Explore our professional learning opportunities, podcasts, and resources designed to highlight best practices and strengthen the use of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) in your programs.
Autism is a statewide special education initiative supported by Training and Consulting (TaC) specialists in every Intermediate Unit across Pennsylvania. In Montgomery County, TaC specialists collaborate with the county’s 21 school districts to plan, implement, and continually improve Autistic Support services across all grade levels. Areas of expertise include Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), Positive Behavior Supports, Puberty and Human Growth and Development for Students with Disabilities, and more. Support is provided through professional learning, strategic planning, and facilitated discussions to help districts enhance services for students with autism.
Autism Offerings
Designing Sustainable Special Education Programs- Classroom Environment
October 20, 2026 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Research indicates the use of physical structure to design the classroom environment supports student engagement and lessens problem behaviors. Within the classroom structure, the added use of staff/student schedules and visual supports for common routines and expectations. This session will provide information on how to address the physical structure and use of visual supports. Participants will design a physical space (furniture will be provided!) as well as create visual supports.
Back to Basics: Let’s Really Understand Autism
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Autism is a complex, language and behavior based disorder. Students on the Autism Spectrum have a wide variety of social, behavior, learning, and communication needs. This session will look at what we understand about the brain of a person with autism and how to use that information to plan for successful educational experiences.
Using Behavioral Strategies to Teach Group Instruction Behaviors to Complex Learners
October 16, 2026 | 8:30 AM-11:30 AM
This session will address how to support group behaviors for students with complex needs. Often times, we rely on 1/1 instruction in our programs. While this is effective and needed, students are not able to get enough instruction if this is the primary instructional model. Participants will review behavioral strategies to support group behaviors. Active participation, problem solving and practice will be used to support learning.
Special Education Offerings
Teaching Foundational Skills to Older Readers: Word Recognition & Word Knowledge for Students with Learning Disabilities in Grades 6-12
Tuesday, February 9, 2027 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Designed for educators working with students with learning disabilities in Grades 6-12, this interactive workshop offers practical strategies for building word recognition and word knowledge in older struggling readers. Through hands-on activities, demonstrations, and collaborative planning, participants will learn to integrate foundational skills instruction seamlessly into grade-level content without singling out struggling readers.
This workshop centers on equity, empathy, and practical application, ensuring all students can access rigorous learning while developing the literacy skills they need to access increasingly complex texts. Participants will examine research-based approaches for addressing foundational skill gaps through Tier 1 core instruction and targeted intervention, exploring strategies for both whole-class instruction and more intensive support.
Access and Belonging: A Proactive Approach to Designing Inclusive Learning Environments
Monday, October 26, 2026 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Creating classrooms where every student can access learning and experience a sense of belonging is essential to student success. In this interactive full-day session, participants will explore the Framework for Access and Belonging (FAB) and examine how classroom structures, instructional practices, and learning environments can either support or hinder student engagement and achievement.
Through collaborative activities, reflection, case studies, and application opportunities, educators will deepen their understanding of the relationship between access, belonging, and learning. Participants will identify barriers that may unintentionally exclude students and learn proactive strategies for designing instruction and classroom experiences that foster participation, connection, and success for all learners. Educators will leave with practical tools and an action plan to apply the FAB lens to their own classrooms, schools, and systems.
SETTing Students Up for Success: Using Assistive Technology to Support Literacy Instruction
Thursday, November 12, 2026 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Students with limited verbal abilities typically require some form of AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication). AAC users may rely heavily on reading and writing skills for expressive communication; therefore, comprehensive literacy instruction is particularly important.
Join us to learn how to use the SETT Framework (Student, Environment, Tasks, Tools) to thoughtfully match assistive technology to student needs. This session will focus on practical strategies to support reading and writing, helping students access content, express their ideas, and build independence.
In this session, we will connect best practices of literacy instruction to AAC to ensure that students with more complex needs have meaningful opportunities to engage in reading and writing.
STEM & DLM: Designing a Comprehensive Framework for Math and STEELS Instruction with the Dynamic Learning Maps
Tuesday, December 8, 2026 | 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Students with significant cognitive disabilities deserve access to rigorous, standards-aligned instruction in both math and science, which requires a connected, cross-disciplinary approach. This full-day workshop is designed for educational leaders and special educators who are ready to build comprehensive frameworks across math and science with Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM).
Participants will explore how to align PA Core Standards with DLM Essential Elements to strengthen mathematics programming for students with significant cognitive disabilities, examining teaching practices that support all learners within the general education curriculum and fostering collaboration between general and special education staff.
Programs
Competent Learner Model (CLM)
The Competent Learner Model (CLM) is a student-centered framework that integrates Direct Instruction, Verbal Behavior, and Applied Behavior Analysis to develop seven essential repertoires (talker, listener, observer, problem solver, participator, reader, and writer). By emphasizing skill generalization, shaping, and reinforcement, it fosters competence, adaptability, and independence in a wide range of educational settings.
Essential For Living (EFL)
Essential for Living (EFL) is a comprehensive functional skills curriculum and assessment system designed for individuals with moderate-to-severe disabilities, including autism. It integrates Applied Behavior Analysis, including Skinner’s verbal behavior and direct instruction strategies, and spans more than 3,000 skills applicable from preschool through adulthood.
Intensive Teaching (VB-MAPP)
Intensive Teaching (IT) is a structured instructional approach often delivered in one-to-one or small-group settings, emphasizing repeated practice, explicit instruction, and daily data collection. Frequently paired with the VB-MAPP assessment, it focuses on language and learning skills grounded in B.F. Skinner’s verbal operants, utilizing strategies like Errorless Teaching and Error Correction to support student progress.
PEAK
PEAK is a comprehensive ABA-based curriculum and assessment for learners with autism and developmental disabilities, expanding on B.F. Skinner’s work through derived relational responding (Relational Frame Theory). It features four modules covering 736 programs and a streamlined assessment, supporting both traditional behavioral methods and novel language development.
Structured Teaching
Structured Teaching is an instructional approach that leverages visually defined routines and organized environments to reduce anxiety, clarify expectations, and promote independence for learners with autism. By emphasizing clear physical structure, visual schedules, and work systems, it fosters smoother transitions, less challenging behavior, and stronger receptive language skills.
Recent Autism Posts
How Much One-to-One Instruction is Too Much?
Designing Sustainable Programs: Classroom Structure and Visual Supports
Embracing Neurodiversity: Where Autism Fits
From Awareness to Acceptance: Rethinking “Light It Up Blue” on World Autism Day
ASERT | Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Justice System: Autism Services, Education, and Resources
PEAK
Structuring for Success
Essential for Living (EFL): A Comprehensive Functional Life Skills Curriculum for Diverse Learners
Structured Teaching and Why It’s Important
Montgomery County Resource Expo 2024
Podcast Episodes
Meet the Team
Reach out to any of the team members for more information.
