Collaborative START Lab
Current Research Studies
Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavioral Health (AIR-B)
The Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavioral Health (AIR-B) is a national network of researchers and community partners dedicated to improving behavioral interventions and outcomes for individuals with autism. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), AIR-B focuses on developing, testing, and implementing evidence-based practices that address the needs of underserved and underrepresented communities.
AIR-B prioritizes community collaboration, leveraging partnerships with schools, healthcare providers, advocates, and families to ensure interventions are accessible, effective, and culturally responsive. The network emphasizes translating research into practice, fostering equitable access to care, and empowering autistic people, families and providers through education, training, and advocacy.
By integrating research, community engagement, and practical application, AIR-B seeks to enhance the quality of life for autistic individuals and their families while addressing systemic barriers to care.
Collaborative START Trainings and Workshops
The Collaborative Start Lab provides various training options, such as the Early Start Denver Model training and certification and the ADOS-2 Clinical and Toddler workshops. For further details about our training and workshops, please visit https://www.esdm.co or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EarlyStartDenverModel.
Connecting the Dots Study (closed for enrollment)
This study looks at what happens when doctors use a specific, well-tested survey to see if children p might need to be tested for autism. If the survey helps doctors send families for testing and helps parents decide to test their child for autism, this may help them get care for their child at a younger age. Starting services earlier may help children and families have a better quality of life later. This study is part of the Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) Network, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.
EPICC
The goal of this research is to better understand the use of communication tools (ex. iPad, PECS, etc.) and how collaboration occurs about communication tool use in home/school settings for minimally verbal students, ages 2-10 years old, with autism. We want to learn how providers and caregivers work together to support the child with a communication tool.
Mind the Gap (AIR-B 4)
The Mind the Gap project, funded by the Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavioral Health (AIR-B 4), is dedicated to empowering families of children newly diagnosed with autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions by bridging the gap between diagnosis and access to critical services. The project addresses systemic challenges that families often face, such as navigating complex healthcare and educational systems, understanding available resources, and ensuring equitable access to supports.
Through partnerships with Family Resources and Empowerment Centers in California, Mind the Gap provides a curriculum for peer navigators to deliver targeted outreach, education, and support to families, especially those from traditionally underserved communities. The project equips families with knowledge about their child’s neurodevelopmental condition, evidence-based interventions, and service systems, empowering them to advocate effectively for their children. It also provides training for providers to ensure culturally responsive and family-centered care.
By fostering collaboration between families, service providers, and community partners, Mind the Gap aims to build a seamless pathway to services, reducing delays in accessing support and improving long-term outcomes for children with autism and their families.
PALMS Project: Partnering for Autism: Learning More to improve Services
The PALMS Project at the UC Davis MIND Institute is recruiting ABA agencies to participate in a research study to understand the effectiveness of best-practice early behavioral intervention and the Early Start Denver Model for young children with autism.
Why participate?
- Improve services: Contribute to the development of evidence-based practices
- Gain insights: Help understand how to better support clients and their families
- Receive training: Access free ESDM training for a portion of your providers during the study (and access training materials for all once the study is complete)
- Earn CEUs: Providers can earn up to 13.5 BABC® learning units
Eligibility requirements:
- Serve at least 5 autistic children under the age of 48 months
- Have providers who are not ESDM certified
- Accept Medicaid or other public funding for services
What's in it for you?
Some participating providers will be randomly chosen to receive free training in ESDM.
All participants will receive gift cards for their participation
Contact the PALMS Project today by completing an interest form or emailing us at hs-palmsproject@ucdavis.edu.
Project Impact
Project ImPACT (Improving Parents As Communication Teachers) for Toddlers is a naturalistic approach designed to coach parents and caregivers of 12-36 month-olds to support their child’s development. It uses a combination of behavioral and developmental strategies to help parents increase their child’s social-communication and play skills in daily activities. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of Project ImPACT for Toddlers and to provide training in Project ImPACT to early intervention providers in the community.
