We developed this freely available adult autism training for residency programs to increase resident physicians’ confidence, knowledge, and willingness to provide patient-centered care for autistic adults. Ultimately, we hope this will improve autistic adults’ access to high-quality care and maximize their health outcomes.
PREPARE, titled Promoting Residents’ Excellence in Patient-centered cARE (PREPARE) for Autistic Adults, consists of six modules and two standardized patient encounters. It was designed by a team of researchers, medical providers, and an advisory board of autistic adults and family members of autistic adults from across the United States. The six modules align with the Alliance for Disability in Healthcare Education (ADHCE) core competencies in disability health education, which are nationally recognized standards that guide best practices in healthcare education for patients with disabilities.
The training elements are guided by the blended learning model and grounded in evidence-based practices.
Time investment for trainees: 5.2 hours
Time investment for faculty: 7.2 hours, which includes about 15 minutes of preparation for each case study and 1 hour training standardized patients for each encounter. Additionally, plan to spend 20 minutes per learner observing and providing feedback on the standardized patient encounters.
Developed by:
Brittany Hand, Christopher Hanks, Susan Havercamp, Daniel Coury, J. Madison Hyer, Lisa Juckett, Daniel Gilmore, Anne Longo, and the PREPARE for Autistic Adults Advisory Board, including Gyasi Burks-Abbott, Carolyn Harper-Munnerlyn, Ace Patrick Unruh, Jennifer Strobel, Amy Frechette, Cindy Molloy, Nicole LeBlanc, Jennifer Samuel, and Sal Silinonte.
Funded by:
Grant #W81XWH-22-1-0248 from the Department of Defense
Acknowledgments:
Holden DeVassie, Deondray Radford, Alexandra Coyne
Training materials
We have made all training materials freely available so that other residency programs can use or adapt them for their learners. Below, you will find all downloadable documents required for implementing this training.
View PREPARE video presentations
Overall curriculum materials and resources
- Facilitator guide - PREPARE for Autistic Adults
- Facilitator guide - Case studies
- Facilitator guide - Standardized patient encounters
- Patient handout - Standardized patient encounters
- Patient training - Standardized patient encounters
- Learner handout - Resources
- Learner handout - Case studies
- Learner handout - Standardized patient encounters
- Knowledge assessment and answer key
Contact us
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