Preschool autism training: what early childhood staff practice, and what Head Start asks of training

Every autistic child is different: how they communicate, what they enjoy and what they are working on. Most of these practices draw on the evidence-based practices identified by the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice (NCAEP), which reviewed intervention research for autistic children, youth and young adults from birth to 22 (NCAEP, Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism, 2020). Transitions, data and partnering with families also appear in Head Start's list of professional development topics for education staff (45 CFR 1302.92(b)(6)).

1. Teaching through play and routines

NCAEP describes naturalistic intervention as practices "implemented during everyday routines and activities in the learner's classroom or home environment", "designed to encourage specific target behaviors based on learners' interests" (NCAEP, 2020). In a preschool room that means joining the child's play, following their lead, and offering the next step inside it: holding out the next block, pausing before the last line of a song, waiting for a look or a word.

2. Reinforcement

Reinforcement is "the application of a consequence following a learner's use of a response or skills that increases the likelihood that the learner will use the response/skills in the future" (NCAEP, 2020). For a three-year-old that can be specific praise, another turn with a favorite toy, a tickle or a song, given right after the child does the skill.

3. Prompting and fading

NCAEP defines prompting as "Verbal, gestural, or physical assistance given to learners to support them in acquiring or engaging in a targeted behavior or skill" (NCAEP, 2020). The adult gives the help that lets the child succeed, then removes it step by step. AFIRM warns: "Failure to appropriately fade prompts can cause the learner to become prompt dependent" (AFIRM, UNC Chapel Hill, Prompting brief packet, updated 2024).

4. Visual supports and routines

A visual support is "a visual display that supports the learner engaging in a desired behavior or skills independent of additional prompts"; common examples are "visual schedules, activity schedules, work systems, graphic organizers, visual cues, and scripts" (NCAEP, 2020). A picture schedule for the day, a picture of each step of handwashing and a choice board at snack time let a young child follow the routine without waiting for an adult's words.

5. Transitions

Moving from outdoor play to circle time, or from one room to another, is a moment when a predictable routine helps. Staff practice the same steps every time: show the next picture on the schedule, give a short warning, use a first-then card ("first clean up, then snack") and give the child a job to carry, such as the book for circle time. NCAEP notes that visual supports "provide information about an activity, routine, or expectation" (NCAEP, 2020). Head Start also names "preparing children and families for transitions", such as the move to kindergarten, as a professional development focus (45 CFR 1302.92(b)(6)).

6. Communication and requesting

Children communicate in many ways: words, signs, gestures, pictures or a speech device. NCAEP describes augmentative and alternative communication as interventions that "use and/or teach the use of a system of communication that is not verbal/vocal including aided and unaided communication systems", and functional communication training as practices that "replace a challenging behavior that has a communication function with more appropriate and effective communication behaviors or skills" (NCAEP, 2020). Staff create moments to ask, such as a favorite toy in sight but out of reach, and honor the request in whatever form the child uses.

7. Simple data

Head Start lists the "use of data to individualize learning experiences to improve outcomes for all children" among its professional development topics (45 CFR 1302.92(b)(6)). AFIRM's data collection sheets ask staff to "collect data on chained tasks completed correctly without prompts (I), with prompts (V, G, M, P)", so the team can see the help shrinking (AFIRM Prompting brief packet, updated 2024). A few tally marks during snack or circle time are a start.

8. Working with families

Families know their child best. Head Start programs must collaborate with parents of children with disabilities, including giving "information and skills to help parents understand their child's disability and how to best support the child's development" (45 CFR 1302.62(a)(1)). NCAEP counts parent-implemented intervention among its evidence-based practices: "Parent delivery of an intervention to their child that promotes their social communication or other skills" (NCAEP, 2020). When home and school use the same pictures and the same words, the child practices all day.

The goal is the child's growing independence. Each practice is measured by how much the child can do with less help: asking for a toy, following the schedule, joining the group.

Head Start and Early Head Start programs follow the Head Start Program Performance Standards, 45 CFR Part 1302. Section 1302.92 sets the training rule; sections 1302.60 to 1302.63 set the services for children with disabilities that staff carry out. Each line below is the regulation's own words.

The training and technical assistance set-aside

The Head Start Act tells the Secretary to "reserve for each fiscal year an amount that is not less than 2.5 percent and not more than 3 percent of the sums appropriated pursuant to section 639 for that fiscal year, to fund training and technical assistance activities". Of the share for Head Start programs other than Early Head Start, "not less than 50 percent shall be made available to Head Start agencies to use directly" (Head Start Act, section 640(a)(2)(C)(i), on headstart.gov). Section 648(d) lists what agencies use those funds for, including "Activities that ensure that Head Start programs have adequate numbers of trained, qualified staff who have skills in working with children and families, including children and families who are limited English proficient and children with disabilities and their families" (section 648(d)(1)(B)).

Many childcare and preschool teachers earn the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential from the Council for Professional Recognition. For the preschool setting, the Council asks candidates to "Complete 120 hours of formal early childhood education training, covering the growth and development of children ages 3 to 5 years, with no fewer than 10 training hours in each of the eight CDA® subject areas." (CDA Council, Preschool pathway). The eight subject areas, in the Council's words:

1. Planning a safe and healthy learning environment
2. Advancing children's physical and intellectual development
3. Supporting children's social and emotional development
4. Building productive relationships with families
5. Managing an effective program operation
6. Maintaining a commitment to professionalism
7. Observing and recording children's behavior
8. Understanding the principles of child development and learning

The Council also runs infant-toddler, family child care and home visitor pathways, each with its own page. Many states keep an early childhood workforce registry with its own training rules; your registry is the place to ask about them.

