Transdisciplinary Approach Practicum for Speech-Language Pathology and Special Education Graduate Students.

Weiss et al. (2020) ran a summer practicum for speech-language and special-education grad students. Teams worked together for one intensive autism-focused block.

Before and after, students rated their own transdisciplinary knowledge and comfort working with other fields.

After the short program, every student reported knowing more and feeling more at ease teaming up across disciplines.

The gains were large enough to call the practicum a success.

Probst et al. (2008) did something similar with German special-ed teachers. A brief TEACCH course also lifted staff confidence and cut stress.

Boivin et al. (2021) copied the idea for BCBA trainees. They added rotations with SLP, OT, PT, and doctors, but skipped the before-and-after test.

Anderson et al. (2025) took the training idea further. They used behavioral-skills training to teach paraeducators, not grad students, and showed real child communication gains.

You can copy this model. Pair your grad students or new hires with peers from other fields for a short, shared autism block. Track their comfort with a quick pre/post survey. The whole thing can run in one week and still yield clear staff growth.