Jill Forte, Executive Director of Children’s Autism Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was in the process of revamping her staff training program when she was introduced to Autism Training Solutions (ATS).

Like many agencies, she had senior-level employees in charge of training new hires but it was difficult to get continuity across training periods and was time intensive for her senior staff to conduct classroom sessions.

After hearing positive reports from area colleagues already using Autism Training Solutions, she decided to review the curriculum herself. Jill found that it was not only a great refresher for her but also an effective tool to train new and seasoned staff in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) interventions.

[Practical Applications]
To date, Jill is using Autism Training Solutions in a variety of applications to ensure staff is implementing quality programs to all clients.

New Hire Training – New hires receive 12 hours of online training through Autism Training Solutions. After watching certain modules (usually one to two hours of subject matter), new employees are brought to the floor for hands on training. For example, after learning about prompt hierarchies online, staffers are shown more scenarios in person.

24/7 Access – When Children’s Autism Center initially partnered with ATS, Jill purchased the full curriculum for all full time staffers so they would have 24/7 access to train on their own time. She has also implemented a unique program that rewards employees with full access. “Once an employee has proven that they will be a long term team member, I take advantage of ATS’ flexible course upgrade program and purchase the unlimited plan”, noted Jill.

Weekly Refresher Training – While all full time employees have 24/7 access to train on their own, The Children’s Autism Center also sets aside time for weekly refresher courses. During the team’s weekly Wednesday morning meetings, they watch and discuss an ATS module to refresh the team on less frequently used interventions.

Hard Copy Resources – Jill was also impressed with the amount of supplemental resources available with her ATS subscription. One of her team members is in the process of printing and binding all resources to have on hand at the center.

Video-Based Homework – The center is considering assigning short homework video assignments to discuss in the weekly meeting.

Jill has built an agency with a superb focus on staff quality. By using online technology, staff at the Children's Autism Center have training opportunities every week.

 

                                                           

[Benefits]
The Children’s Autism Center realized several benefits to online training.

Didn’t Have to Reinvent the Wheel – Jill found ATS at just the right time. Instead of spending long hours creating a comprehensive staff training course, she saved her team time and hassle by outsourcing the classroom training to ATS. “Aside from organization-specific training (e.g., billing, time sheets), ATS had the training we needed,” noted Jill.

Easy to Implement – Jill had full buy-in from her senior team, as it was easy to implement and fit perfectly with their hands-on component.

Combats Turnover – Turnover was not an issue for Children’s Autism Center until the fall of 2011. Many new competitors surfaced in the area and turnover increased.  She had to hire six new people separately from September thru December. Without ATS, six, staggered hires would drain senior resources but with ATS, she can train new employees on-demand without pulling staff from the field.  

Quality Control – By implementing ATS across different aspects of Children’s Autism Center, Jill created a training culture that ensures all clients receive quality autism programs.


[The Future]
Today, Children’s Autism Center has three Behavior Analysts and four Supervisors to manage its autism programs. During 2012, Jill plans to open second site in Fort Wayne, Indiana.