RESOURCES

Below are resources that may be helpful for teachers, parents, and others.

Results of the Smooth Sailing Program’s 2021-2022 Trial
In 2021-2022 we conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Smooth Sailing PD Program, with promising results: the program led to gains in teachers’ autism knowledge, the quality of student-teacher relationships, and children’s social-emotional adjustment in the classroom, among other areas. Here is a brief report summarizing our findings. A scientific paper describing these results is underway.

Smooth Sailing in the news: Selected press:
1) NPR interview and article (2023). Why so many kids with autism get expelled from preschool. An interview on WBUR with our project director and principal investigator, Jan Blacher, about our findings from a previous study of preschool-age autistic children.

2) Inside IES Research (2023). Smooth Sailing using the neurodiversity paradigm: Developing positive classroom experiences for autistic students. An interview with Jan Blacher and Abbey Eisenhower about the creation of the Smooth Sailing program.

3) KTLA article (2023). California study shows preschoolers with autism more likely to get expelled. Reports on our recent finding about the elevated rates of dismissal from child-care and preschool settings facing children on the autism spectrum.

4) UC-Riverside News (2021): These inclusive practices help general education teachers foster positive relationships with autistic students.

5) Special Ed Connection (2020). How some special ed research projects survive, thrive during the pandemic. This article describes how the Smooth Sailing program adapted to provide teachers with resources and strategies to foster positive student-teacher relationships during school closures and virtual learning.

6) Inside UCR (2020). Education researchers create anti-racism guide.

The SEARCH Family Autism Resources Center

The SEARCH Center website offers resources for families and community members around autism, with a focus on community resources relevant to Southern California and the Inland Empire.

Among other resources on the SEARCH site is a guide for talking with young students about race and racism developed by members of our team. This tool is intended to support elementary educators with tools for promoting an anti-racist, inclusive classroom community. The Educator Guide to Addressing Race and Racism can be downloaded here.

College Experiences of Autistic Students
Smooth Sailing Principal Investigator, Dr. Jan Blacher, also studies the experiences of autistic students in college. In the documentary, Autism Goes to College, we learn that these relationships continue to play an important role for college students on the spectrum. As part of the Autism Goes to College (AGTC) team, Dr. Blacher and her collaborators provide resources at their website, www.autismgoestocollege.org. To find out about upcoming events and screenings of the documentary, please visit the film’s facebook page.

Staying Connected: Smooth Sailing Newsletters and Social Media
Our current and past newsletters can be accessed here.

To sign up to receive our monthly newsletter, please click on Join Our Mailing List below. We also post announcements and research updates on our facebook page; follow us facebook.

Smooth Sailing researchers are proud to share recent articles published by our team members. Below is a list of selected publications relevant to the Smooth Sailing program. For more information on these publications or for a full list of publications including those prior to 2020, please contact us at SmoothSailingStudy@gmail.com.

Selected relevant publications

Drawing on Key Partner Perspectives of an Autism- Focused Professional Development Program: A Conceptual Framework for Coaching (Hamsho, Eisenhower, Galligan, Collier-Meek, Bolourian, Levinson, & Blacher). Publication page. Full text.

General education teachers’ perceptions of autism, inclusive practices, and relationship-building strategies. (Bolourian, Losh, Hamsho, Eisenhower, & Blacher, 2022). Publication page. Full text.

Preschool and child-care expulsion: Is it elevated for autistic children? (Blacher & Eisenhower, 2022). Publication page. Full text.

What are general education teachers’ perceptions of autism and autistic students? (Eisenhower, Bolourian, & Blacher, 2022). Research Brief.

Impact of student-teacher relationship quality on academic engagement for young autistic students. (Losh, Eisenhower, & Blacher, 2022). Publication page. Full text.

“My autism is my own:” Autistic identity and intersectionality in the school context. (Cohen, Joseph, Levinson, Blacher. & Eisenhower, 2022). Publication page. Full text.

Psychometric properties of a parent- and teacher-report measure for autistic children: The Parent-Teacher Relationship Quality Scale (PTRQS). Andoni, Hamsho, Blacher & Eisenhower, 2022). Publication page. Full text.

Early student-teacher relationships and autism: Student perspectives and concordance with teacher perspectives. (Losh, Bolourian, Rodriguez, Eisenhower, & Blacher, 2022). Publication page. Full text.

Building classroom communities for children with autism spectrum disorders (Zeedyk, Cohen, Eisenhower, & Blacher, 2021). Publication page. Full text.

Contact us if you are interested in more resources.