Disseminating Information on Evidence-Based Practices for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder: AFIRM.
AFIRM gives you 27 free online modules on autism EBPs that over 64,500 practitioners already use.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built AFIRM, a free website with 27 training modules on autism EBPs.
Each module takes 2-4 hours and uses videos, quizzes, and handouts.
They tracked who used it and how, but did not test if kids got better.
What they found
More than 64,500 people have already used the modules.
Most users are teachers, BCBAs, and speech therapists in the United States.
The site keeps growing, showing strong demand for free online training.
How this fits with other research
Perez et al. (2015) and Wetherby et al. (2018) extend this work. They show that parents coached online can cut problem behavior by a large share and boost toddler social skills in just three months.
Bustos et al. (2021) also extends AFIRM. They watched community agencies use the same EBPs AFIRM teaches and found staff liked the tools but needed small tweaks for their setting.
Rehfeldt et al. (2016) is methodologically similar. They launched the first behavior-analysis MOOC, proving that free online courses can reach thousands worldwide, just like AFIRM does for autism EBPs.
Why it matters
You now have a free, ready-made library to train staff or parents. Pick one AFIRM module that matches your current case, send the link, and check understanding with the built-in quiz. No cost, no travel, no prep time.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Email the AFIRM link for PRT or FCT to a parent you coach and schedule a follow-up call to review the quiz results.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Comprehensive reviews of the research literature have identified that focused intervention practices for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder have evidence of producing positive developmental and learning outcomes. The Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM) project has translated evidence-based practices identified by Wong et al. (Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 45(7):1951-1966, 2015) into online learning modules. The purpose of this paper is to describe (1) the process for translating the research literature into practical information that practitioners can use, (2) its dissemination through a freely accessible website, (3) the use of the modules by over 64,500 users located in the United States and abroad, (4) knowledge gained as a result of completing the modules, and (5) consumers' evaluations of modules usefulness and relevance.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s10803-019-03945-x