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TPS Autism Team

Tulsa Public Schools has developed a team of professionals to assist the district with the challenges of serving students on the autism spectrum.  This team is comprised of a psychologist, speech-language pathologist, regular education teacher, and special education teacher. 

Team Objectives

1.  Provide assistance to school staff and Child Study Team members to identify student’s with autism, that would benefit from Special Education services.

2.  Provide assistance to school staff to enable student’s with autism to be more  successful in the classroom setting.

3.  Team members would collaborate with school staff to identify students with autism that fall on the moderate-severe end of the spectrum.  Once identified, the team and school staff would consider moving the student to a more restrictive environment at a specialized school site to better meet the needs of the student.

4.  When an IEP team agrees that the student would benefit from a specialized setting, one or more of the team members would attend the IEP meeting to ensure a smooth transition from the sending school to one of the specialized school sites.

5.  Increase the understanding and knowledge base of administrators, teachers, and support staff with current research based techniques and philosophies associated with students on the autistic spectrum. 

6.  Increase parent involvement of a student on the autism spectrum with school staff to support the student in all environments.

Autism Team Referral Process

1.  School principal, department chair, or team leader may e-mail or call the autism team coordinator at 746-6123 to request a member of the team to visit their school site for specific assistance.

2.  The appropriate team member will visit with school personnel and observe the student in the school environment.

3.  The Autism Team will meet weekly to discuss school concerns and develop a course of action to assist schools with any student on the autism spectrum.

4.  A team member will contact the requesting school staff member (teacher), department chair/team leader, and principal to discuss, develop, and implement an action plan to improve the target student behavior or academic issue.  This action plan will include what is to happen, who will be responsible, and when the school personnel will meet again to measure student progress on the target behavior or academic issue.

5.  Students not already identified on the autism spectrum, will go through the Child Study Team process, with the aid of the autism team psychologist, to help ascertain if Parent Consent for testing is necessary to determine appropriate services.

6.  There may be times, that the school staff and autism team members believe that the student would benefit from services in a specialized class environment, in spite of their best efforts to improve student behavior and provide services in the students home school.  At these times, the student’s school IEP team, a member of the autism team, and a teacher from the specialized school program should review the students placement and consider an alternative placement to best meet the needs of the student.

Autism Programs and Services

Remington Elementary is the school site specializing in students with Asperger Syndrome and Gifted & Talented.

Carnegie, Marshall, Chouteau and Hoover Elementary have developed classrooms specializing with children moderate-severe autism and communication issues.

Autism Classroom Training (ACT) is a summer program designed to help teachers in regular education, special education, and district para-professionals to better understand children with autism spectrum disorders.  This program improves inclusive practices by providing professionals with common approaches and techniques used to educate students on the spectrum. 

Students enrolled in Tulsa Public Schools attend in a classroom setting for morning sessions, five days a week and the TPS staff receives additional training information in the afternoon.  This is offered to anyone actively enrolled or employed in Tulsa Public School District.

C.A.R.E.S. (Consortium for Autistic Resources, Exchanges, and Support) – The autism team hosts an informative teacher session on the second Thursday of the month after school hours to discuss current issues and offer teachers hands-on assistance with students on the Autism Spectrum.

S.O.S. (Socialization Opportunities and Support) – The autism team in conjunction with TARC hosts an informative parent-child support group.  This is open to parents in Tulsa Public Schools and other school districts.  Parents listen to informative speakers discussing to learn more about Asperger Syndrome and related behavioral issues.  Children with Asperger Syndrome work together in small groups to improve socialization skills.  Childcare is available for typically developing siblings. 

 

TPS Statement of non-discrimination:
 "Tulsa Public Schools is an equal opportunity organization and does not discriminate in its educational and employment
policies and programs on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, veteran status, or disability.
For information, contact the Director of Compliance at  (918)746-6357."

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