Celebrate 25 years of START with our 25th Anniversary START Speaker Series! This virtual series brings together an engaging lineup of speakers who will share perspectives on diverse, meaningful topics that reflect our ongoing commitment to inclusion and empowerment for all students.

Registration is free to anyone in Michigan, with a small registration fee for those joining from outside the state. Visit the START website for registration and more information.

We hope you will join us in celebrating this milestone year!

All RCN members are encouraged to submit this survey sharing insights based on their local experiences and current needs in the schools and buildings where they work. 

To utilize this data in the most efficient manner possible, we invite you to respond by January 15, 2026. Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences! Your feedback is appreciated.

Beginning of the year data was due November 7, 2025:

→ We highly encourage the RCN to distribute information about START's 2025-2026 Trainings and Training Series to staff, community members, and families across your region. 

START has developed flyers, images, and slides for the RCN to use and disseminate. 

Peer to Peer Lunch & Learn

📅Date: December 2, 2025
⌚Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

Bring your lunch and join us for a session on how Peer to Peer programs support inclusion, student success, and positive school culture. Designed as a foundation or refresher, this Lunch and Learn introduces key tools like the Peer to Peer Playbooks, the Friendship Formula, and “Participation vs. Helping” models. Participants will leave with ready-to-use resources and time for Q&A to plan next steps for launching or strengthening Peer to Peer in their own setting.

Learning Through Play in the Early Childhood Classroom

📅Date: December 5, 2025
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Location: Zoom

Learn how to create more learning opportunities through play for young children with diverse needs. This session offers strategies like scripted play, video modeling, and peer training to support both individual students and whole-class activities. You'll also explore ways to build inclusive play environments that encourage social interaction and peer connection.

Peers Matter: Fostering Social Communication and Friendship for Students who Use or Would Benefit from AAC

📅Date: January 13, 2026
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

Positive peer relationships are essential for all students, including those with limited speech. This session shares evidence-based strategies to support social communication and language development using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) and peer engagement. Attendees will leave with tools they can use to foster friendships and empower every student to express themselves so they can be heard and understood.

Behavior Escalation and Scripts

📅Date: January 14 and 21, 2026
⌚Time: 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

Educators understand that a consistent, predictable, and positive environment sets students up for success and prevents many behavioral challenges. But what happens when it doesn’t? This two-part series will cover the cycle of behavioral escalation, including the course it takes, the behaviors that students engage in during that course, and what appropriate adult responses are needed.

This training series is co-sponsored by START and the MiMTSS Technical Assistance Center.

Coaching STARTs Here

📅Date: January 15, 2026, February 12, 2026, March 5, 2026 
This training series also includes asynchronous prework and tasks between modules. 
⌚Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom

This three-part training series supports ISD and district teams in developing or reimagining a coaching structure to promote inclusive education and evidence-based supports for all students. Participants will complete pre-learning activities to explore the START Project, coaching foundations, and ways districts can get involved. During the sessions, teams will plan for implementation using START’s Coaching Structure Checklist, engage in collaborative activities, and begin building a three-year coaching plan with support between modules.

The Statewide Autism Resources and Training (START) Project is funded by the Michigan Department of Education, Office of Special Education and is housed in the Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Autism Education Center (AEC). 

START Project | autismed@gvsu.edu | (616) 331-6480