ASD Resources

National Resources

http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/

The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is focused on
promoting the social emotional development and school readiness of young children birth to age
5. CSEFEL is a national resource center funded by the Office of Head Start and Child Care
Bureau and operated at the Vanderbilt University. The goal of CSEFEL is to disseminate
information about research and evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the
United States. In order to ensure the quality of the content provided on the website, CSEFEL
maintains a National Advisory Board of professionals and experts from a variety fields. CSEFEL
contains a section with research syntheses covering topics related to social and emotional health
in young children and also provides a section called practical tips which includes tools to help
teachers promote social and emotional competence.

https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/

The IRIS Center is a national center dedicated to improving education outcomes for all children,
especially those with disabilities birth through age twenty-one, through the use of effective
evidence-based practices and interventions. This website is an online tool that can be used to
support the use of evidence based practices in teacher classrooms. The content included in the
IRIS Centers website covers a wide variety of topics for educators serving students with and
without disabilities from ages of 0-21. IRIS centers modules are the signature products
developed by the IRIS. The website also provides a myriad of other tools for teacher education,
including video vignettes, case studies, activities, information briefs, and research summaries, all
of which are grounded in research.

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/

The institute of education sciences created the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The WWC
is the primary research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of the WWC is
to provide educators and policy makers with centralized, trusted source of information about
educational research. The WWC has established a very rigorous set of standards to assess the
quality of the educational research studies it reviews, and only the most rigorous research is
given the designation of an evidence based practice. According to their mission statement the
goal of their website is to provide educators with the information they need to make evidence-
based decisions. The website contains a myriad of resources related to EBPs including detailed
reviews of research and practice guides to help educators translate research into classroom
practice.
http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf.edu/

The Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children
(TACSEI) was initiated in 2008 through funding from the Office of Special Education Programs
(OSEP). The focus of this website is to translate quality research finding into everyday practice.
In order to be included on the website, content must be deliverable and effective and based on
the best available evidence. This website is targeted to parents, providers, and administrators
among other groups. The website contains a multitude of resources regarding the treatment of
challenging behaviors in young children, including articles, brochures, booklets, handouts, and
issue briefs, all of which contain useful information about proven practices for educators.

Local Resources

http://www.feat.org/

The Families for Early Autism Treatment, Inc. (FEAT) is a non-profit organization of parents,
family members, and treatment professionals. This website was founded in 1993 by a group of
parents and professionals who wanted to improve the early intervention services. The mission of
the website is to help families with children of all ages, who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder
(ASD). They offer a network of support where families can meet each other to discuss issues
surrounding autism and treatment options. The website contains resources designed to provide
continuing information, education, and support for families of children with autism.
Additionally, they publish a quarterly newsletter which contains current news and events.

http://www.disabilityrightsca.org/

The Disability Rights California (DRC) aims to advance dignity, equality, independence and
freedom for all Californians with disabilities. DRC is a federally mandated organization which
advocates on behalf of individuals with disabilities living in California. The DRC offers legal
assistance; law clerks are available to speak with callers and answers questions regarding
problems in educational and other issues. Additionally, the DRC offers free publications
including: Special Education Rights and Responsibilities and the Rights under the Lanterman
Act: Regional Center Services for People with Developmental Disabilities (both are question and
answer type books with answers to many special education questions).

www.dor.ca.gov

The California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) is an employment and independent living

resource for people with disabilities. DORs mission is to work in partnership with consumers
and other stakeholders to provide services and advocacy resulting in employment, independent
living and equality for individuals with disabilities. The DOR provides consultation, counseling
and vocational rehabilitation, and works with community partners to assist the consumers they
serve. The organization guiding principles are to deliver effective vocational rehabilitation
services, and other programs and services in an efficient, caring, professional, and prompt
manner. They also aim to maintain the public trust by being fiscally responsible and ensuring
quality programs and services.