AAIDD SIS training program continues to expand its offerings

With a total of over 10 U.S. states and Canadian provinces and even more providers trained to date, Supports Intensity Scale training continues to witness steady growth.

The latest addition to the Supports Intensity Scale training program is quality assurance. For states invested in ensuring interviewer reliability and maintaining integrity of SIS assessment data, AAIDD quality assurance training is a natural fit. Apart from being trained in-depth by AAIDD trainers, the state creates a customized 2-year system that enables interviewers to keep in touch with AAIDD trainers through phone calls and site visits, while also allowing AAIDD trainers to test skills of trainees through periodic interviewer reliability review (IRR) checks. For example, the state of Oregon has built in three to four 2-day quarterly site visits with AAIDD trainers and a series of monthly conferences as part of its SIS quality assurance initiative. “State interest in using the Supports Intensity Scale as a planning tool and as a resource allocation instrument highlights the importance of quality in every aspect of the SIS implementation process,” says Jula He, AAIDD Training Manager.

The comprehensive experience of AAIDD SIS trainers allows them to provide invaluable feedback to help states and provinces set up their quality assurance system. “The site visits from AAIDD trainers are designed to accommodate such activities as case study reviews, discussion of difficult interviews, assistance with the creation of state policies and procedures, and incorporating SIS into individualized planning protocols,” explains Jula. Apart from these discussions, IRR checks are conducted at the three-month mark for state interviewers and trainers. Random IRR checks are also performed on the “second generation” interviewers who are trained by the trained trainers to prevent procedural drift. The process of quality assurance establishes a concerted line of communication between the state and AAIDD trainers so that the state is constantly in touch with best practices in training and is up to date with the evolving knowledge of SIS as it is applied in the field.”

Reliability is the foundation of the Supports Intensity Scale training program. “SIS training grew organically because professionals needed help in understanding the philosophy of this unique Scale to make sure that they were not administering SIS like an adaptive behavior measure that tests skills,” explains Bruce Appelgren, AAIDD Director of Publications. From a modest beginning, the SIS training program has expanded to include 6 AAIDD Trainers and the following offerings to providers and states interested:

• Orientation programs
• Individual and group guided practices
• Train-the-interviewer program
• Train-the-trainer program
• Interviewer reliability review observation
• Conducting large-scale interview projects
• Quality assurance

To learn more about SIS training initiatives, click here.  To send AAIDD a query on SIS training, send an email to books@aaidd.org.