Early Start Denver Model Training

Lesson 1 • Common Co-occurring Conditions

Identifies frequent comorbidities including ADHD, anxiety, epilepsy, and intellectual disability. Understanding overlap prevents misattribution of symptoms and improves treatment planning.

Lesson 2 • Core Characteristics and Presentations

Details the two diagnostic domains—social communication and restricted/repetitive behaviours—across age and ability levels. Prepares professionals to recognise varied presentations in real clients.

Lesson 3 • Neurological and Genetic Underpinnings

Introduces brain structure differences, genetic risk factors, and prenatal influences associated with ASD. Grounds clinical reasoning in biological evidence rather than myth.

Lesson 4 • Prevalence and Demographic Patterns

Examines current prevalence data, gender and ethnic disparities, and geographic variation. Contextualises why Denver-area professionals encounter diverse presentations in practice.

Lesson 1 • Professional Codes of Conduct

Reviews ethics codes from behaviour analysis, psychology, and education professions as applied to ASD contexts. Provides a cross-disciplinary ethical compass for team-based service delivery.

Lesson 2 • Mandatory Reporting and Duty of Care

Defines mandatory reporting obligations for abuse, neglect, and safety risks specific to ASD populations. Professionals learn to identify and act on reportable concerns without delay.

Lesson 3 • Rights-Based Approach to Autism Services

Establishes disability rights principles, self-determination, and dignity as the ethical core of ASD practice. Frames every subsequent intervention decision within a rights-respecting lens.

Lesson 4 • Informed Consent and Confidentiality

Covers consent processes for minors and adults with varying capacity, assent, and data privacy obligations. Ensures professionals protect client rights before initiating any assessment or treatment.

Lesson 1 • Communicating Assessment Results

Guides professionals in writing clear reports and delivering findings to families and teams with cultural sensitivity. Effective communication of results ensures assessment data translates into actionable plans.

Lesson 2 • Standardised Diagnostic Instruments

Covers widely used tools such as the ADOS-2 and ADI-R, including administration protocols and scoring. Accurate instrument use is prerequisite to valid diagnosis and eligibility determination.

Lesson 3 • Assessment Principles and Planning

Introduces the purpose of multi-method assessment, referral criteria, and team roles. Establishes a systematic planning process before any instrument is selected or administered.

Lesson 4 • Functional Behavior Assessment

Teaches indirect, descriptive, and experimental FBA methods to identify the function of challenging behaviour. FBA findings directly inform the behaviour intervention plans covered in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Data Collection and Programme Evaluation

Establishes systems for continuous data collection, graphing, and data-based decision-making in ABA programmes. Ongoing evaluation ensures interventions are modified promptly when progress stalls.

Lesson 2 • Behaviour Reduction Procedures

Covers function-based, positive behaviour support strategies and least-restrictive reduction procedures. Professionals learn to reduce challenging behaviour while preserving dignity and teaching replacement skills.

Lesson 3 • Naturalistic Teaching Strategies

Introduces incidental teaching, pivotal response training, and natural environment teaching as complements to DTT. Naturalistic methods promote spontaneous skill use in everyday contexts.

Lesson 4 • Principles of Behaviour and Learning

Covers reinforcement, punishment, extinction, stimulus control, and generalisation as the conceptual core of ABA. These principles underpin every procedure introduced in this and subsequent chapters.

Lesson 1 • Augmentative and Alternative Communication

Covers AAC systems including PECS, speech-generating devices, and symbol-based boards, with selection criteria. AAC access is a right for nonspeaking clients and a bridge to broader communication development.

Lesson 2 • Communication Profiles in ASD

Describes the range of communication abilities from minimally verbal to hyperlexic and the underlying language differences. Accurate profiling is prerequisite to selecting appropriate communication targets and modalities.

Lesson 3 • Social Communication Skill Building

Addresses joint attention, conversational turn-taking, topic maintenance, and nonverbal communication skills. Social communication deficits are a defining ASD feature requiring targeted, systematic instruction.

Lesson 4 • Collaboration with Speech-Language Pathologists

Defines the SLP's scope and how behaviour analysts and educators integrate SLP goals into daily programming. Coordinated teams prevent fragmented services and accelerate communication outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Social Skills in Adolescents and Adults

Addresses age-appropriate social goals including workplace relationships, dating, and community participation. Lifespan relevance ensures professionals serve clients beyond the early childhood focus common in ASD training.

Lesson 2 • Assessing Social Skills Deficits

Covers standardised social skills assessments, direct observation, and social validity measures. Accurate deficit identification ensures intervention targets are meaningful and measurable.

Lesson 3 • Generalisation Across Social Contexts

Provides strategies to program generalisation of social skills to home, school, and community environments. Without deliberate generalisation planning, skills learned in training rarely transfer to natural settings.

Lesson 4 • Peer-Mediated Intervention Strategies

Teaches how to train and support neurotypical peers as social partners in inclusive settings. Peer-mediated approaches produce more naturalistic and durable social outcomes than adult-directed instruction alone.

Lesson 1 • Transition Planning Across the Lifespan

Addresses postsecondary education, employment, independent living, and community goals within transition planning. Early, person-centred transition planning dramatically improves adult outcomes for individuals with ASD.

Lesson 2 • Behaviour Intervention Plan Development

Guides professionals from FBA findings to a complete, function-based BIP with implementation and monitoring protocols. The BIP operationalises behaviour support within the broader individualised plan.

Lesson 3 • IEP Development Fundamentals

Covers present levels of performance, measurable annual goals, services, and accommodations within the IEP framework. A well-constructed IEP is the legal and programmatic backbone of school-based ASD services.

Lesson 4 • Family-Centred Planning Practices

Establishes family participation, cultural responsiveness, and shared decision-making as core planning values. Family engagement is the strongest predictor of generalisation and long-term outcomes.

Lesson 1 • Trauma-Informed ASD Practice

Addresses trauma prevalence in ASD populations, trauma-sensitive assessment, and intervention modifications. Trauma-informed approaches prevent re-traumatisation and improve engagement across all service contexts.

Lesson 2 • Advocacy and Systems Change

Equips professionals to advocate for policy improvements, funding access, and inclusive systems at organisational and community levels. Systemic advocacy multiplies the impact of individual clinical competence.

Lesson 3 • Supervision and Staff Training in ASD

Covers competency-based supervision models, performance feedback, and staff training design for ASD programmes. Skilled supervisors are the primary mechanism for maintaining intervention quality at scale.

Lesson 4 • Telehealth and Technology-Enhanced Services

Examines telehealth delivery models, technology-based instruction tools, and remote supervision protocols for ASD. Technology expands access to evidence-based services for underserved populations.