Preface

The purpose of this manual is to provide HANDS staff members with supporting documents and guidelines to assist in completing daily tasks. It is designed to be a usable, accessible, and quick reference tool for you to use when you have questions about various tasks.

The first section of the manual is common to all staff and contains practical, technical, and reference information.

Project-specific sections represent templates for each project or effort with indication of timelines, deliverables, communications, scheduling, roles, responsibilities, information flow, data monitoring, dissemination, contacts, general tasks and procedures specific to the project. Specific to your role within a project, it is imperative to follow noted documentation to develop and support the unique role you play among the various HANDS in Autism® projects. You will be responsible for documenting any suggested updates to procedures which you conduct as part of your role in various projects, including but not limited to: intensive week-long and 3-day trainings, Make-It Take-It or HANDSon workshops, Next Steps™ workshops, art expo, clinical support, collaborative programs among others. This will facilitate clearer understanding of roles as well as providing the team with the tools to be successful when individuals are inaccessible or out of the office. You will work with Naomi and Tiffany to inform these documents over time, as they are dynamic and should be updated as responsibilities and processes evolve.

In addition to this manual, there are project or activity plan(s) to guide the successful accomplishment of all HANDS projects. Within each project or activity plan, major components, timelines, and steps for successful completion of the overall project are listed. The purpose of a project or activity plan document is to provide reminders and checkpoints for project progress. As such, these planning documents and timelines are intended for group use and do not generally include role-specific breakdown of tasks. If you feel you need further documentation of project-specific tasks, the second section of this manual is an appropriate place for that information as it reviewed or as pertinent to your role.

Here are several icons that we will use throughout the handbook to help you guide through our policies and procedures:

	It will point you to the information you may need or resources to get additional information, e.g., training classes, source information, phone numbers, or websites.
	Suggestions to make your work more efficient.
	Critical information that, if overlooked, could cause an error.
	A specific example of wording, activity, or action.
	A checklist that you can use to complete an action.