Social and Mental Health Resources for Autism

Download and print resources produced by VKC TRIAD. Resources include free access videos, infographics, and tip sheets designed to expand awareness, skills, attitudes, and practices related to social skills, emotional and behavioral regulation, and mental health for all students, including autistic and neurodivergent students.

If you need materials in an accessible format, please contact kc@vumc.org or call (615) 322-8240.

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Strategies to Support Resilience: The 3 Cs

The following resources provide information and easy-to-implement strategies for promoting student resilience, or the ability to cope with life's stressors. Click on the arrows to access a brief introduction video and download the infographic and resources for continued learning.

A brief video that provides the rationale and introduction for the Infographic.

Learning Objective:

  • To connect the strategies of providing consistency, connecting with students, and being compassionate through responding to students’ unique and individual needs and preferences to building and supporting student resilience.

A visual representation of information intended to present information quickly and clearly. This infographic includes a definition, rationale, and easy-to-implement strategies for supporting student resilience.

Learning Objectives:

  • To provide an easy-to-digest resource that includes synthesized, evidence-based information on key terms for educators.
  • This infographic serves as an introduction to supporting students’ resilience, by synthesizing evidence-based information from various sources into an easily accessible resource for educators.

   View or download "3 Cs Infographics" in PDF Format

  • Harlacher, J. E. & Whitcomb, S. A. (In press). Bolstering student resilience: Creating a classroom with consistency, connection, and compassion. Solution Tree.
  • Wong, C., Odom, S. L., Hume, K. Cox, A. W., Fettig, A., Kucharczyk, S., Brock, M. E., Plavnik, J. B., Fleury, V. P., & Schultz, T. R. (2013). Evidence-based practices for children, youth, and young ddults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, Autism Evidence-Based Practice Review Group.
  • Tennessee Department of Education. (2015, July). Incorporating social and personal competencies into classroom instruction and educator effectiveness: A toolkit for Tennessee teachers and administrators. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/safety/safe_sch/safe_sch_se_toolkit.pdf

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Skills to Support Social Engagement

The following resources provide information and easy-to-implement strategies for promoting students' social/interpersonal, emotional processing and regulation, and executive functioning skills. Click on the arrows below to access a brief introduction video and download the infographic and resources for continued learning.

A brief video that provides the rationale and introduction for the 3 Infographics.

Learning Objective:

  • To connect the skill areas of executive functioning, emotional processing, and social/interpersonal to the Social and Personal Competencies.

A visual representation of information intended to present information quickly and clearly. These infographics include a definition, rationale, and easy-to-implement strategies for addressing important skills to support students.

Learning Objectives:

  • To provide an easy-to-digest resource that includes synthesized, evidence-based information on key terms for educators and families.
  • These infographics serve as introductions to key topics for supporting students' well-being, by synthesizing evidence-based information from various sources into easily accessible resources for educators.

   View or download "Emotional Skills Infographic" in PDF Format

   View or download "Social/Interpersonal Skills Infographic" in PDF Format

   View or download "Executive Functioning Skills Infographic" in PDF Format

Emotional Skills:

Social Skills

Executive Functioning:

  • Alexander, K., Kenworthy, L., Greenman, L., Wilde, L., Cannon, L., & Adler, M. (2014). Solving executive function challenges. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
  • Cannon, L., Kenworthy, L., Alexander, K., Werner, M. A., & Anthony, L. G. (2018). Unstuck and on target! An executive functioning curriculum to improve flexibility, planning, and organization (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing.
  • Dawson, P. & Guare, R. (2009). Smart but scattered. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Meltzer, L. (2010). Promoting executive function in the classroom. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Dawson, P. & Guare, R. (2010). Executive skills in children and adolescents (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
  • Jones, S.M., Brush, K.E., Ramirez, T., Mao, Z.X., Marenus, M., Wettje, S., Finney, K., Raisch, N., Podoloff, N., Kahn, J., Barnes, S., Stickle, L., Brion-Meisels, G., McIntyre, J., Cuartas, J., & Bailey, R. (July 2021). Navigating SEL from the Inside out. Looking Inside & Across 33 Leading SEL Programs: A Practical Resource for Schools and OST Providers (Preschool & Elementary Focus) (2nd Ed.). Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/navigating-social-and-emotional-learning-from-the-inside-out-2ed.pdf
  • Sarah Ward’s Cognitive Connections Website: www.efpractice.com
  • Tennessee Department of Education (Nov 2017). K-12 Social and Personal Competencies Resource Guide. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/education/safety/safe_sch/SPC_Resource_Guide.pdf
  • Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (2018, Aug). What is Executive Functioning [Online course]. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center TRIAD Online Learning. https://triad.vkclearning.org/en-us/
  • Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (2018, Aug). Early Childhood: What is Executive Functioning [Online course]. Vanderbilt Kennedy Center TRIAD Online Learning. https://triad.vkclearning.org/en-us/

