Bellaire - Saint John Central Grade School at 350 37th Street, Bellaire, OH 43906 US - Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) - Autism Internet Modules (AIM)

The Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) in collaboration 
with the Autism Society of America (ASA) and the Nebraska Autism 
Spectrum Disorders Network (ASD) is in the process of developing 60 
modules with comprehensive information on working with individuals 
with autism spectrum disorders in the home, school, and community 
setting.

We are still in need of collaborative partners but want to provide 
information about this site to parents, families, school personnel 
and others. This site can be a valuable parent training and 
information or staff development tool, available free of charge and 
accessible from any computer location.

At this point we have one module up in our BETA version of the site 
and are soliciting feedback from people across the state of Ohio and 
nationally. We hope to use this feedback to make AIM the absolute 
best that it can be.

If you are interested in viewing the site and providing feedback by 
participating in our survey (or directly emailing us at 
aim_info@ocali.org), please visit the link below. You will be asked 
to provide some demographic information, and will be sent an email 
that will provide you with access to the site. You will see a link to 
the survey on the site.

http://www.autisminternetmodules.org

I have provided more information on the scope of the project. Please 
feel free to email me with any questions. Thanks so much for your 
valuable time.

Sheila M. Smith
Autism Internet Modules (AIM) Development Specialist
Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI)
5220 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43214
ph 614.410.0338
fax 614.410.1090
sheila_smith@ocali.org


What is the Autism Internet Modules (AIM) project?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 
in every 150 Americans has an autism spectrum disorders (ASD). 
Despite these staggering numbers, few avenues exist to provide 
educators, parents, and the medical community with information that 
helps individuals with ASD achieve their highest potential. The 
purpose of this project is to address this gap and further Ohio's 
pursuit to become a national leader in serving individuals with ASD.

The Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) will develop 
Autism Internet Modules (AIM) in partnership with the Autism Society 
of America (ASA) and the Nebraska Autism Spectrum Disorders Network. 
The AIM project will develop a series of 60 online modules on ASD 
including characteristics, diagnosis, interventions and supports, 
transition, and employment. Module authors will include experts in 
ASD from across the nation. These modules will be available at no 
cost, in an open-source format to any computer or digital telephone 
user. Thus, these modules will be available throughout Ohio and on a 
global basis.

ASD information will be presented using multimedia at two levels: 
introductory and advanced. Introductory modules could be used by 
paraprofessionals or other learners seeking basic information related 
to ASD. Advanced information is intended to be accessed by educators 
and other professionals, including higher education, and staff 
developers, or parents who possess some knowledge about ASD.

These modules have the potential to positively impact the 
educational, family, vocational, and medical communities - on a local 
and worldwide basis - and may alter the ways in which ASD training 
occurs. For example,
·      A school district that wishes to provide training to their 
paraprofessionals on priming (i.e., introducing information or 
activities prior to their use and/or occurrence) would require that 
they complete the ASD module on priming prior to attending the 
training. During the actual training, school district personnel could 
work with the paraprofessionals to apply the knowledge they had 
learned from the modules. Thus, during the training paraprofessionals 
would be evaluating priming supports already in place with the 
students they support and/or designing new priming supports that meet 
students' needs.

·      Parent support group members who meet to talk about home-based 
visual supports might access the module on visual supports prior to 
their meeting and focus meeting time on developing visual supports 
for their children.

·      A university faculty member who wishes to provide coursework 
in ASD may use the videotaped clips that illustrate the 
characteristics of autism or Asperger syndrome and download 
PowerPoint slides, resources and references, knowledge-based 
assessment tools, and case studies to be used in graduate or 
undergraduate courses.


Approximately 700,000 Ohio constituents have a first language other 
than English. Based on the NIH prevalence rates above, this means 
that in the state of Ohio approximately 4,000 individuals with ASD 
live in homes where a language other than English is spoken. Thus, 
the modules will be translated into: (a) Arabic, (b) Chinese, (c) 
Somali, (e) Japanese, (f) Russian, and (g) Spanish.

Through these modules we seek to promote a greater understanding of 
ASD and to promote achievement, full participation, respect, and 
equality of persons with ASD. In short, through the use of the World 
Wide Web, the overall outcomes of this project will be (a) increased 
ASD awareness; and (b) training and assistance at no cost to the 
educational, vocational, and medical communities and families.

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