlers in the foster care system, and born prenatally exposed drugs and alcohol. After 8 years in the classroom, she went on to receive her endorsement in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and transitioned into her current role as an Inclusion Specialist working with other early learning teachers and administrators supporting children with challenging behaviors and disabilities.

Kristen McLeskey, MS,
IMH-E®

Inclusion Specialist, Direct Service Lead

Kristen has supported children and families for over 15 years with professional experience in mental health, early intervention/early supports, and early learning. She holds a Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychology and an Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement. As an Inclusion Specialist with IMPACT, Kristen has followed her passion for empowering early childhood professionals with insights and innovative strategies to support children with challenging behavior, disabilities, and complex needs. She is an advocate for inclusive early learning, and her special interests include sensory processing, trauma-informed practices, and play-based behavior supports.

Amy Bender, MA,
IMH-E ®

Senior Director, Early Ed. Growth Initiatives

Amy has over 15 years’ experience supporting children and families through early learning programs, day treatment preschool settings, and providing direct therapeutic services to children and families. Amy holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Childhood Psychopathology and Child Development. She is endorsed as an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Mentor and provides Reflective Supervision and Consultation. She has been with Northwest Center for 12 years supporting inclusive early learning as a Director, Operations Director, and launching IMPACT in 2018. Amy utilizes her experience supporting children with mental health disorders and challenging behaviors through her work with IMPACT, and is a passionate advocate for the early learning field.

This live training is held virtually using the Zoom platform that is integrated with our online school. You will need a desktop or laptop computer, or a tablet, with speakers, microphone, a webcam, and high-speed internet access. To ensure the best possible experience, please take a moment before the live training to ensure your device and technology will work successfully.

Review the system requirements for the Zoom online meeting platform
Try out a test meeting
Test your audio and video in the meeting
Review our handout for how to join a live zoom training and navigating the course page
Log in at least 10 minutes before the training to ensure your technology is working

How do I access the live training?

To access the live training, select "continue" on the training page. This will open up the training player window. In the navigation pane on the left of your screen, select the "Live Zoom Session" option. When the webinar has started you will see a button that says, "Join live session". Select this to join the live training.

Do you have a tutorial on how to navigate the live training?

We will give a brief tutorial on using Zoom webinar and its relevant features at the beginning of the live training. We have also included a handout for you that offers screenshots to help you be prepared to navigate the live training session.

What device(s) do you recommend joining the live training on?

Larger screens work best to be able to view the presentation, presenters, chat box, and other helpful Zoom features. With that in mind, it's recommended to join from a laptop or computer monitor.

What browser do you recommend for live trainings?

Google Chrome.

In the Zoom webinar, I see the option to “Join through your Zoom client". Should I select this?

This option is available for troubleshooting any challenges you may be experiencing within the website integration of Zoom. If you would like to view the live training through your Zoom client window, select this option, and be sure to close out of the browser version in order to prevent echoing, or other technical issues.

Should you be disconnected from the training in your Zoom client window, you can reconnect through the training page again, and select "Join through your Zoom client" again.

How do I access training materials shown throughout the presentation?

All handouts discussed throughout the training are available to you in two places. The best way to access these during the live event is to select the small paper clip icon in the top right corner of the training player. This will open a small window at the top of your screen in which you can double click to download all the training materials and view in a different window during the training.

If you wish to view the training materials after to training is over, you can do so by viewing the "Training Materials" section in the training player. You will have access to these materials for 12 months from the date of registration.

What if I've registered for the live training but can't attend the day of? Can I get a refund?

Due to the digital nature of the training, we are unable to offer refunds. If you are unable to attend the live event, we are happy to offer you a 50% discount to purchase the online on-demand course version of the training you missed. Please reach out to impactcourses@nwcenter.org to request your coupon code.

I am having trouble accessing the training. What should I do?

Be sure you are logged in with the account and email you used to purchase the live training
Try logging out and back in again and look for the “continue” button on the training page
Double check your email associated with your account for an email with your receipt and/or link to the training to ensure you fully enrolled in the correct course for live training

Do you offer other live trainings?

Yes, we offer community virtual live trainings quarterly and have a Live Training Request Form that programs can complete for specific training requests.

I'm a director and I want to register all of my staff for a course. Do they all need to register individually or do you offer bulk registration?

We make it easy to purchase on-demand courses and live trainings for multiple staff to attend without each teacher having to register and pay individually. Just submit the Bulk Course Request Form and someone will get back to you to learn more about your needs. We will send you an invoice so you only need to make one transaction and we will automatically enroll your staff into the course(s)/training(s) you want them to take. After you submit the form, you can expect to hear back from us within 3 business days.

Can my friend and I do the live training together in the same login and both get credit?

No. credit will only be issued to paid registered individuals. Certificates of Completion will only be issued to those who registered for the live training.

What if I am late or have to leave the training early?

We offer a 15 minute grace period and require all attendees to be present for 90% of the live training duration to receive credit. Please make sure you are able to attend the entire live session before registering.

Will I receive a certificate after the training?

Yes. Upon registering and attending 90% or more of the live training session, viewing the handouts, and completing the course survey, you will be issued a Certificate of Completion that you can download.

Washington State: Can I get STARS credit for taking the same course/training twice?

You can take the same course or training again for STARS credit if it's a new calendar year. However, STARS hours are not given for duplicate courses and trainings completed within the same calendar year. Credit is only issued once per purchased course/training. If you would like STARS credit for a course or training you have previously taken, you would need to purchase it again.

Washington State: When can I expect to see my STARS hours in my MERIT account?

At the end of each month, we run reports for each of our trainings on who completed them and then enter credits into the Merit registry. So STARS hours will be entered by the middle of the following month. For example, for February’s courses we would have STARS hours entered by March 15th.

IMPACT™ courses are developed by a multidisciplinary team and makes every effort to ensure that information provided reflect evidence-based, early childhood best practices. Providers should always follow local jurisdictions and other governing bodies rules and regulations when implementing any strategy or suggestion. Any actions, or lack of actions, are not the responsibility or liability of Northwest Center Kids – IMPACT™.

All content, including the presentation thereof on this web site, is the property of Northwest Center IMPACT™, and protected by U.S. and international copyright laws. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, modify, create derivative works, or in any other way exploit any part of copyrighted material without the prior written permission from Northwest Center.

Seattle, WA

Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder

Take this online Introduction to Autism training to gain:

Training Details
Introduction to Autism

4 Lessons

Audience