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The Pennsylvania First
Signs program was launched in April 2005 in collaboration
with the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Department of
Public Welfare, the Pennsylvania Center for Autism and
Development Disability Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE), Chester
County Intermediate Unit, and The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia. Here we provide information about
the program, links to articles in the press, and numerous
Web-related disability resources for Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania First Signs Program
Pennsylvania Training
Pennsylvania Evaluation Study
Pennsylvania First Signs in the News
Pennsylvania Disability Resources
A Pediatric Practitioner's Guide to Early Intervention
in Pennsylvania.
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Pennsylvania First Signs Program
Pennsylvania First
Signs was launch in April 2005. The
University of
Pennsylvania,
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the
Pennsylvania Center for Autism and Development Disability
Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE),
Chester County Intermediate
Unit,
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and
First Signs,
Inc. are collaborating in this statewide initiative. The Pennsylvania
First Signs program offers professional training, parent
outreach, and public education.
The Pennsylvania First
Signs program has been funded by:
The Pennsylvania First Signs
program is endorsed by:
The objectives of the Pennsylvania First Signs program are to:
The Pennsylvania First Signs program consists of:
- Press campaign
- Mailings to more than 10,000 health care providers and
early childhood educators inviting them to participate in a
training seminar, receive continuing education credits, and
a First Signs Screening Kit
- 6 regional training seminars
- 20 Grand Rounds at major hospitals throughout the state
- 3 regional train-the-trainer workshops (providing
PowerPoint slides, handouts, and First Signs Screening Kits
to participants)
- Live and archived Webcast for continuing education
credits
- Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
- Parent outreach and public education
- Page on our Web site dedicated to Pennsylvania resources
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Pennsylvania Training
First Signs is presenting their three-hour
training course, “Improving Developmental
Screening Practices for Young Children with Autism & Other
Developmental Disorders” in six regional locations
throughout Pennsylvania:
- April 28, 2005: Scranton and Malvern. For
more information, click here.
- September 19, 2005: Pittsburgh. For more information,
click
here.
- September 30, 2005: Erie. For more information,
click here.
- November 30, 2005: Philadelphia. For more information,
click here.
- April 3, 2006: Harrisburg. For more information,
click here.
Health care professionals, including
pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners, physician
assistants, and pediatric specialists, as well as clinicians and
early childhood educators are invited to participate. Attendees
will receive a complementary First Signs
Screening Kit. The University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of
3.25 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition
Award.
Register online for a training
session at
www.cciu.org/firstsigns. There is a $59 registration fee;
$39 if you register early. This activity has been planned and
implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies
of the
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)
through the joint sponsorship of the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine, the
Pennsylvania Center for
Autism and Developmental Disability Research and
Epidemiology (CADDRE) in the University of Pennsylvania
School of Nursing, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Chester County
Intermediate Unit, and First Signs, Inc. The
University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME
to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
First Signs is also offering three
train-the-trainer workshops to Early Intervention
professionals who are interested in enhancing their local Child
Find and outreach efforts. First Signs will provide participants
with tools and tips to educate medical professionals about best
practices in screening and referral of young children at risk
for autism and other developmental disorders. Attendees will
leave with a plan they can put into action, as well as handouts
and access to PowerPoint presentations. Topics include:
successful ways to achieve community outreach, scheduling and
planning meetings, and measuring results. Attendees are required
to attend a First Signs regional training before attending a
train-the-trainer workshop. CEUs are available.
First Signs
train-the trainer workshops will be offered in three regional
locations throughout Pennsylvania:
- September 19, 2005: Pittsburgh
- November 30, 2005: Philadelphia
- April 3, 2006: Harrisburg
For more information,
click here.
To register,
click here.
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Pennsylvania Evaluation Study
The evaluation study is
being conducted by First Signs and the University of
Pennsylvania.
Evaluation questions
- Are we
influencing pediatric practice in screening and referral?
- Are we improving screening by health care providers?
- Are we improving referral of children to Pennsylvania Early
Intervention programs?
Evaluation strategy
- Compare results from pre- and post-tests to measure
knowledge gained from a single training session
- Monitor
visits to dedicated Pennsylvania Web pages
- Compare
annual changes in referral rates and
sources to Pennsylvania Early Intervention
- Review a random sample of medical records from selected
pediatric offices for documentation of developmental
screening before training and six, 12, and 24 months
post-training to assess short and long-term change in
physician screening behavior
- Evaluate changes in screening and referral practices two
years after training through questionnaires and assessment
of referral patterns
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Pennsylvania First Signs in the News
To
read all news articles related to First Signs, visit our
Press Center.
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