“Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways” (The National Autistic Society, 2016).

The number of school-age children and young people diagnosed with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) continues to rise year on year.

It is essential that these individuals have a positive experience of care and support. For this to be achieved practitioners need a good understanding of ASC and how to work effectively to support young people and develop effective interventions within their role.

 

Practitioners often comment that working with a child or young person with autism can be a really rewarding and inspirational experience, but equally can often be challenging.

This one-day course will provide practitioners who are working with children and young people with essential knowledge and understanding of ASC, along with a solid grounding for their work whether in schools, early years settings or with families at home.

This is an entry-level programme, thus no prior knowledge is required. Practitioners who are working 1:1 or directly with children/young people on the Autistic spectrum may wish to progress to ‘Working with Autistic Spectrum Conditions Level 2’ a course that will support direct work including assessments and action plans.

Delegates attending this course will explore inclusive attitudes and practice, positive behaviour systems and also various strategies and approaches that will promote positive outcomes when supporting children and young people with autism.

This course is delivered by the Educational Psychology Service.

The service works collaboratively with partners, including school staff, parents, pupils and other agencies in order to generate positive outcomes for children and young people, in turn, this means they have a strong grasp of the local context. All Educational Psychologists in the service have experience of working with children and young people and have a specialist, or professional qualification in educational psychology, at a master’s or doctoral level.

We hope that by the end of this course practitioners feel positive and confident in finding solutions to overcome any challenges in order to foster enjoyable and effective working relationships with the children or young people they support.

 

On completion of this course delegates will be able to:

• Gain a general introduction to the Autistic Spectrum and an overview of Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC)
• Describe the concepts of Asperger's Syndrome and high-functioning ASC
• Analyse inclusive attitude and practice
• Describe and evaluate problems of communication weakness and sensory impairments and what we might do to counteract their negative effects
• Identify strategies and other positive behaviour systems to support young people on the Autistic Spectrum.

No prior knowledge of ASC is required to access this course, this is an introductory level.