{"id":1109,"date":"2023-02-16T18:03:03","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T18:03:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/?page_id=1109"},"modified":"2023-04-09T20:13:28","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T20:13:28","slug":"graduate-certificate-in-autism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/?page_id=1109","title":{"rendered":"Graduate Certificate in Autism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I am Levin&#8217;s grandmother and advocate.  When Levin was in kindergarten, his educational team believed that he was demonstrating signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Las Cruces Public Schools conducted a Multidisciplinary Evaluation and provided an <strong>Educational Determination for Autism<\/strong> dated May 19, 2021, <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Due to&nbsp; COVID-19 disruptions, Levin did not receive a <strong>Medical Diagnosis for ASD<\/strong> until January 6, 2022 by <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/cdd.health.unm.edu\/autismportal\/\" target=\"_blank\">UNM CDD<\/a>&nbsp;.  He was on their waitlist for more than two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.enwebdesigns.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"544\" src=\"http:\/\/www.enwebdesigns.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-1024x544.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1267\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-1024x544.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-300x159.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-768x408.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-1000x531.jpg 1000w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-230x122.jpg 230w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-350x186.jpg 350w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination-480x255.jpg 480w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Medical-Diagnosis-Vs-Educational-Determination.jpg 1177w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to be a more knowledgeable advocate and mentor for my grandson with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I decided to gain some knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).&nbsp;I applied to NMSU Graduate School for admission. The Graduate School had a program specifically in <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/tpal.nmsu.edu\/degree-programs\/certificates\/graduate-certificate-autism.html\" target=\"_blank\">Autism Spectrum Disorders<\/a>. Once I was accepted, I  enrolled and completed 12 hours of Special Education classes focusing on and earned a Graduate Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u200cincreasing\u200c \u200cnumber\u200c \u200cof\u200c \u200cstudents\u200c \u200cwith\u200c \u200cASD\u200c \u200cin\u200c \u200cpublic\u200c \u200cschools\u200c has\u200c \u200cmotivated\u200c \u200cme\u200c \u200cto\u200c \u200cgain\u200c \u200cmore\u200c \u200cknowledge\u200c \u200cabout\u200c \u200cthis\u200c \u200cpopulation.\u200c \u200cI\u200c \u200chope\u200c \u200cthis\u200c \u200copportunity\u200c \u200cwill\u200c \u200cprovide\u200c \u200cme\u200c \u200cwith\u200c \u200cthe\u200c \u200cnecessary\u200c \u200cskills\u200c \u200cto\u200c \u200cdevelop\u200c \u200cmy\u200c \u200cknowledge\u200c \u200cof\u200c \u200cessential\u200c \u200cneed\u200c \u200careas\u200c \u200cfor\u200c \u200cserving\u200c \u200cindividuals\u200c \u200cwith\u200c \u200cASD.\u200c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the future, I hope to volunteer in my grandson\u2019s Special Ed classes or a parallel autism classroom. This\u200c \u200cprogram\u200c \u200cwill\u200c \u200chelp\u200c \u200cme\u200c \u200cto\u200c \u200cexplore\u200c \u200cmultiple\u200c \u200cteaching\u200c \u200ctechniques\u200c \u200cthat\u200c \u200ccould\u200c \u200cbenefit\u200c children with ASD and\u200c \u200chow to implement\u200c \u200cthese\u200c \u200cstrategies\u200c \u200ceffectively. \u200cI\u200c \u200cwill\u200c \u200cbe\u200c \u200cable\u200c \u200cto\u200c \u200clearn and use\u200c \u200ceffective\u200c \u200cteaching\u200c \u200cpractices\u200c \u200cthat\u200c \u200cpromote\u200c \u200ccognitive\u200c \u200cand\u200c \u200csocial\u200c \u200cdevelopment.\u200c \u200cI\u200c \u200cwant\u200c \u200cto\u200c \u200cplay\u200c \u200ca\u200c \u200crole\u200c \u200cin\u200c \u200cthe\u200c \u200cautism\u200c \u200cclassroom\u200c \u200cand\u200c \u200cidentify\u200c \u200cstudents&#8217;\u200c \u200cchallenges\u200c \u200cand\u200c \u200cteachers\u2019\u200c \u200cneeds\u200c \u200cto\u200c help \u200cdevelop \u200ca\u200c \u200csuccessful\u200c \u200ceducational\u200c \u200cplan\u200c \u200cfor\u200c \u200ceach\u200c \u200cindividual.\u200c \u200c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I learned that working with students who have restricted interests can be a challenge, but embedding these interests into applicable lessons help increase academic engagement and improve outcomes. Quoting Dr. O. Ivar Lovaas, the pioneer of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), I strongly believe that \u201c<em>If they can\u2019t learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn<\/em>\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ten months into the COVID-19 pandemic, public schools are still grappling with the challenges of educating students online.&nbsp; It is not easy to engage a five-year-old with ASD, not only to sit still, but to focus on his online classes.  My husband and I try to work closely with my grandson\u2019s Special Ed teacher. I feel that it is very important to be knowledgeable about the Special Ed Curriculum and the goals expected to be achieved. The Stars curriculum provides teachers and parents different resources that target IEP goals, new skills, behavioral skills, and functional routine skills. Resources that can be issued are visual schedules, PECS, home packets that include Math and Reading work, social stories, and token economy. These are resources parents and teachers can use at home or in the classroom.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>My special thanks and appreciation to the below Special Education Professors at NMSU:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>SPED 585<\/td><td>Introduction to Autism&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/td><td>Dr. Yvonne Moreno<\/td><td>Fall 2020&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>SPED 587<\/td><td>Social Skills and Autism<\/td><td>Dr. Yvonne Moreno<\/td><td>Spring 2021&nbsp;<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>SPED 586&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/td><td>Behavior and Autism<\/td><td>Dr. Judy Salamon<\/td><td>Fall 2021<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>SPED 588<\/td><td>Communication and Autism<\/td><td>Dr. Joan Wilson<\/td><td>Spring 2022<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.enwebdesigns.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.enwebdesigns.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1279\" width=\"750\" height=\"578\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1.jpg 1000w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1-300x231.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1-768x591.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1-230x177.jpg 230w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1-350x270.jpg 350w, http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Certificate-Autism-1000x770-1-480x370.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am Levin&#8217;s grandmother and advocate. When Levin was in kindergarten, his educational team believed that he was demonstrating signs of Autism [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1109","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Graduate Certificate in Autism - Autism Heroes for Levin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.elvananawa.com\/autismheroesforlevin\/?page_id=1109\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graduate Certificate in Autism - Autism Heroes for Levin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I am Levin&#8217;s grandmother and advocate. 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