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For the past two years, Professor Joel Arick and his colleagues in PSU’s Graduate School of Education have traveled the state of Oregon, training teachers on better ways to assist children with autism.

In collaboration with the Oregon Department of Education and numerous Oregon regional and special education partners, Arick and his colleagues first conducted a three-year study tracking the educational progress of children with autism spectrum disorders in Oregon. They then used that information to determine effective approaches for educating children with autism, creating a model for training special educators around Oregon on using these strategies with their own students.

To date, 18 statewide regional autism model centers have been established in Oregon—11 sites focused on early intervention (birth to five years old) and seven more at the elementary school level. Arick hopes to secure funding that would enable his group to set up an additional 15 sites over the next two years.