There is a critical state, regional, and national need for training programs for professionals who teach and provide medical and social services for children with ASD and related disabilities. First, the number of students with the ASD label is growing each year. Second, there is a large research-to-practice gap with respect to applying Best Practices to school programs for children with ASD. These students’ educational programs are often segregated and rely on a strict behavioral control “curriculum,” leading to poorer post-school outcomes than those of other students with disabilities. Third, there is a critical, national shortage of special education teachers and related service providers in low-incidence disability areas such as ASD (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). And finally, there are few personnel preparation programs nationally that focus on ASD.

This Graduate Certificate is funded in part by a grant to the University of New Hampshire’s Institute on Disability (http://www.iod.unh.edu) from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Program, to establish ASD leadership training opportunities in New Hampshire and northern New England. It is closely aligned with UNH’s Ph.D. program in education where students can focus their study on ASD.

Who the Graduate Certificate is Designed to Serve

This program will serve the professional development needs of a wide variety of individuals, including: 1) parents of children with ASD; 2) special and general education teachers and administrators; speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, behavioral consultants, recreation therapists; and 3) graduate students in other university majors such as sociology or psychology.