The PAASI Spark Screening Training Studio

On March 1, 2026, the PAASI Spark Screening Training Studio launched. Built by JT in collaboration with ABA World and CADD UHCL, it is a free, self-paced web application that trains community volunteers and healthcare professionals to conduct autism screenings using the M-CHAT-R/F (Robins et al., 2014) and the Nigerian Autism Screening Questionnaire (NASQ).

The training covers five modules: understanding autism spectrum disorder, recognizing early developmental signs, administering screening tools with fidelity, applying cultural competency in the African context, and engaging communities to support families after screening. It is built for people with limited data access, limited time, and no prior exposure to autism science. It is built for the real world.

Today, March 20, 2026, just nineteen days after launch, the PAASI Spark Screening Training Studio has reached 1,000 enrolled learners. On April 2, 2026, World Autism Awareness Day, many of those 1,000 learners will be on the ground at Spark a Spectrum centers across 30+ countries in the global south, screening families and providing consultation services.

To Mojolaoluwa E. Bamise, whose research proved it was possible, and whose name is now permanently part of the scientific literature on autism services in Nigeria. Your work matters more than you know.

To Jerbor Nelson, whose skills created a functioning tool, we are deeply grateful and look forward to his next work.

To Dr. Dorothea C. Lerman, whose mentorship made the study publishable and the findings credible, and for supporting behavioral analytic dissemination around the globe for over 10 years, thank you.

To the 1,000 learners who showed up, logged in, and are learning something new so that the families in their communities do not have to wait.

And to the field of behavior analysis, giving us the tools, the methods, the science to impact lives around the world, we take the responsibility seriously.