Functions of center

The center shall provide: (1) A staff that has expertise in autism and autistic-like behavior and in sensory impairments; (2) Individual and direct family assistance in the home, community, and school. A center's assistance should not supplant other responsibilities of state and local agencies, and each school district is responsible for providing an appropriate education program for clients of a center who are school age; (3) Technical assistance and consultation services, including specific intervention and assistance for a client of the center, the client's family, and the school district, and any other services that are appropriate; (4) Professional training programs that include developing, providing, and evaluating preservice and in-service training in state-of-the-art practices for personnel who work with the populations served by the centers and their families; and (5) Public education programs to increase awareness of the public about autism, autistic-related disabilities of communication and behavior, dual sensory impairments, and sensory impairments with other handicapping conditions.