Package summary

Middletown Centre for Autism
5 Week Parent and Professional Joint Training Programme
Autism and the Post Primary School
Programme Content:
1. Autism and Social Communication
2. Autism and Anxiety Management
3. Autism and the Promotion of Positive Behaviour
4. Autism and Life Skills, including Relationships and Sexuality Education
5. Autism and Sensory Processing
This five-week programme has been designed for education professionals, parents and family members  who are living with young people, 12-18 years, with autism.

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Courses in package

Autism and Social Communication

Event summary

Date

Start Time

End Time

Online Training Webinar,

Booking closes

Autism and Social Communication
Social communication is a multi-faceted, complex interaction involving mastery in many of the following,
•    Understanding non-verbal cues  
•    Command of tone of voice  
•    Command of facial expressions  
•    Understanding different purposes of conversation  
•    Sense of humour  
•    Familiarity with social courtesies  
•    Making the abstract concrete  
•    Visual structure and predictable routines  
•    Activities that provide support for language abilities  
•    Interactions that provide focus on peers and self-awareness  
•    Generalisations  
Social communication can, therefore, be challenging for many young people with autism. Many want to be socially interactive, make friends and form relationships, be included within the classroom and wider community, but find it difficult because of the many social conventions needed to achieve effective communication.
Young people with autism experiencing such difficulties may find it hard to understand the messages being given, such as the meaning we put into our voice, the expressions on our faces, and gestures such as waving, pointing or shrugging
Expected Outcomes
Participants will have an increased understanding of
•    How social communication is defined. 
•    The social communication difficulties are experienced by those with autism 
•    Best practices in supporting the young person in the classroom, family home and wider community
•    The importance of visual information as it remains available long enough to enable the young person to focus on it or return to it as needed to establish memory for the message it is communicating.
•    Visual tools provide a non-transient foundation for more effective communication and are also effective when teaching the teenagers to understand their own and other people's social behaviour. 
•    How to use the strengths of the young person with autism to help him or her communicate effectively. 

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Location

Online Training Webinar

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Carolyn Frazer

Carolyn Frazer

Carolyn Frazer is an Autism Trainer/Advisor in Middletown Centre for Autism, formerly employed in Ashfield Girls High School, Belfast, where she supported autistic children and young people to access the curriculum. She qualified in Speech and Language Therapy and has a Master’s degree in Psychology. During Carolyn’s Masters studies she undertook research on Autism and Bullying and continues to provide training sessions and support for autistic students in this area. Carolyn’s other areas of specialisms including supporting communication and anxiety for post primary students. She is an associate lecturer on The Post Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies with Stranmillis University College, Belfast.

Autism and Anxiety Management

Event summary

Date

Start Time

End Time

Online Training Webinar,

Booking closes

Autism and Anxiety Management
Post Primary aged students with autism experience anxiety in many situations, with some experiencing significant anxiety difficulties. 
This session is an introduction to strategies that can be used to alleviate the experience of anxiety in students with autism. This will include an introduction to cognitively based strategies and how to develop student centred strategies to deal with anxiety. 
Expected Outcomes
Participants will:
• Understand how the difficulties experienced by those with autism, including sensory difficulties, can contribute to the development of anxiety.
• Understand how anxiety can escalate.
• Develop some simple strategies to prevent the escalation of anxiety.
• Understand the basics of cognitively based management approaches.
Course Overview
• Anxiety triggers and build up.
• “On the spot” anxiety management strategies.
• Developing a “stress kit”.
• Cognitively based approaches and the emotional toolkit

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Notes

Location

Online Training Webinar

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Edel Quinn

Edel Quinn

Edel Quinn is an Autism Trainer/Advisor in Middletown Centre for Autism. Before taking up this post, Edel worked in the National Health Service, Northern Ireland (NHS), developing and delivering home programmes for autistic children and young people, and their families. Edel holds a Psychology degree and an MSc in Autism from Queen’s University, Belfast and a Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Edel's main specialisms are in early intervention and delivering training in the implementation of visual strategies and behaviour. Edel is a Certified TEACCH Trainer with Division TEACCH, North Carolina. Edel has developed and delivered anxiety trainings and anxiety research projects to parents and professionals across Ireland. She has delivered at Autism and Mental Health Conference, NAS and the Autism Congress. Edel is an associate lecturer on the Post Graduate Autism Certificate with Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Edel is working towards accreditation with BACP as a Cognitive Behaviour Therapist.