TEAMS/WT Grant/Distant Grant
Background
There are a growing number of children with autism in need of services in school and mental health programs. With the yearly cost of autism in the U.S. estimated to be $236 billion, developing and testing effective ways to scale up the use of evidence-based treatments for autism is critical.
Purpose
To improve provider (e.g., teachers, mental health therapists) training in evidence based treatments. Two studies will test ways to support providers in their learning and delivery of autism treatments. Study #1 will test the TEAMS model with An Individualized Mental Health Intervention for Autism(AIM HI) in publicly-funded outpatient and school-based mental health programs. Study #2 will test TEAMS with Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching (CPRT) in classrooms. The TEAMS model includes – TEAMS Leadership Institute (TLI) and TEAMS Individualized Provider Strategy for training (TIPS). Both studies will be conducted in San Diego, Sacramento, and Los Angeles counties.
Settings and Participants
Mental health programs and school districts can participate and will be randomized to receive different components of TEAMS. Leaders and Providers (mental health therapists or teachers) from participating districts/programs can also participate. All providers will receive free training and coaching/consultation in AIM HI or CPRT over 6-10 months.
TEAMS Evidence-Based Practices Leadership Institute (TEAMS EBP):
The goal of the TEAMS EBP Leadership Institute project is to test how well our leadership training program can help district and program leaders select and carry out evidence-based autism interventions.
Leaders learn strategies to identify, assess, and apply research evidence so they can choose, measure, and keep interventions that address their district or program needs. Community-based mental health agencies and school districts in California can participate in the training program for 2-3 years. The first year is surveyed only. Leaders and providers (teachers or therapists) will complete quick surveys online in the Fall and Spring. Organizations will then be enrolled to receive the TEAMS EBP Leadership Institute in either 2024-2025 or 2025-2026. The Leadership Institute includes six training sessions and three brief coaching calls over six months.
TEAMS Distance Learning Study Original Project Summary:
The purpose of the Distance Learning Study is to develop and test a team charter-enhanced implementation strategy for distance training to increase the use and effectiveness of two evidence-based intervention practices (EBPs) for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), AIM HI (“An Individualized Mental Health Intervention for ASD”) in publicly funded mental health services and CPRT (“Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching”) in public school classrooms. Training providers (i.e., therapists, teachers) in these settings to deliver these EBPs improves child outcomes. However, distance is a barrier for children and families needing care and for high-quality provider training. Distance training requires individuals with different roles and backgrounds to work effectively and efficiently together. Team charters can help with distance training as it requires a team to write a plan that describes the team’s goals and each member’s roles and responsibilities.
This study seeks to pilot test a “team charter” approach to increase the reach of autism EBPs through distance training. Leaders and providers in community-based mental health agencies and school districts are invited to participate in team charters for this pilot trial. The pilot trial will include initial training sessions and ongoing coaching with feedback over 5-6 months.
TEDI
The goal of the TEDI study is to develop a way to assess infants’ development over telehealth, so that families do not always need to travel to a clinic to get a developmental evaluation. We would like to follow babies over time to see how they develop, and to get ongoing feedback from families about their experience so that we can make sure the method we develop will work for as many families as possible.
All study activities will occur in your home, no travel to the MIND Institute is required Currently enrolling families:
- With Infants between the ages of 6-12 months, whose parents are concerned about their social interaction or communication
With access to internet-enabled video-device (smartphone, tablet, computer) - Willing and able to complete online questionnaires and complete a play-based assessment with their infant while coached over telehealth 5 times over the course of one year
- Who primarily speak English in the home
- Families will receive written reports from standardized questionnaire measures
Contact: hs-tedistudy@ucdavis.edu
Throughout the year, the Collaborative START Lab occasionally has opportunities for local families (generally with children under the age of 5) to participate in program activities including staff, student, and community trainings and workshops. Please contact us if you would like information about upcoming events or would like to be placed on a list of interested families.
Contact: Sarah Dufek at 916-703-0239 or sadufek@ucdavis.edu.