Research Questions How much do ECE’s already know about ASD and early signs of ASD in young children ?

1. www.uwindsor.ca/autism mgragg@uwindsor.ca Early Childhood Educators’ knowledge and attitudes toward early identification of Autism Marcia N. Gragg1, Tammy Whitlock1, Lynnette Ridley2 & Beth Johnson3 1Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada N9B 3P4, 2Windsor Regional Hospital Department of Pharmacy, 3City of Windsor Ontario Early Years Centres • Introduction • Early Childhood Educators (ECE's) in child care centres are in a unique position to help identify children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) – as they see many very young children with their peers for extended periods. • Information on screening for autism, public awareness activities, and preservice training for ECE's has been recommended to help increase early identification of children with autism (Filipek, 1999). • Little is known about the knowledge, experiences and attitudes of ECE's with regards to young children with ASD in child care centres (McConkey & Bhlirgri, 2003; Stahmer, Collings & Palinkas, 2005; Wall, 2004). • Results • no significant differences in autism knowledge for participants completing measures BEFORE & AFTER presentation, except those AFTER presentation scored significantly higher on identifying very early signs of autism in young children • Number of Times Worked with a Child with ASD • no significant differences in autism knowledge OR comfort in identifying a child as autistic • Research Questions • How much do ECE’s already know about ASD and early signs of ASD in young children? • What experiences have ECE’s already had working with young children with ASD (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) and their parents in local child care centres? • What are ECE’s attitudes towards receiving training in screening children for ASD, talking to parents about suspected ASD, and participating in screening programs for ASD? • Method • Participants • 91 participants (90 female, 1 male) who worked in child care centres • Profession 64.4% ECE, 34.4% other • Education 63.3% ECE diploma • 38.9% University education • 25.6% some college/other college diploma • 15.6% high school only • 8.9% other • Experience in Child Care • 14.6% had 0 – 1 year • 37.1% had 2 – 5 years • 15.7% had 6 – 10 years • 32.6% had > 10 years • Conclusions • brief training can increase ECE’s knowledge of early signs of ASD • ECE’s and others working in child care centres had similar levels of ASD knowledge • ECE’s knew a great deal about ASD already • ECE’s main misconceptions were about cognitive abilities of children with ASD and emotional factors in the cause of ASD; training should focus on these areas • 88% of ECE’s had experience working with children diagnosed with ASD • over 80% of ECE’s had worked with a child suspected with ASD; although almost half had never discussed concerns about ASD with the children’s parents • ECE’s are eager for more training on ASD screening and talking to parents about ASD; and were positive about participating in screening programs for ASD • Data Collection • recruited at a workshop, Autism in the Early Years, Oct. 2004 • 52% to 61% return rate • 53 participants completed the measures BEFORE and 38 participants AFTER a presentation, Autism in the Early Years: Early Identification • Measures • Autism Survey (Stone, 1987; Stone & Rosenbaum, 1988); to measure autism knowledge • Early Childhood Educators and Children with Autism; designed for current study; to measure experiences & attitudes toward working with children with ASD and their parents in child care centres, attitudes toward screening for ASD, and demographic information • Acknowledgements • Participants who shared their experiences with us • The Association of Early Childhood Educators, Windsor/Essex Branch • The City of Windsor, Children's Services • St. Clair College, School of Community Studies • Knowledge Translation • Presented study results & information on ASD to staff and ECE students at website and; • Ontario Early Years Satellite Centres • City of Windsor Children’s Services • St. Clair College, & other community events AC = Autistic Children