Social and Personal Competencies (SPC)

Vanderbilt’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders’ (TRIAD) Social and Personal Competencies (SPC) services support the social engagement of all students through learning opportunities designed to refine and expand the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices of educators, families, and students. SPC provides learning opportunities that are grounded in research, easily accessible, and customizable. Learning opportunities span from brief videos and tips sheets to individually-curated online courses with continuous, collaborative coaching support.

Training Topics:

TRIAD’s SPC topics for educators, caregivers, community providers, and students include:

Social learning classroom and school-wide practices

Multi-tiered instruction and intervention related to social skills, emotional processes, and executive functioning skills
SPC practices to support positive school climate

Autism and Mental Health
Autism and Self-Advocacy
Mindfulness-based practices for educators, caregivers, and students

SPC Service Options including Descriptions, Participant Requirements, Training Topics, and Format:

Online Resources

Free access videos, tip sheets, and brief online modules designed to refine and expand awareness, skills, attitudes, and practices related to social emotional learning and mental health of all students, including autistic and neurodivergent students.

Learn more here

SPC Webinar ▼

Vanderbilt’s Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD) will provide a one-hour long webinar for K-12 educators on the topic of autistic self-advocacy and strategies for supporting students’ self-advocacy and self-determination in the classroom.

Registration link will be posted closer to the date of the webinar

Participant Requirements	The webinar content will be applicable for any school-age educator who works with students on the autism spectrum.
Training Topics	Self-advocacy; self-determination; self-awareness, self-understanding; social model of disability; neurodiversity
Workshop Format	1-hour webinar
Proof of Attendance	Participants must attend the full webinar to receive 1 professional development hour.

SPC Partnerships ▼

Each year, SPC Professional Learning Partnerships will provide professional learning opportunities to schools and districts focused on autism and social and personal competencies and autism and mental health (see topics under Training Topics above). These curated learning opportunities could include a topic-specific in-person workshop or a virtual community of practice series to discuss topics related to the social and emotional engagement of autistic students.

For the 2022-2023 school year, we will be hosting a summer 2023 Virtual Community of Practice series on Autism and Self-Advocacy. Registration details will be posted closer to the start date for this series.

To learn more, click here

Sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Education, through the Tennessee Technical Assistance Network (TN-TAN) and available at no cost to LEAs in Tennessee.

TRIAD Educational Services (Pre-K to 12)

Interactive training and consultation for administrators, teachers, paraeducators, school psychologists, and other professionals serving Tennessee students in Pre-K to 12 school settings. Browse training opportunities for educators 2022-2023. Subscribe to receive emails about our services, live trainings, basic online trainings and professional development opportunities.