Resources for Families

https://carterkits.org/ 

MT DPHHS Emergency Medical Services for Children

Carter Kits Sensory Bags provide calming tools like weighted blankets, fidget toys, and noise-reducing earmuffs to support children with autism and sensory sensitivities during stressful situations. Originally created by first responders, these kits help reduce sensory overload and promote communication. Now used in schools, hospitals and communities nationwide, Carter Kits are a simple, effective way to meet sensory needs.

Marcus Autism Center Tip Sheets

Our tips can support you through common concerns for autism families, like going out to eat and managing screen time. We can also help you explain your child’s condition to neighbors and guide you through your first IEP meeting. We’re with you at every step of the journey.

Foster Care Resources

Resources for Schools and Professionals

Law Enforcement Resources on Autism Spectrum Disorder

These resources provide law enforcement with guidance on preparing for and responding to incidents involving missing children with autism.    

Autism & Wandering

According to data published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly half of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) go missing from their environment, with a substantial number at risk for bodily harm or drowning. Children on the autism spectrum may seek out small or enclosed spaces, head toward water or places of special interest to them, or they may try to escape overwhelming stimuli such as sights, sounds, surroundings, or activities of others.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® has free resources and training to help support caregivers, first responders, and search teams to help mitigate missing incidents for children on the autism spectrum.

Autism Speaks: Information for Law Enforcement

On a daily basis police officers encounter a multitude of individuals in emergency situations. Just as each emergency differs from the next, so does the individual involved, especially in regards to people with autism. Police are trained to respond to a crisis situation with a certain protocol, but this protocol may not always be the best way to interact with people with autism. Because police are usually the first to respond to an emergency, it is critical that these officers have a working knowledge of autism, and the wide variety of behaviors people with autism can exhibit in emergency situations.

Guides to Twice Exceptional Students

Being gifted is part of what makes these children exceptional. Sometimes gifted children also have a learning difference or disability, which makes them doubly exceptional and is referred to twice exceptional. Twice exceptional (or 2e) children are a special population within the gifted community who are often overlooked. To that end, the Davidson Institute has prepared the following “Best of Twice-Exceptional” articles and resources for your 2e family

LEND Resources and Literature

The Vanderbilt Consortium LEND is part of a national network of Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) programs. As a network, these programs have an ultimate goal of improving the health status of infants, children, and adolescents with neurodevelopmental and related disabilities and their families.

Updates from the US Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Guiding Principles for Creating Safe, Inclusive, and Fair School Climates. March 2023. 
Available at: https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/school-discipline/guiding-principles.pdf

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. Positive, Proactive Approaches to Supporting Children with Disabilities: A Guide for Stakeholders. July 2022.
Available at: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/guide-positive-proactive-approaches-to-supporting-children-with-disabilities.pdf

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services & Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. See also: Using Functional Behavioral Assessments to Create Supportive Learning Environments. November 2024. 
Available at: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/files/Functional-Behavioral-Assessments-11-19-2024.pdf

Research and Articles

 


OPI Staff are here to help:

Katie Mattingley, Statewide Coordinator Montana Autism Education Project, 406-437-3874

 

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