Helping Answer Needs by Developing Specialists (HANDS) in Autism Interdisciplinary Training and Resource Center has recently completed a significant global health partnership with Singapore-based St. Andrews Autism Centre (SAAC), which serves individuals with moderate to severe autism by offering special education schools, day activity centers for adults and an adult home for individuals who require long-term residential care services.
Representatives from the SAAC and HANDS in Autism, founded by Naomi Swiezy, PhD, Alan H. Cohen Family Professor of Psychiatry in the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, first met at the Autism Society of America Conference in Indianapolis in 2014. Since then, both organizations have engaged in multiple exchanges and visits to adapt and integrate the HANDS in Autism training model.
Swiezy said this comprehensive training model, with a uniquely derived curriculum, framework and process, is the core of HANDS in Autism. The model, which is unique due to its comprehensive curriculum, structured framework and comprehensible process towards practical and effective implementation with fidelity. It has been, time- and research-tested, proving both customizable and seamlessly aligns with other initiatives utilized across diverse disability populations and settings, including educational, medical, clinical, community and home environments. It promotes shared awareness and understanding of autism, as well as scientifically based practices that help autistic and other neurodivergent individuals and their families reach their potential and integration within their communities, she said.
"We started our relationship when administrators from St. Andrews Autism Centre approached us after listening to our symposium and were eager to implement our model within their day activity centers and residential homes,” Swiezy said. “A small group of their staff and administrators subsequently attended our intensive summer institute, which incorporates a clear curriculum, process and framework focused on using evidence-based strategies with fidelity in teaching and supporting individuals with autism. After experiencing this training, our team was invited to travel to Singapore for initial on-site training, observation and planning."
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic causing a temporary hiatus, the partnership persisted with the use of remote technologies. A multi-year contract allowed for further training of staff coaches, developing a HANDS-inspired site as a hub for training. Though the contract concluded at the end of 2023, the positive impact continues through ongoing consultation, data sharing and sustainable outcomes of staff implementing strategies with even their most challenging and complex young adults with autism.
Trainees of the HANDS model follow a structured process, systematically trained using methods such as demonstration, practice, feedback, coaching and mentoring necessary for translating the research to everyday practice. Progress is assessed based on operationalized criteria, with the flexibility to revisit and bolster previously mastered topics as conditions change.
Swiezy said that when she and Tiffany Neal, assistant director of HANDS, first began the SAAC partnership, they were unsure about precisely which aspects of the model would translate most easily to another culture, while also maintaining the integrity of the HANDS model. However, through close collaboration, HANDS and SAAC staff collaboratively informed the minor adaptations needed to achieve resounding success.
As HANDS in Autism evolves, their train-the-trainer program is gaining widespread interest. This training is available for educators, support service workers, health providers and other community program leaders to share the tools of the HANDS training model with their community, creating a ripple effect of knowledge and skill that extends far beyond the immediate reach of HANDS, she said.
“Since the train-the-trainer program has ended, the SAAC trainer team has been able to independently conduct the HANDS trainings by utilizing up-to-date training materials provided by HANDS, inserting setting specific examples and conducting multi-day trainings with opportunities for hands-on activities, practice and feedback within their own day activity center settings,” Swiezy said. “Data shared about these trainings demonstrates that the SAAC staff are conducting the trainings with fidelity, trainees are learning the concepts and feel confident in the use and are satisfied with the delivery of the training by their fellow staff.”
In its 20th year and with a strong interdisciplinary team of specialists and student learners, HANDS in Autism learning opportunities, resources and materials span the nation and globally. The center has conducted multi-year collaboratives to develop demonstration sites and hubs for learning across school, medical and home-based settings across Indiana and within the region since 2006. It is currently collaborating with other Southeast Asia organizations to further expand the global reach, engagement and dissemination of this program and model.
"Our mantra is that the tools and strategies incorporated within our model are essential to those with autism and related special needs, but that these strategies universally apply, whether neurotypical or neurodivergent and whether in the states or global cultures" Swiezy said.