WV Autism Training Center at Marshall University: Resources for West Virginia Families

When your child is diagnosed with autism in West Virginia, the network of specialized support resources is thinner than in most states — especially if you live more than 30 minutes from a city. The West Virginia Autism Training Center (ATC) at Marshall University is one of the most important statewide resources available, and most families outside of Huntington have no idea what it offers.

What the WV Autism Training Center Is

The Autism Training Center at Marshall University, based in Huntington, is a state-funded center that has served West Virginia families for decades. Unlike a clinical program that requires a referral and insurance coverage, the ATC operates explicitly to provide training, resources, and consultation to families, educators, and communities across the state — regardless of location.

The ATC's mission is practical: help families and educators understand autism, develop effective strategies, and navigate the educational and community systems that affect individuals with ASD. It is not a school or a therapy clinic. It is a training and resource organization.

The Parent Empowerment Series

One of the most accessible offerings from the ATC is the Parent Empowerment Series (PES) — free virtual training sessions available to any West Virginia family regardless of where they live in the state. The PES covers topics including:

• Understanding autism and behavior
• Strategies for communication and daily living skills
• Navigating the IEP process with an autism diagnosis
• Transition planning for students with autism
• Self-advocacy and family wellness

Because the series is delivered virtually, families in rural counties — Mingo, Wyoming, Tucker, Pocahontas — can access the same training as families in Charleston or Huntington. No travel, no childcare arrangements, no geographic barrier.

Check the ATC website (marshall.edu/atc) for current session schedules and registration. Sessions are offered throughout the school year and are free of charge.

The Resource Directory

The ATC maintains a comprehensive resource directory of providers and services across West Virginia — organized by county and service type. This includes:

• Diagnosticians and evaluation centers
• Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) providers
• Speech-language pathologists with autism expertise
• Occupational therapists
• Respite care providers
• Support groups and parent organizations

For families in rural counties trying to find a private evaluator for an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) or a private therapist to document the need for IEP services, this directory is a starting point. The ATC explicitly notes that it does not recommend individual providers — it is a neutral resource listing.

Access the directory at marshall.edu/atc.

How the ATC Connects to IEP Advocacy

The ATC is not an advocacy organization in the legal sense — it does not file complaints on your behalf or attend IEP meetings. But the training it provides has direct advocacy applications.

Understanding behavior. A parent who has completed ATC training on behavioral regulation is better equipped to recognize when a school's behavioral supports are inadequate — and to articulate why in an IEP meeting. Knowing the difference between antecedent management and consequence-based intervention lets you ask specific questions about the district's behavioral support plan rather than accepting generic assurances.

Goal-setting vocabulary. ATC training covers how meaningful IEP goals should be written for students with autism — goals that reflect functional outcomes, not just academic metrics. This knowledge helps you evaluate whether the goals the district is proposing are "appropriately ambitious" as Policy 2419 now requires under its 2023 revisions.

Documentation support. Therapists connected to the ATC network can provide clinical documentation supporting your child's need for specific IEP services — reports that the IEP team is legally required to consider, even if they don't control the outcome.

ATC Training for Educators: The Double-Edged Sword

The ATC also provides training for educators and school staff. In theory, this means West Virginia teachers should have access to autism-specific professional development. In practice, the reach of this training is uneven — particularly in rural counties where staff turnover is high and the teachers receiving ATC training may leave before the school year ends.

As a parent, knowing that ATC training exists lets you ask direct questions: Has your child's special education teacher completed any ATC training on autism-specific instruction? What autism-specific training does the paraprofessional assigned to your child have? If the answer is none, that is relevant to a discussion about whether the current staff configuration can meaningfully deliver your child's IEP.

What the ATC Cannot Do

The ATC is a training and resource organization, not a legal advocacy service. For legal advocacy — filing state complaints, attending IEP meetings, drafting letters — the relevant organizations are:

• Disability Rights of West Virginia (DRWV) — the state's designated Protection and Advocacy organization
• WV PTI — West Virginia Parent Training and Information, a federally funded parent center in Buckhannon
• Legal Aid WV / FAST Program — for families with children experiencing school-based discrimination or disciplinary issues related to a disability

These organizations can provide free guidance and, in some cases, direct representation. The ATC and these organizations often work in coordination — but they serve different functions.

The combination of ATC training (to build your knowledge base) plus advocacy tools (to build your paper trail) is what gives West Virginia parents the strongest position in IEP disputes involving autism. The West Virginia IEP & 504 Advocacy Playbook provides the advocacy side of that equation — letter templates, checklist tools, and Policy 2419-specific guidance that the ATC training doesn't cover.

For Families Outside the Huntington Area

If you are in the northern or eastern counties of West Virginia, the ATC's virtual offerings are your primary access point. In-person consultations and events are centered in Huntington, but the Parent Empowerment Series and the resource directory are accessible statewide online.

The WV PTI regional coordinators also serve as a bridge for ATC resources and can help connect families in rural areas with both ATC training and other statewide support networks. See the WV PTI section of this site for regional coordinator contact information.

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