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<\/p>\n Funds awarded by Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board will help the center continue
\n its parent outreach and education efforts.<\/p>\n
\t\tCREATORS<\/p>\n
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Texas Tech University<\/a>\u2019s Burkhart Center for Autism Education & Research<\/a> has received a $475,000 grant that will support its educational outreach efforts The funds, awarded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), were For the Burkhart Center, this grant will underwrite parent training initiatives with \u201cOne thing we know about individuals with autism is that sometimes generalization The funds will allow center personnel to work with parents to fully understand the \u201cIt\u2019s collaborative in determining what the goals look like or what they should be In many cases, the approach focuses on communication because individuals with autism \u201cYou might have an individual with autism who has low or no speaking skills, and then This grant, effective May 1, is one the center has successfully applied for in previous She said the center works with education service centers as well as some of the larger \u201cIf we\u2019re talking about IEP goals, we will discuss what you should be looking for This year\u2019s grant process was more competitive than ever, Hamrick said, meaning the \u201cI think it was huge that we were awarded this grant again,\u201d she said. \u201cThis round The THECB award wasn\u2019t the only funding the Burkhart Center recently received. It The grant will offset costs associated with required educational field work and underwrite \u201cI was a classroom teacher for 18 years, and being a special educator, you have a The hope, she said, is to embed AI technologies into the training so teachers become \u201cWe want them to consider AI like another peer as far as gathering resources and coming
\n of partnering with parents to help their children be successful.<\/p>\n
\n part of the $7.4 million Autism Grant Program disbursement approved by the Texas Legislature
\n during its 2025 session. Texas Tech was one of six institutions to be awarded funds
\n to support its parent-directed treatment program.<\/p>\n
\n efforts focused on working to determine goals for children and collaboratively establish
\n plans for achieving them.<\/p>\n
\n of skills can be difficult,\u201d said Jennifer Hamrick<\/a>, the Jere Lynn Burkhart Regents Professor & Director of the Burkhart Center and an
\n associate professor in the College of Education<\/a>. \u201cThey might be able to learn a skill in one setting, but then generalizing it to
\n another setting or another person can sometimes be difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Hamrick-Jennifer.jpg\")
Jennifer Hamrick<\/p>\n
\n child\u2019s individualized education program (IEP) and establish goals to work toward
\n in the home and then possibly transferring those learned skills to other settings,
\n such as school.<\/p>\n
\n working on,\u201d Hamrick said. \u201cDuring that process, a parent could suggest their child
\n might already know a skill or maybe it shouldn\u2019t be the focus. We then discuss potential
\n changes we can make to the goals to make them more appropriate for the child to work
\n on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n can often find that to be a challenge, depending where they fall on the spectrum.<\/p>\n
\n you might have someone who just struggles with more of the social component and social
\n skills as far as not being able to pick up on emotions,\u201d she said. \u201cIn many situations,
\n we have had families reach out to us for parent training, and we have worked with
\n them to teach them how to help their child advocate for their needs and what they
\n are wanting in the home setting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n years under Hamrick\u2019s leadership. As a result, thousands of parents have been impacted
\n through the outreach and education efforts that span a variety of approaches to provide
\n the broadest access possible.<\/p>\n
\n school districts throughout West Texas to offer group trainings, which have been immensely
\n popular. Likewise, they have the ability to offer specific sessions via telehealth,
\n and people who live in Lubbock and the surrounding area can come in person to the
\n center for training.<\/p>\n
\n in those,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we\u2019re working on communication, we look at what some of the
\n basics are for that. We can serve anyone in the state, and we have the technology,
\n training and capability to provide telehealth. We have worked with families as far
\n away as Houston and Texarkana.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Burkhart Center\u2019s track record of significant and widespread impact continues to be
\n recognized.<\/p>\n
\n was open to more universities and programs than in previous years, and I feel very
\n fortunate that we were able to continue to get this funding to help families and to
\n emerge as one of the grant recipients.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n also landed a $1.25 million grant from the Office of Special Education Programs, a
\n federal grant that will help a group of 10 special education teachers earn their graduate
\n degree beginning in June. A second group will enter the program next year.<\/p>\n
\n training for them to become more adept at using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce
\n some of the everyday on-the-job demands.<\/p>\n
\n ton of paperwork,\u201d she said. \u201cMany times, that pulls you away from why you got in
\n the field in the first place, which is teaching.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n more proficient with necessary paperwork.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n up with information to help program plan where they can use their time more efficiently,\u201d
\n she said.<\/p>\n![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Burkhart-Jere-Lynn-.jpg\")
Jim and Jere Lynn Burkhart<\/p>\n