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Measures & Assessments

Measures & Assessments

Measures and Assessments

The HANDS in Autism® team uses data-driven decision-making and community-based participatory research across all implementation and facilitation efforts of the Center. This means our team takes the time to learn about and involve you in the full process as a key partner and voice in our work!

Our projects reach across and serve to reflect a range of local to global diverse yet representative voices and outcomes. This requires use of measures that are capable of and sensitive to:

Exploration: can identify areas of need, capacity and resources available;

Information sharing: reflect meaningful and representative data, stories and themes within conversations around change;

Outcome monitoring: capacity to show indirect and direct as well as immediate and long-term impacts of interventions;

Representativeness: consider who is involved in a project and how they will access, receive and best respond to information gathering in an effort to meet people “where they are at”;

Adaptation and transportability: have universal and area-specific capacities that have demonstrated use across a range of ages, levels, settings, cultures and geographies; and

Accessible, project customization: availability and potential for adaptation to maximize accessibility and alignment with diverse populations in alignment with objectives of a request, project or effort.

The HANDS team works to access and use available, validated measures whenever possible. However, a number of measures have been developed, piloted, and used internally by the HANDS team over its more than 20 year history to best accomplish the above areas. From semi-structured interviews to measures of knowledge, application and implementation, the HANDS Center has a range of measures and assessments that are instrumental across projects and efforts.

True to HANDS mission, we welcome the chance to train, make accessible, partner or share about this work so you are able to access and use these field-developed and tested measures in your settings. Take a moment to learn more and get connected!

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HANDS Developed Measures

The following measures are available following training, upon request, or as a reference:

Click on the tabs below to explore measures and assessments available through the HANDS in Autism® Center

The HANDS-ACT® (HANDS-Assessment for Collaboration™; HANDS in Autism®, 2014) is a brief, screening measure to foster objective evaluation, feedback and monitoring across 7 foundational areas of programming essential to implementation of evidence-based practices in autism and disabilities but beneficial for all learners.

HANDS-ACT™

The HANDS-FACT® (HANDS-Full Assessment for Collaboration™; HANDS in Autism®, 2014) is a discrete, screening measure to foster objective evaluation, feedback and monitoring across 7 foundational and 6 programmatic areas essential to implementation of evidence-based practices in autism and disabilities but beneficial for all learners.

HANDS-FACT™

The Autism Knowledge Survey-Revised (AKS-R, HANDS in Autism®, 2005), a 10-15 minute questionnaire completed by participants either electronically or as a paper-based questionnaire, assesses knowledge of the general characteristics, interventions, and diagnoses of ASD as a pre/post-assessment.

AKS-R