Hello, I am trying to compile a list for career training for working with the Autistic Population. Ideas and input greatly appreciated. Services are going to be more readily available with the new bill that passed so this career choice may be viable. Thanks. Hille
UMass has a graduate certificate in Behavioral Intervention in Autism. http://www.umassonline.net/degrees/Online-Certificate-Autism.cfm
The Chicago School of Professional Psychology has an online ABA grad certificate. It isn't specifically dealing with Autism, but it covers the same areas that any BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) program covers. Downside is that they require 5 years of experience for acceptance into the program. It used to be easier to get the BCBA requirement studies done through Florida institutions, but as of October 2010, BACB will only accept classes from Colleges & Universities for the requirements. It really kinda blows because the classes are so much more expensive for all the online programs that I've found so far. The cool thing is that you can take the first 3 courses while you have a bachelors and get BCaBA (Board Certified Assitant Behavior Analyst) certification, and then after a Masters is finished, you can complete the final two classes and get the BCBA cert.
Penn State offers an online Certificate in Autism, as well as two Applied Behavior Analysis certificates (BCABA and BCBA).
At bacb.com, the site of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, under Becoming Certified, click on Approved University Training, then Click for Alphabetical List, and there are twenty-one distance learning options, including one in Spanish, and one in Korea, and the rest from regionally accredited schools stateside. Not listed there, Kaplan University offers Applied Behavioral Analysis emphases in their B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Psychology.
Florida Institute of Technology has the best prices I've seen so far for the BCBA certification courses. The first three are $750 each and the last two are $950 (For early registration, that is, $790 and $995 for normal registration)... A heck of a lot better than everyone else at $400-800/credit
A few more: University of North Dakota: online graduate certificate Autistic Spectrum Disorders or MS in SPED http://distance.und.edu/degree/?id=asdCERT2 Texas Tech University: online Autism certificate http://www.depts.ttu.edu/distancelearning/certificate/autism.php National University: online Autism Education Certificate http://www.nu.edu/OurPrograms/ExtendedLearning/Education/Programs/AutismEducationCertificate.html Arizona State University: autism graduate certificate (in-class & online) http://asunews.asu.edu/20070827_autism Antioch University (Santa Barbara): certificate in autism studies http://antiochsbonline.coursehost.com/Groups/Config/Home18.asp?LID=1&ky=d_BPDiQVRgHzDiPRUmf_DgHzrZTOtYHz Lesley University: 15-credit Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Specialization http://www.lesley.edu/online_learning/autism.html UC Davis Extension: certificate in Specialized Studies Program in Autism Spectrum Disorders http://extension.ucdavis.edu/unit/autism_spectrum_disorders/certificate/autism_spectrum_disorders_specialized_studies_program/index.asp Western Oregon University (extended programs): certificate autism spectrum disorders http://www.wou.edu/provost/extprogram/autism.php Autism Society of Canada http://www.autismsocietycanada.ca/resources_for_professionals/training_opportunities/index_e.html Virginia Autism Council: free online training http://www.autismtrainingva.org/index.php?mod=resourcetree&id=129
And now available integrated into an M.Ed.!: Master's Degree in Curriculum & Instruction: Autism Studies Option (UMassOnline.net)
ASA website mentions new program at Kent State Hi, Autism Society of America announced that Kent State will begin an Autism Spectrum Intervention Specialist Program Certification if the fall 2010. Website will not be up until May. Hille
I believe I'm correct when I say that the FIT program is the only ABA program that can be completed entirely at a distance.
I'm just wondering I am a true believer in on-line learning, but I am curious about this degree or certification. Does it require any hands on training? I have read much on autism and asperger's, but I never truly understood. Dealing with the range of abilities and disabilities, behaviors and movements seemed acceptable, until I spent 2 weeks in a classroom with 4 very diverse autistic 6th-7th graders. The children ranged from sweet and kind to devious and violent. This is just one of those things I think is hard to complete online.
The BCaBA and BCBA certification both require interships as part of the certification process. The BCaBA requires 1000 hours, (5% Supervised) and the BCBA requires 1500 hours. You cannot apply any internships that you may have done prior to starting the coursework. Basically, you start the coursework (BCaBA is 3 classes that you can start once you have a bachelor's, and BCBA is 2 additional classes which require that you have a completed masters). *Edit: If you want a cheap intro into Autism and Aspergers, and get graduate level credit incredibly cheap, you can check out the 1-2 credit courses that VESI offers in partnership through Morningside College. Almost 100% postive that you wouldn't be able to use them for the BCaBA/BCBA though...
This is not my thing but I don't think these programs are designed to teach people how to work with autistic kids. These programs are designed to teach people how to do applied behavior analysis. Big difference. If you're a psychologist you can get really good at doing psychological testing and still be a substandard therapist. Applied beahavior analysis is much closer to psych testing than it is to therapy. Behavior analysts observe and measure and they come up with treatment plans that OTHER people implement. There may be some cases, such as in some schools, where the ab analyst implements the plan but I don't think that's usually the way it works. I could be wrong.
If you want to work with children who have autism, you will want a degree in special education - Walden University (among others) offers an online master's program in special ed. If you want to work with adults who have autism, I'm really not sure what the degree requirement would be, though I agree that an ABA cert should be pursued regardless. I'd do some research via Google, etc to see what master's degree you should shoot for. Good luck!
