Abstract
This project explored the impact of a professional development workshop, “Stimming and More: Supporting Autistic Children,” on early childhood educators’ understanding of autism and the educators’ classroom practices. The inspiration for this project came from my conversations, experiences, and observations at this Early Childhood Center, where I have worked since January 2023. Across education broadly and specifically related to early childhood, teacher preparation and training, largely are centered on the “normal child,” the white nondisabled, native English speaker, despite the vast diversity (across race, language, disability, and so on) in our schools and our classrooms. The lack of training and knowledge on supporting autistic children was not a unique issue of this center. Using my previous experience as an Instructional Assistant in an elementary school working primarily with autistic children, my experience at the center, Clark education, and additional learning, I designed and implemented this 3 hour workshop. To analyze the impact of the workshop, I explored two data collection methods: survey and semi-structured interview; this project is action-research. The data showed that the workshop was impactful in increasing educator’s knowledge, understanding, and empathy for autistic children. Additionally, the data showed some change in educator’s practices. Results of this project show the importance of care, trust, and relationships to the effectiveness of educator professor development. Finally, results show that empowering educators with specific knowledge and strategies for autistic children, empowers educators in their ability to care and educate disabled children, positively impacts the classroom environment and experience for all.