By the end of the first week of the course, I was feeling that the authors are thinking about ASD as a disease that needs to be cured (as opposed to the idea of neurodiversity). The shameless promo of the MIND institute at the end of week one made me do some research on them — and what do you know, at least two of co-founders are adepts of 'vaccines cause autism' religion, which kind of explains it all. As an adult diagnosed with ASD, I find this course extremely dangerous, misleading and offensive.

Short, superficial, and sometimes even condescending towards people with ASD.

This course provided an excellent review and knowledge of ASD. I think it is imperative that all staff in a school setting take this course to better become aware and familiar with the students

It is a good introduction couse, but I think it would be really helpfull if they provide further reading for each topic.

Clear and factual course with well presented materials. I found the scope of the course to be very narrow though, lacking a diversity of perspective and no consideration given to the new directions that international autism research is taking. For example, the challenges to the role of theory of mind in autism deficits or the research being conducted by autistic academics. There are autistic individuals working in academia who are responsible for more than photocopying and making the tea! It is also somewhat telling that Autism speaks features prominently in the recommended reading, not to mention the implied ABA bias in the intervention module.

It promotes ABA.

My 2-years old niece in China has just been diagnosed as a ASD child. I took this class to help the parents understand the disorder and take prompt steps to start intervention when she is still young. The class is concise and informative. The 5 week contents provide just enough information for parents who have ASD children that has just been diagnosed to briefly understand the challenge and solutions of having an ASD child. I find the videos that illustrates how ASD children behave and what the proper intervention needed from parents, friends, and teachers very useful. By participating the class, I understand what ASD disorder is and I will pass what I have learnt to our big family so everyone has a correct and positive perspective to ASD and offer help to alleviate the anxiety for the parents. This is a very good course.

I took this course about 3 years ago when I was first assigned to work with high functioning students with autism. Although I had many years of experience working with students in various learning environments, this position was my first time working specifically with autistic kids. This course was a real eye opener and helped me better understand how the mind of a person on the spectrum works. I gained a better understanding of Autism after taking this course and have used many of the strategies taught in this course with my students. If you are employed in the education system and will be working with students on the spectrum, I would highly recommend taking this course. The information you will discover about this disorder alone is worth investing the time.

Enjoyed the breakdown of the lessons from the core characteristics of ASD, to the DSMV diagnostic criteria, increasing rates and demographics, patterns of strengths and weaknesses, the explanation of Theory of Mind, and finally the evidence based practices and interventions. I am glad that massage therapy was listed as an emerging intervention. Massage has helped my son, and many other children on the spectrum, with sensory regulation and activation of the parasympathetic NS to help calm the fight or flight response, and tactile defensiveness. Would love to see UC Davis MIND institute do more research into this area, like that of the Touch Research Institute. Excited for more research and information!

This course has been very informative. Each lecture is very well organized and provides detailed descriptions of the many difficulties that many autistic children have to face and try to learn coping skills so that they can be in a world that may frighten or upset them. I did an internship at the League school in Brooklyn and much later saw a child with Aspergers Syndrome from the age of four to the age thirteen. This course described the many programs and the availability of information about Autism for teachers and parents. I learned about the wide variety of the symptoms of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I really enjoyed taking the course.

The course is quite amazing.. It improved my knowledge regarding behavioral changes and role of educators and therapist in this field.. I must appreciate the way of delivering lectures and the content.. I wish i could attend classes in UC Davis Mind institute as i found this spectrum quite interesting... I hope other classes would be conducted regarding Autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders with further content at coursera so that i could better understand the process of dealing with those suffering individuals.. Thankyou v. Much the instructors :)

I work in a Verbal Behavior classroom for toddlers diagnosed with ASD, and i am also the mother of a little girl who has Angelman Syndrome (a severe neurodevelopmental disorder with many crossover symptoms of ASD). I found this to be an very well done introduction and overview of the basic aspects of Autism Spectrum Disorder. I was pleased to see that the sensory integration issue was addressed so nicely.

Thank you so much for this course. I hope it will be helpful to families and new staff alike.

An excellent overview of the developmental characteristics, academic implications and the emotional and behavioral challenges individuals diagnosed with ASD experience. It also provides some challenges families face when caring for a child with ASD. The importance of understanding evidence based practices and access to evidence based practices for individuals affected by ASD across the ages is paramount.

The course provided a great introduction to Autism for any level of learner. I have had prior experience with children on the spectrum but found this to still be helpful. Week 5 I think could have been a course by itself! I would recommend this course to others who interact with children on the spectrum in any form whether it is a friend of a family with a child on the spectrum or other roles.

As a new teacher of students with ASD, I am glad this course was available. I learned great background and foundational information which gave me a better understanding of students with ASD. The course also gave lots of information and resources for further study. I will recommend this course for other individuals who work with or interested in learning about individuals with ASD.

This course gives us important information about the ASD which can be usefull for professional who due with kids and adults with ASD such as families whose have kids or adults with the ASD.

I am a Brazilian doctor and I've a sister diagnosed with ASD. I'm sure that what I've learned will be very usefull for me either as a professional either as a sibiling of a kid with ASD.

This is a very well organized and very interesting course, with a lot of useful information for those who work or intend to work with children. It also gives you an insight into the world of adults with autism, which is not a subject you can usually hear a lot about. This course can motivate you to investigate further about ASD, and it gives you good reference points.

This course has encouraged me in continuing my studies on the autism spretrum disorder in many aspects. On one side, I am a med student, and all knowlodge on dealing with any disorder is critical, and this course is definitely a base for who is still beggining; on the other hand, I know autists, and studying will help me to be a better friends, colleague and relative

This course is very informative and I have learned what I wanted to know. I recommend this course to all that are in contact, on any level, with individuals on the Autism Spectrum. I would like to recommend including what the incidence of co-morbit conditions such as OCD, Depression, ADD/ADHD and the like, in individuals with Autism, at any level. Thank you

excellent overview of ASD. You do have quite a few typos in the course text and slides which was distracting. As a former editor, I would recommend you have someone review your materials--it makes UC Davis and the MIND institute look unprofessional. . Also how do I get my certificate of credits earned? The website is not navigable in this respect.

The course presents a great deal of material and statistics regarding the determination of the large range of behaviors associated with children with autism. What was most surprising for me was how many areas of learning, development and social interactions are affected by autism, e.g. Theory of Mind, and how difficult and varied the interventions.

I took this course because my ten year old son was diagnosed with autism. Although the course was developed for a wide range of individuals (from interested laypersons to professionals who work with children and teens) I would heartily recommend it to any parent, grandparent, sibling, or other relative who would like to know more about ASD.

I loved the course, I learned a great deal of knowledge. There are a lot of information about ASD that I didn't know, the exact and proper definition, the symptoms, red flags, EBPs, among others. I felt hopeful about the Early Start Denver Model, and I hope many young children with ASD are able to participate in this type of intervention.

A well put together course that is easy to follow and understand. The videos and extra reading material enhances the contents and is very useful. The provision to download and the transcripts help to manage time and provides an option to suit ones learning style. A must for people who are beginners in the field of special education.

It's been a wonderful experience for me knowing more about Autism Spectrum Disorder. it provided me a lot of insight into ASD with evidence based practices that has being tested and empirically proven to work in helping children and adult living with autism to reach their full potential. i recommend this course for everyone.