The Comprehensive Autism Planning System (CAPS) for Individuals with Asperger Syndrome, Autism and Related Disabilities

This comprehensive, yet easy-to-use system allows educators to understand how and when to implement an instructional program for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The CAPS model answers the questions (a) What supports does my student/child need in each class to be successful? (b) What goals is my student/child working on? and (c) Is there a thoughtful sequence to the student's/child's day that matches his learning style. This timely resource addresses adequate yearly progress (AYP), response to intervention (RTI), and positive behavior support (PBS) in a common-sense format. The CAPS process was designed to be used by the child's educational team, consisting of parents, general educators, special educators, paraprofessionals, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, administrators, psychologists, consultants, siblings, and others who are stakeholders in the student's education. The structure of this innovative tool ensures consistent use of supports to ensure student success as well as data collection to measure that success. In addition, CAPS fosters targeted professional development. Because CAPS identifies supports for each of the student's daily activities, it is possible for all educational professionals working with the student to readily identify the methods, supports, and structures in which they themselves need training.