This system allows educators to understand how to implement an instructional programme for students with ASD. Known as CAPS, the model answers common questions about finding the right supports to fit a child’s learning style in order to help him reach his full potential. Used with The Ziggurat Model, CAPS enables educators and other professionals to address adequate yearly progress (AYP), response to intervention (RTI), and positive behaviour support (PBS). This expanded second edition of CAPS adds important new material on technical assistance/consultation as well as up-to-date considerations of current mandates and trends that support CAPS use, including a major focus on evidence-based practices.
About the Author :
Shawn A. Henry is executive director at the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI), where he concentrates on developing statewide change efforts in promoting advances in the training of professionals serving students with autism and providing supports for families. He was previously the program director of training and evaluation at the Kentucky Autism Training Center, University of Louisville (KATC), where he coordinated targeted professional development throughout the state. These experiences, as well as serving as an elementary special education teacher, primarily teaching students with autism, led Shawn to develop the Comprehensive Autism Planning System (CAPS). Brenda Smith Myles, PhD is a consultant with the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI), the Ziggurat Group, and the Education and Treatment Services Project for Military Dependent Children with Autism. She is the recipient of the Autism Society of America's Outstanding Professional Award, the Princeton Fellowship Award, and the Council for Exceptional Children, Division on Developmental Disabilities Burton Blatt Humanitarian Award. Dr. Myles has made over 500 presentations all over the world and written more than 150 articles and books on ASD. In addition, she served as the co-chair of the National ASD Teacher Standards Committee; was on the National Institute of Mental Health's Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee's Strategic Planning Consortium; collaborated with the National Professional Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders, National Autism Center, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to identify evidence-based practices for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Further, in the latest survey conducted by the University of Texas, she was acknowledged as the second most productive applied researcher in ASD in the world.
Review :
"CAPS is an invaluable guide for anyone who has to negotiate the complex and sometimes daunting system of available resources for individuals with ASD. Written in clear and precise language that will speak to both the layperson and the specialist, this book offers new insights and techniques relevant to students at various ages and stages of development. The multidisciplinary CAPS model acknowledges the need to tailor programming to a student's individual differences and unique set of circumstances. As a supervisor for ASD programs for a large public school district, I am always looking for ways to improve our ability to serve our students. I recommend the easily accessible CAPS model and this ready-to-use guide to any professional in the educational field looking to support students with ASD and other disabilities."
- Doreen Tilt, MSEd, CAS, supervisor of autism spectrum disorders program, Bridgeport Public Schools, Bridgeport, Connecticut
"The CAPS is invaluable! This flexible tool can assist in collaboration, transitions, and IEP planning by providing practitioners with an organized framework for implementing evidence-based practices and supports throughout the day. It also helps with accountability and consistency across providers - an increasingly important issue. This expanded second edition of CAPS includes important new material on technical assistance/consultation as well as up-to-date considerations of current mandates and trends that support CAPS use. With plenty of clear examples, resources, and poignant case studies, educators, family members and, most important, persons with ASD, will benefit from this book."
- Paul G. LaCava, PhD, assistant professor of special education, Rhode Island College
"This tool takes the mystery out of addressing the complex needs of individuals on the spectrum by allowing the multidisciplinary team to use and implement a transdisciplinary process that allows for the individual expertise of each team member to be used collectively, thereby ensuring consistency of quality supports, instruction, and progress monitoring throughout the day. Our Center team believes that the CAPS is so effective that we have incorporated it into our comprehensive training program that is used to train teachers and related service providers in our state. The CAPS turns the mandated IEP document into a user-friendly tool that is shared with all staff, and is tremendously helpful to general education teachers."
- Ruth Eren, EdD, associate professor, director, Center of Excellence on Autism Spectrum Disorders, Southern Connecticut State University