Under IDEA section 619, the federal government gives states grants to provide special education and related services "to children with disabilities aged 3 through 5, inclusive" (20 U.S.C. 1419(a); 34 CFR 300.800). When a child in your program has an IEP, the district's IEP team includes the parents and "Not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment)" (34 CFR 300.321(a)(2)). Preschool staff bring what they see every day, follow the supports written into the plan, and use the same words and pictures as the district's specialists. A Head Start program offers "To provide relevant information from its screenings, assessments, and observations to the team developing a child's IFSP or IEP" (45 CFR 1302.63(c)(1)).

1. Coaching in the classroom. A coach or education manager watches a teacher during play or circle time, models one practice and gives feedback. Head Start calls for "a research-based, coordinated coaching strategy for education staff" (45 CFR 1302.92(c)).
2. Free online modules. AFIRM, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, publishes free modules on evidence-based practices for autistic learners, including prompting, reinforcement and visual supports (AFIRM modules).
3. A short course on ABA methods. A structured course, such as Special Learning's Intro to ABA: Level 1, takes teachers and assistants through these methods in order, so the whole team uses the same words.
4. Guidance from the child's specialists. Where a child has a behavior analyst, a speech-language pathologist or an early intervention provider, staff follow that plan and ask them when something changes.
5. A request in writing. A teacher or assistant who wants training can fill in the free Staff Training Request (PDF), one page that names who needs training, the children it would support and the skills to practice, and hand it to the director.

When a preschool, Head Start program or childcare center buys Level 1 for 10 or more staff, it is $99 a person, paid once, and each person has 12 weeks from the day they activate their access. Ten staff come to $990. Teachers, assistants and aides then share the same words and methods.

Tell us your program, your state or country and how many staff, choosing "Preschool / early childhood" as your organization type. We reply with a written quote your office can approve or raise a purchase order against, and we invoice your program from Special Learning, Inc. against your PO or signed quote. We can provide a W-9 on request. Each person gets their own access once payment has cleared.

Planning in more detail? Plan your team and see the cost, or read which funds can pay for staff autism training.

• Early Social Skills: Toddler to Preschool (Part 1): a recorded training on teaching social skills to toddlers and preschoolers, for early childhood practitioners. $39.
• School Readiness Skills Bundle: five downloadable social stories that get a child ready for school: raising a hand, trying when it's hard, using a tissue, walking down the hallway and waiting a turn. $39.99.
• For your BCBA: CE Bundle 1: Early Childhood, 18 recorded sessions for behavior analysts who work with young learners. $199 for 12 months of access, one payment.
• Free tools for the classroom: the Visual Schedule Maker, the Token Board Maker and the Social Story Creator, with more classroom tools and printables on our page for educators.

What autism training do preschool teachers and assistants need?

Practice more than theory: teaching inside play and routines, reinforcement, prompting and fading, visual supports, smooth transitions, communication and requesting, simple data and working with families. Several of these are practices the National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice identified as evidence-based (NCAEP, 2020). Head Start's own list of professional development topics includes "supporting children with disabilities and their families", "addressing challenging behaviors" and "use of data to individualize learning experiences" (45 CFR 1302.92(b)(6)).

How many hours of professional development does Head Start require?

The Head Start Program Performance Standards require "Staff completing a minimum of 15 clock hours of professional development per year", plus "Annual training on positive strategies to understand and support children's social and emotional development, such as tools for managing children's behavior" (45 CFR 1302.92(b)(1) and (b)(3)).

Can Head Start training and technical assistance money pay for staff autism training?

The Head Start Act reserves "not less than 2.5 percent and not more than 3 percent" of Head Start appropriations for training and technical assistance, and for Head Start programs other than Early Head Start, "not less than 50 percent" of that portion goes to Head Start agencies "to use directly" (section 640(a)(2)(C)(i)). Section 648(d) lists what agencies may use it for, including "Activities that ensure that Head Start programs have adequate numbers of trained, qualified staff who have skills in working with children and families, including children and families who are limited English proficient and children with disabilities and their families" (section 648(d)(1)(B)). Your program's own training and technical assistance plan sets how its share is spent.

How do preschool staff work with the school district's IEP team?

Under IDEA section 619, states receive grants for special education and related services for children with disabilities aged 3 through 5 (34 CFR 300.800). The child's IEP team includes the parents and "Not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment)" (34 CFR 300.321(a)(2)). A Head Start program, at a minimum, offers "To provide relevant information from its screenings, assessments, and observations to the team developing a child's IFSP or IEP" (45 CFR 1302.63(c)(1)).

How much does it cost to train a preschool team?

Intro to ABA: Level 1 is $199 for one person, paid once. For 10 or more staff it is $99 a person (ten people come to $990): request a quote and choose "Preschool / early childhood" as your organization type. We reply with a written quote and invoice your program from Special Learning, Inc.

Can a director try the course before buying for the team?

Yes. The 7-day free trial covers the first two sessions of Level 1. Starting it asks for your email, a password and your role, with no payment card (start the free trial).

Your next step

Watch the first two sessions of Level 1 free for 7 days, then decide for your team. Starting it asks for no payment card.

More for schools: training for schools, autism training for paraprofessionals, ABA training online for special-education teachers and free tools and guides for educators.