Vanderbilt Kennedy Center offers free webinars and resources for autism assessment and care amid COVID-19
The rapidly evolving challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have caused countless disruptions for families across the country as they seek autism diagnostic assessments and support for their toddlers. In response, the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center has developed online opportunities to share various resources with families, early intervention providers and diagnosticians:
- For families, the VKC’s Treatment and Research Institute on Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD) will be conducting a series of no-cost webinars with opportunities for learning strategies and asking for guidance;
- For early intervention providers, TRIAD will be sharing curriculum modules (challenging behavior, social communication, play, toilet training, sleep) and engaging in a series of webinars focused on supporting implementation. There is no cost for the curricula or webinars; and
- For diagnosticians, TRIAD will be sharing about a tool for telediagnostic assessments for toddlers. There is no cost for the webinar.
More information and registration links can be found at: Triad.vumc.org/covid19. VKC will continue to add resources and opportunities to this webpage as able and needed.
In addition, VKC staff members have created two new resources for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) that use plain language to explain necessary precautions such as social distancing and thorough hand-washing. These resources have been added to a comprehensive list of coronavirus-related resources including visual supports, social stories and videos from other disability support organizations. These disability resources can be accessed from a dedicated webpage located at the top of the VKC’s IDD Toolkit website.