AFIRM Module https://afirm.fpg.unc.edu/afirm-modules

The Autism Focused Resources Intervention and Modules (AFIRM) are developed and maintained by the University of North Carolina and "are designed to help you learn the step-by-step process of planning for, using, and monitoring an EBP with learners with autism from birth to 22 years of age." The modules are free and provide introductory resources about Autism as well as training in specific evidence based practices (EBP)

The Iris Center
The Iris Center out of Vanderbilt University has a number of modules to learn about implementing evidence based practices and an overview of autism for educators. 
https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/asd1/

Natural Language Acquistion (NLA) https://communicationdevelopmentcenter.com/ This website provides information about Natural Language Acquistion (NLA) which is the most common type of language development for those with ASD. It helps make sense of echolalia and scripting as not being deficits but a natural way to develop language. It provide families and educators ways to support people that learn language through NLA.

ASHA
https://www.asha.org/ The American Speech and Hearing Association is the primary professional organization for speech pathologists. There are numerous articles and resources to learn about augmentative and alternative communication. 
 

 Center for AAC and Autism - https://www.aacandautism.com/center teaches the LAMP system

Assistiveware  is the vendor for Proloquo2Go and Proloquo4text
https://www.assistiveware.com/learn-aac and has free resources for learning about and implementing AAC.

Saltillo.com is the vendor for TouchChat and has free training and resources for implementing AAC especially for TouchChat with WordPower https://saltillo.com/training 
                

Cognitive and Neurological Characteristics
Delays in Motor Functioning-may appear clumsy or walk on tiptoes
Learning Delays
Inability to control emotions

Behavior & Sensory Characteristics Repetitive movements
Sensitivity to certain textures, tastes, smells, or sounds
Need for routine
Lack of eye contact
Intense interest in a certain topic

Communication & Social Characteristics
May not pick up on social cues
May not use appropriate volume for the situation
May be non-verbal 
Difficulty starting or maintaining conversations 

The California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN) is a "multiagency network developed to support the understanding and use of evidence based practices for individuals on the autism spectrum across California." One of the largest funders is the California Department of Education. There are a variety of parent specific resources as well as links that are more appropriate for teachers and administrators. 

Family Support

The Care Parent Network of Contra Costa County https://www.careparentnetwork.org/ is a local non-profit and one of the 29 Family Empowerment Centers (FEC) whose purpose is to provide training and information to families of children and young adults with disabilities, between the ages of 3 and 22 in California. These nonprofit organizations offer specialized training, peer-to-peer support, information and referral services. They aim to assist parents to better understand their child’s educational and developmental needs, effectively communicate with service providers, serve as a resource for the IEP process, participate in school reform and improvement activities, promote alternative dispute resolution, and support positive relationships between parents and professionals. Services available through each FEC vary based on the needs of the community.   While the Care Parent Network is not Autism specific, it is specifically advocates for all children and families with disabilities. 

The Regional Center of the East Bay https://www.rceb.org/  The Regional Center of the East Bay is one of Regional Centers througout California that support people with developmental disabilities and their families from ages 3 through adulthood. From their website "RCEB works in partnership with many individuals and agencies to plan and coordinate services and supports for people with developmental disabilities, family members and community leaders in the Alameda and Contra Costa counties." For families that have children with ASD, I always try to have them connect with the Regional Center as they can be very helpful in providing support such as respite care, and will coordinate services once their children age out of the public school system at 22. 

SEED Lafayette  and POISE are two local family foundations that support special educations in the Lafayette School District and the Orinda School District. They are both run by parents with students in Special Education and provide mutual support, training and resources for families with students with 504s or IEPs. 

Visual Structure - the components of visual structure include:

 
Visual Supports:

 

Petursdottir, A.-L., & Gudmundsdottir, T. (2023). Supporting Social Play Skill Acquisition and Generalization of Children with Autism Through Video Modeling. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 53(4), 1391–1402. https://doi-org.umassglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05204-4

The paper examined how providing middle school students with video social stories of greeting peers, increased the frequency of appropriately greeting and responding to peer mentors.

Halle, S., Ninness, C., Ninness, S. K., & Lawson, D. (2016). Teaching Social Skills to Students with Autism: A Video Modeling Social Stories Approach. Behavior & Social Issues, 25(1), 42–63. https://doi-org.umassglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.5210/bsi.v25i0.6190

CDC Website on Autism https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html

The Centers for Disease Control maintains an Autism specific website that provides comprehensive general information, updated research and links to other resources related to Autism.

Organization for Autism Research
https://researchautism.org/ provides ongoing research into autism and has materials to teach students and educators about autism from a strength based perspective.

Kansas Technical Assistance Network - TASN Autism and Tertiary Behavior Supports

TASN ATSB is a great general resource with lots of useful information about supporting autistic students in behavior, communication, social competencies, and academic instruction. 
https://ksdetasn.org/atbs

Autism Society https://autismsociety.org/ The Autism Society is one of the oldest Autism advocacy groups being formed in the 1960s. Their stated purpose is to "create a world where everyone in the Autism community is connected to the support they need, when they need it."  They are made up of a number of local chapters that each advocate at the local and state level as well as provide a variety of resources such as a calendar of Autism friendly events, a list of local resources by topic and updates on pending legislation. 

The local affilicate near me is the San Francisco Bay Are Chapter at https://sfautismsociety.org/. I found the resources links to be quite impressive and found out about several local supports that I didn't know about.

The Arc of California is that state member of the National Arc Association that advocates and supports people with intellectual and developmental disabilities including Autism. They had a unique program called Wings Autism that allows people with autism and other developmental disabilities to do pre visits to make flying a friendlier process. 
https://thearcca.org/   

ASAN the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network is  a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run by and for autistic people. ASAN is a national grassroots disability rights organization for the autistic community.  I recommend looking at this website as it offers a different prospective than many other national autism non-profits as this is run by and includes the voices of autistic people. I think it is important to listen to multiple perspectives. 

Think College https://thinkcollege.net/  Think College is dedicated to developing, expanding, and improving research and practice in inclusive higher education for students with intellectual disability.  I have shared this website with students in upper elementary, middle school and high school as I appreciate the resources available for things students should be focusing on to be ready for college.  One of the resources I look at is the IEP Goals and try and have my students starting in 3rd grade to create emails about their day, use assistive technology such as text to speech and speech to text. There are a number of supportive college programs including a great 2-year program through the Pathway Program at UCLA.

The US Department Health and Human Services - Interagency Coordinating Communitee on Autism has links to a number of resources to support people with ASD including transition related resources.
https://iacc.hhs.gov/resources/transition/

California Department of Rehabilition provides services for people with disabilities including support in getting needed AT and job assistance. 
https://www.dor.ca.gov/