Perkins School for the Blind Transition Center

Innovations in Scaling Up the Use of Evidence-Based Practices in Public Schools

High quality implementation of evidence-based instructional and intervention strategies has been identified as critical for educators supporting autistic students. Using evidence-based practices (EBP) is required by policy (Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], 2015, and the Individuals with...

A Unique Program to Support Autism Educators During COVID-19 Distance Learning

The COVID-19 crisis has led to unprecedented school closures and a rapid transition to distance education which severely disrupted educational services for students on the autism spectrum. Distance learning will likely continue beyond the acute crisis as social distancing efforts persist. The...

Naturalistic Intervention in Classrooms: A Look at Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching

Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching, or CPRT, is a naturalistic behavioral intervention designed for classrooms serving students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). CPRT was created by modifying an evidence-based practice called Pivotal Response Training (PRT), which strives to improve learning in...

Boys with Regressive Autism Have Larger Brains than Age-Matched Health Counterparts

In the largest study of brain development in preschoolers with autism to date, a study by UC Davis MIND Institute researchers has found that 3-year-old boys with regressive autism, but not early onset autism, have larger brains than their healthy counterparts. The study is published online today...

Risk of Recurrence of Autism in Younger Siblings Higher Than Thought

The risk that an infant with an older sibling with autism also will develop the disorder, previously estimated at between 3 and 10 percent, is substantially higher at approximately 19 percent, a large, international, multi-site study led by researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute has found....

The Immune System in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Recent evidence implicates the immune system in some cases of autism spectrum disorders. Researchers at the University of California, Davis, Johns Hopkins, and the Kennedy Krieger Institute have found that some mothers of children with autism produce autoantibodies that target the developing fetal...