UNDERSTANDING AFIRM USER ENGAGEMENT OF EARLY INTERVENTION PRACTITIONERS SUPPORTING YOUNG CHILDREN WITH AUTISM AND THEIR FAMILIES

The prevalence of autism has steadily risen over the last decade alongside increasing attention towards the identification of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) used to support this population. Unfortunately, the dissemination of this information to practitioners, especially Early Intervention (EI) practitioners, those supporting the birth to two-year-old population, has been poor due to barriers that limit access to relevant, high-quality Professional Development (PD) activities. The Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM), online modules that provide step-by-step instruction on the implementation of EBPs, were developed to disseminate information on EBPs to families and professionals working with children and youth with autism. Nearly a decade after their initial development, the AFIRM modules have accrued 330,000 users from across the country and around the world. AFIRM usage and user ratings of usefulness, relevance, and feasibility have been examined across providers serving children and youth three to 21-years-old but no previous studies have explored the usage and overall utility of AFIRM across providers serving the birth to two-year-old population. This study extended the research from Sam et al. (2020) and Morin et al. (2021) by utilizing secondary data analysis methods to explore AFIRM usage across providers serving children birth to two-years-old. EI practitioners selected Antecedent-Based Intervention, Modeling, and Discrete Trial Training most frequently across roles, like prior investigations (Morin et al., 2021; Sam et.al., 2020). User roles accounted for significant differences in pretest scores and providers made significant knowledge gains from pretest to posttest. Users remained highly satisfied with the AFIRM modules as demonstrated by high evaluation ratings across measures of satisfaction. Institutions of Higher Education and other organizations/agencies responsible for the pre- and in-service preparation of EI practitioners should begin or extend use of the AFIRM modules into their comprehensive PD programming.