Development of a Training Curriculum for Hospital Security About Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT: Objective: To evaluate whether a newly developed autism spectrum disorder (ASD)-training curriculum for hospital security officers improves comfort, knowledge, and practice. Methods: Participants were security officers. The ASD-training curriculum was a 45-minute interactive session, adapted from trainings developed for other types of hospital providers. The curriculum included information regarding the presentation of, and challenges faced by, children with ASD in the hospital setting. Officers completed surveys before (T1), immediately after (T2), and 3 months after (T3) the training to assess comfort, knowledge, and practice. Comfort (Likert scale 1–5; 5 = highest) and knowledge (11 yes/no questions) questions were adapted from previous measures. Application of skills was assessed using case scenarios (at T1, T2, and T3) and with officers' report of using various strategies (at T1 and T3; Likert scale 1–5; 5 = always). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance and a series of paired contrast. Results: For the 114 officers who completed surveys, mean comfort scores significantly increased from T1 to T2 (3.48 vs 3.9; p
Source: Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics - Category: Child Development Tags: Original Article Source Type: research