Certification Standards for Inclusive Health Care Training for IDD/ASD

Learn about the certification standards and application process for institutions educating healthcare students on skills, knowledge and perspectives to deliver high quality, inclusive health care to individuals with Intellectual Developmental Disorder (IDD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Purpose

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), in collaboration with The Arc of Massachusetts and the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), aims to improve the health and healthcare of people with IDD, including ASD. This initiative offers certification for training programs at higher education institutions, including medical, nursing, and dental schools, to better prepare students serving individuals with IDD and ASD.  

DPH is authorized to establish standards for certified training programs by M.G.L. c. 17, § 22, in consultation with DDS and The Arc of Massachusetts and modeled after Operation House Call. DPH will certify that an institution’s training program meets minimum standards and is delivered to a sufficient number of students. 

Institution instructors and training vendors can visit the Inclusive Health Care Training for IDD/ASD Certification Application to apply for certification for their institution’s training program.

Definition of terms

The below definitions of terms are for the purpose of this certification: 

• The Arc of Massachusetts: Nonprofit organization that makes tangible changes in the community and in the lives of people with disabilities through advocacy, programs that promote inclusion, and engaging the community
• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD): A neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave¹
• Department of Public Health (DPH): Massachusetts agency that promotes and protects health and wellness and prevents injury and illness for all people, including but not limited to children and youth with special health needs, IDD and ASD
• Efficacy: The measurable impact training had on students’ knowledge, skills, and understanding, supported by survey data
• Health equity: The opportunity for everyone to attain their full health potential. No one is disadvantaged from achieving this potential because of their social position (such as class or socioeconomic status) or socially assigned circumstance (such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or geography)²
• Home visit: An in-person or virtual opportunity where students can get to know a person with IDD/ASD and their family members in the home setting and understand their strengths and barriers they experience
• Implicit bias: Also known as unconscious or hidden bias, is a negative association that people unknowingly hold. It is often expressed automatically, without conscious awareness³
• Integrity: The accurate and complete reporting of the training provided and adherence to the training requirements
• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD): Differences that are usually present at birth and that uniquely affect the trajectory of the individual's physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development. Many of these conditions affect multiple body parts or systems⁴
• Lived experience: Knowledge, expertise, and understanding gained from one’s personal life and direct involvement in a particular situation or event. Lived experience with IDD/ASD could be gained by being a person with IDD/ASD or a parent, caregiver, sibling, or close family member to someone with IDD/ASD
• Operation House Call: A program developed by The Arc of Massachusetts that teaches health care professionals essential skills and mindsets to enhance the treatment and care of people with autism spectrum disorder and other intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Person-centered care: An approach to care that focuses on an individual’s experiences, wants, needs, beliefs, and values

Certification of training program

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible as a certified institution, the institution must meet the following eligibility requirements: 

1. Be located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
2. Be an accredited institution of higher education that provides a course of study for students in health care professions, including, but not limited to: 
   1. (i) medical schools, nursing schools and dental schools; or 
   2. (ii) other related fields, including, but not limited to, physician assistants, dieticians, nutritionists, physical therapists, dental hygienists, allied mental health and human services professionals. 
3. Choose to educate students themselves or utilize a vendor.
4. Have successfully educated students in their institution based on the training requirements below.

Training requirements

To be certified, an institution must educate its students with a training program that meets the following requirements:

1. Train a minimum of 80% of eligible students
   1. Eligible students are the total number of students that were formally offered the opportunity to voluntarily participate in the training. Eligible students could include an entire institution or a given class year.
2. Provide training that covers the following learning objectives: 
   1. Raise awareness that people with IDD/ASD face barriers to health equity. 
   2. Create awareness of the negative impact of implicit biases such as diagnostic overshadowing on the care received by individuals with IDD/ASD.
   3. Prepare students to provide person-centered care to individuals with disabilities, through exposure to lived experience of individuals with IDD/ASD and their families.
   4. Enhance confidence in communication skills with individuals with IDD/ASD, including recognizing behavior as a form of communication. 
   5. Increase sensitivity to how a family member’s disability might affect parents/caregivers and siblings. 
3. Provide a minimum of six hours of training, including a mix of all of the following methods:
   1. Classroom/didactic learning, with training built around lived experience. 
   2. Home visits where students can get to know a child (or adult) with IDD/ASD and their family members in the home setting and understand their strengths and barriers they experience.
   3. Reflection writing assignments related to the home visit experience and based on the learning objectives. 
   4. Additional readings based on the learning objectives.
   5. Additional discussions/reading debriefs based on the learning objectives. 
4. Following the course, survey students to assess the objectives above. Surveys must at a minimum include the following questions rated on a Likert Scale: 
   1. After participating in this course, I am more aware that people with IDD/ASD face barriers to health equity. 
   2. Participating in this course has helped me understand how implicit biases such as diagnostic overshadowing (like attributing symptoms to the IDD/ASD diagnosis instead of looking for other causes) can negatively impact the health care received by individuals with IDD/ASD.   
   3. This experience of learning directly from families and individuals with disabilities will help me provide person-centered care to patients with IDD/ASD.
   4. After participating in this course, I feel more confident in my ability to communicate effectively with individuals with IDD/ASD and their families and/or caregivers.
   5. After participating in this course, I am more aware of how a family member's disability might affect parents/caregivers and siblings.  

