JASPER Level-1 Certificate Program

Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, and Regulation (JASPER) is a treatment approach based on a combination of developmental and behavioral principles developed by Dr. Connie Kasari the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). JASPER is a targeted, modular intervention in the domain of social communication and included in the broader category of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBI; Schreibman et al., 2015). It targets the foundations of social communication (joint attention, engagement, and play) and uses naturalistic strategies to increase the rate and complexity of social communication.

Joint Attention

Joint attention (JA) is the coordination of attention between objects and people for the purpose of sharing. Our studies show that children with ASD use more JA skills are modeled and taught directly.

Symbolic Play

We model appropriate play, facilitate joint attention within play routines, and encourage greater diversity in types of play with the goal of helping children increase their flexibility and level of play.

Engagement

Increases in engagement are critical because they lead to more opportunities for social communication and learning. Thus, we aim to help children with ASD reach higher states of joint engagement with others.

Regulation

Our approach stresses the importance of emotion and behavior regulation. We offer strategies to address diminished engagement, restrictive and repetitive behaviors, and challenges with regulation.

Implementation

JASPER has been empirically tested with many children, ranging in age from 12 months to 8 years, with a wide range of developmental abilities. It can be implemented by parents, teachers, clinicians, paraprofessionals, and other related service providers. The intervention works well in conjunction with other behavioral-based therapies and can be naturally incorporated into inclusion and special education classrooms and every day activities in the home. The only required materials are developmentally-appropriate toys or activities.

Research, Evidence, and Results

Over the past 20 years, JASPER has been tested in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving nearly 700 children with ASD with studies conducted both within the Kasari Lab and by independent researchers. Across many independent trials evaluating JASPER’s efficacy, we found improvements in joint engagement, social communication, and emotion regulation with decreasing negativity over time, as well as increasing parental co-regulation strategies. Studies show evidence of improvements in these core areas while also increasing the child’s use of language over a 5 year span after the intervention.

Part A: A 4 hour introduction to the JASPER intervention. Participants will gain a working understanding of the history, purpose, and goals of the JASPER intervention as well as introduction to an assessment tool designed to identify targets for intervention.

Focus of Instruction:

• JASPER development and research history
• Core skills and target outcomes
• Summary of assessment of core skills and target setting
• Overview of JASPER strategies

Part A will take place live and online via Zoom on June 3-4, 2024.

Part B: An intensive in-person workshop combining didactic content with live practice and individualized feedback to practice assessing with children with ASD, setting targets, and implementing the core strategies of the JASPER intervention.

Focus of Instruction:

• Implement the SPACE assessment and accurately derive children’s intervention targets from the assessment data
• Learn to accurately & appropriately apply basic mechanics of JASPER in direct clinician-child service
• Cover the following strategies: set up the environment, balance imitation and modeling to establish play routines, and balance language and play expansions as well as social communication programming to support the child’s needs to jointly engage in play

Part B will take place face-to-face in Istanbul on June 25-28, 2024.

The JASPER Level-1 training consists of 3 stages: A, B, and C. In this training, you will learn stages A and B. Your continuation to stage C will be decided by JASPER instructors based on your performance in stages A and B. To become a competent JASPER practitioner, you need to complete all stages, A, B, and C. Stage C involves a supervision process covering written discussions for assignments provided by the instructors via email.

Dr. Jonathan Panganiban

Dr. Jonathan Panganiban is the lead trainer and supervisor in the JASPER program at the Kasari Lab in UCLA. His experience in the field of autism spectrum disorder spans over a decade working as an interventionist and researcher. Trained in both discrete trial training and the social communication intervention known as JASPER, Jonathan’s research and clinical interests have led him to train parents, teachers, and professionals around the world. His research interests also include identifying predictors of expressive language development in autistic children and adapting autism interventions for community and school settings.

Kiana Krolik

  Kiana pursued her undergraduate studies at UCLA, where she had the privilege of joining Dr. Kasari's renowned autism research lab. Kiana became a JASPER interventionist, and through such, has had the opportunity to work directly with a range of children (with ASD, Down syndrome, and Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC)) across varies research studies. For the past decade, Kiana has dedicated herself to becoming a leading expert in JASPER. As a certified JASPER trainer, she has empowered diverse groups across the globe (in Japan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Germany, Australia, Argentina, etc.) with the knowledge and skills to implement JASPER effectively. Kiana holds a Master's degree in School Psychology and works full-time as a psychologist with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). This role allows her to directly serve children with various disabilities, including those on the autism spectrum, utilizing her expertise to make a tangible difference as they navigate through school.

Caitlin McCracken

Caitlin McCracken has been working with young children for over 10 years. She worked at the Kasari research laboratory of UCLA for 5 years, then 2 years at the CAN Clinic (Clinic of Pediatric and Adult Neurodevelopment) where she carried out evaluations and interventions with young children. Within the Kasari Laboratory, Caitlin had the privilege of working with schools and teachers to help support neurodivergent learners in many research studies. For three years, she has been working as a resource and inclusion teacher in a full-inclusion primary school. Her experience working in schools motivated her to continue her master's degree in education, with a focus on special education. She also holds a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) certificate. Caitlin also had the opportunity to travel around the world to lead trainings in the JASPER method, a game-based developmental/behavioral intervention to improve social communication and social engagement. She has trained preschool teachers and professionals in New York, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Macedonia, Russia and Spain.