TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A new program at Florida State University is teaching students how to best serve people on the autism spectrum.
WTXL ABC 27's Jada Williams was live Monday morning with more behind the need for the program.
Florida State is starting the course because of a demand.
In fact, students were continuously requesting more classes geared at learning how to best serve people with autism.
There are three different ways to take the course.
There's a yearlong online graduate certificate, an online masters program and a classroom setting master's program.
According to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 59 children will be diagnosed with autism.
The University designed the courses to appeal to a wide array of people, not just current students.
Jenny Root is an FSU associate professor.
"We wanted to find a way that we could really share our expertise, but also meet the needs of the community," Root said. "So we wanted to develop a program for current teachers, but then also related service providers. So people like speech language, pathologists, behavior therapists and even parents would be able to take these courses."
This course comes in addition to multiple other areas of study involving special education.
Anyone interested in taking any of the courses can apply for the fall 2019 school semester.