Application requirements

To apply for certification, institutions must provide the following information: 

1. Institution’s contact information 
2. If a vendor was utilized, vendor’s contact information
3. Eligible number of students, including how the institution defined eligibility criteria 
4. Number of eligible students who successfully completed the training 
5. Training syllabus 
6. Training curriculum (slides, lecture plans, assignments, etc.) to ensure adherence to standards and requirements 
7. Attestation that the training institution has read and understands the requirements laid out by DPH
8. Attestation that the training provided met the requirements laid out by DPH

Institutions seeking certification must apply by January 31 of odd numbered years for the ensuing two-year period. For example, institutions seeking certification for years 2027-2028 need to submit applications by January 31, 2027. Applications will be based on students educated during the previous two calendar years, 2025-2026.

To apply, please have the institution instructor or training vendor, on behalf of the institution, visit the Inclusive Health Care Training for IDD/ASD Certification Application page and complete the application.

Review of applications

DPH will verify applications and notify institutions regarding their approval status by April 1 every year. Institutions which have been certified will be posted at the Inclusive Health Care Training for IDD/ASD Certified Institutions webpage by April 1.

Applications that are incomplete or missing any of the required documentation will not be processed. DPH will notify applicants in writing of any deficiencies in their application and any additional information requested. Upon receipt and verification of additional information, the newly certified institution will be added to the Inclusive Health Care Training for IDD/ASD Certified Institutions webpage. If DPH does not receive the requested additional information from applicants within 90 calendar days from the date of said written notice, the application will not be acted on by DPH.

Periodic evaluation

DPH will periodically evaluate the integrity and efficacy of the training program offered at institutions via random audits every two years. If selected for review, DPH will request an institution’s:

1. Training curriculum (slides, lecture plans, assignments, etc.) to ensure adherence to standards and requirements 
2. De-identified student training completion records
3. De-identified results of the student surveys that provide average scores of the survey questions laid out in the training requirements and any additional qualitative data the institution would like to submit

If there are inconsistencies or faults in the training or data, DPH will notify the certified institution and suggest a correction plan. If the certified institution is not responsive to DPH or is not able to demonstrate progress in their corrective plan for the coming year within 90 days of receiving notification from DPH, the certified institution’s name will be removed from the list of certified institutions on the Certified Institutions webpage.

Terms of certificate

Certifications shall expire on March 31 of each odd numbered year. Institutions that applied in cycle (by January 31 on the odd numbered year) will hold certification for a period of two years. If an institution applies mid-cycle (i.e. on an even numbered year), the certification only lasts through the end of that cycle. Certified institutions will have their name posted on the Inclusive Health Care Training for IDD/ASD Certified Institutions webpage. DPH will update the website each year with active certified institutions providing training.

Renewal of certificate

Renewal of certification is required every two years via the same process. 

Grounds for refusal or removal of certification 

DPH may refuse to issue or renew a certification or may remove certification based on one or more of the following grounds: 

1. Failure to meet application deadline 
2. Failure to meet training requirements
3. Failure to demonstrate integrity 

Review of grounds for refusal or removal of certification

If DPH refuses to issue or renew a certification or revokes a certification from a certified institution, the affected institution shall be notified in writing of the reasons for DPH’s actions. The affected institution has the right to request a review of DPH’s actions.

1. Where denial, refusal to renew or revocation is based solely on the failure of the certified institution to file an application timely, DPH may act without first granting the applicant or certified institution a review.
2. Unless otherwise provided, the certified institution must submit a written request for a review within 14 days of receipt of notification of Department action. Failure to submit this request in a timely manner will result in denial of a review. DPH may, in its discretion, prescribe an expedited timeline for response. 
3. After reviewing, DPH may modify, revoke, or refuse to renew a certification. 

Record keeping

Certified institutions or vendors, on behalf of certified institutions, must maintain records of training for a minimum of eight years, including the following: 

1. Training curriculum (slides, lecture plans, assignments, etc.)
2. Student training completion records
3. Results of student surveys

¹National Institute of Mental Health (2019, March). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Retrieved February 10, 2026

²Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition. Racial equity glossary. Department of Public Health. Retrieved February 10, 2026

³State of the Science Implicit Bias Review 2013, Cheryl Staats, Kirwan Institute, The Ohio State University.

⁴National Institute of Mental Health (2021, November). About Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDDs). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Retrieved February 10, 2026