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ASD and Mental Health

Click to download the toolkit PDF below on addressing the mental health needs in students with autism spectrum disorders. To access the interactive, self-guided, online course on mental health and autism, click on the course button below.

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ASD and Trauma

Click and download the infographic below to learn about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders.

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Cognitive Behavioral/Instructional Strategy (CBIS) Resources

Cognitive Behavioral/Instructional Strategy (CBIS) interventions are evidence-based practices used to teach students self-awareness and self-management skills (emotional awareness, self-regulation, behavioral and cognitive coping strategies). TRIAD’s CBIS downloadable resource series includes tip sheets explaining different CBISs, as well as lesson plans and intervention planning guides educators can use to teach students these skills.

Cognitive Behavioral/Instructional Strategies are evidence-based practices used to teach students self-awareness and self-management skills (emotional awareness, self-regulation, behavioral and cognitive coping strategies).

   View or download "Overview of Cognitive Behavioral/Instructional Strategies" in PDF Format

   For an overview of teaching emotion awareness skills to learners, click to view or download “Teaching Emotion Awareness Skills to Learners” in PDF Format

For emotion awareness lesson plans used to teach learners important background knowledge to support emotion awareness, click to view or download the following resources.

  • Download "Emotion Awareness Lesson Plan: Purpose of Emotions"
  • Download "Emotion Awareness Lesson Plan: Cognitive Triangle"
  • For an intervention planning guide that teaches learners a step-by-step process to develop a 5-Point Scale, click to view or download “Intervention Planning Guide: 5-Point Scale” in Word Format.

  • Download "Intervention Planning Guide: 5-Point Scale"
  • Behavioral coping and self-regulation skills fall under the evidence-based practice of Cognitive Behavioral/Instructional Strategies (CBIS).

       View or download "Teaching Behavioral Coping and Self-Regulation Skills to Learners" in PDF Format

    For intervention planning guides that provide a step-by-step process for teaching learners specific behavioral coping and self-regulation skills, click to view or download the following resources:

  • Download "Intervention Planning Guide: Grounding"
  • Download "Intervention Planning Guide: Progressive Muscle Relaxation"
  • Download "Intervention Planning Guide: Power Card"
  • Download "Intervention Planning Guide: Diaphragmatic Breathing"
  • Cognitive coping and self-regulation skills fall under the evidence-based practice of Cognitive Behavioral/Instructional Strategies (CBIS).

       View or download "Teaching Cognitive Coping and Self-Regulation Skills to Learners" in PDF Format

    For an intervention planning guide that provides a step-by-step process for teaching learners how to challenge unhelpful thought patterns, click to view or download “Intervention Planning Guide: Challenge Prompts” in Word Format.

  • Download "Intervention Planning Guide: Challenge Prompts"
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    Autism Self-Advocacy Resource Series

    Self-advocacy is the act of knowing, understanding, and communicating one’s own strengths, challenges, personal essentials, and rights. Self-advocacy allows individuals to make decisions in the service of pursuing their own goals in life. This tip sheet series is designed for educators, students, and caregivers to promote self-awareness and self-advocacy.

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    TRIAD is a proud member of the Tennessee Technical Assistance Network (TN-TAN) through the Tennessee Department of Education. TRIAD, the autism institute at the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, provides training, consultation, and coaching services for supporting educators and developing school and system-wide supports to address needs specific to autistic students, Pre-K-12.