Supports for School Personnel

Supports for School Personnel are supports given to teachers or other professionals at the school to help them to be more effective in working with your child.

One example is providing extra training to teachers to help them understand and work with students on the autism spectrum. Sometimes, intensive training is necessary. In these situations, an autism consultant can be brought to the school to help teachers and staff learn teaching and behavioral strategies. When intensive training is not necessary, teachers may benefit from attending an educational conference. Depending on where you live, there may be conferences close-by that education staff can attend to learn more strategies for working with your child and other children with similar difficulties. There are also online courses available through the state and federal government or education and autism non-profit organizations. Sometimes, getting funding for additional training or getting the time off to attend a conference can be difficult for teachers unless additional training is specified in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for them.

Another example of a Support for School Personnel that is sometimes seen in IEPs for students on the autism spectrum is providing the child's teacher with an extra block of free time to prepare alternate materials or assessments or to hold co-planning or team meetings. Particularly in public schools, where teacher time is regulated by union agreements, teachers may have a limited amount of time outside of the school day when they can hold meetings. Building this time into the teacher's schedule by mandating it through an IEP may ensure that the school recognizes the extra effort required by teachers and plans accordingly.