Autism and Life Skills, including Relationships and Sexuality Education

Event summary

Date

Start Time

End Time

Online Training Webinar,

Booking closes

Autism and Life Skills, including Relationships and Sexuality Education
Life skills are regarded as independent living skills or daily living skills.  It is also important to include executive function or thinking skills such as organising, planning, prioritising and decision making.
Categories of life skills include: 
•    Self-advocacy
•    Personal finance
•    Transport and community involvement
•    Leisure and recreation opportunities and activities
•    Home living skills
•    Career path and employment
Relationships and Sexuality Education, including friendships
Effective teaching of issues around life skills and sexuality education involves close collaboration between schools and parents to ensure messages are clear for the students with autism. This session will examine the impact of adolescence on young people with autism and examine the broad definition of life skills, within the contexts of work, leisure and personal care, and how the core difficulties, associated with autism, may directly affect the development of life skills.  Participants will be shown how to incorporate behavioural interventions with visual strategies to help teenagers with autism cope with some of the typical issues of adolescence and the acquisition of life skills. It will also focus on the delivery of relationships and sexuality education for students with autism
Expected Outcomes
Participants will
•    Have a greater understanding of how the core difficulties associated with autism affect the development of life skills in work, leisure and personal care.
•    Learn and develop methods to assess and teach life skills in the School and family environment.
•    Be more able to facilitate students to achieve greater independence in relevant daily activities such as play, work tasks, personal hygiene, toileting and organisational skills.
•    Have an increased understanding of the opportunities available to improve and develop students’ life skills within the school and home environment.
•    Understand the impact of adolescence on young people with autism.
•    Learn some strategies involving behavioural and visual strategies that will provide supports to adolescents with autism.
•    Provide strategies for the delivery of sex and relationships education to students with autism

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Notes

Location

Online Training Webinar

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Majella Nugent

Majella Nugent

Majella Nugent is an Autism Trainer/Advisor in Middletown Centre for Autism. Majella has experience teaching and supporting autistic children and young people in schools. Majella’s experiences include Pre-school, Mainstream Primary and Post-Primary and Special Schools across Ireland. Majella also has experience teaching autistic students in Further Education. She has lectured and assessed modules on the Early Childhood Foundation Degree and the Level Three Autism qualification, as professional development for parents and professionals. Majella’s training specialism is Relationship and Sexuality Education, Transitions and Special Education Needs. Majella has contributed to the development of the curriculum as a Professional Associate with CCEA for learners with MLD and co-ordinated specialist trainings including Transition to Higher Education (Ulster University and Trinity College Dublin), 16+ Education and Employment, and Sibling trainings. Majella is an Associate Lecturer on the Post Graduate Certificate with Mary Immaculate College Limerick.

Autism and Sensory Processing

Event summary

Date

Start Time

End Time

Online Training Webinar,

Booking closes

Autism and Sensory Processing
Sensory processing refers to the ability of an individual to register, interpret and respond to sensory information. This is a complex d process involving all the sensory systems (auditory, gustatory, visual, olfactory, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular and interoception). When sensory processing is working well, an individual can engage in daily functional activities and social interaction. Sensory processing differences are  prevalent in children with autism and can affect every aspect of life and development.
This session examines the sensory processing differences frequently associated with autism and will demonstrate how such differences impact on learning, leisure activities and choices, social interactions and behaviour in school. 
Expected Outcomes
Participants will: 
• Develop a basic understanding of some of the sensory processing differences in autism. 
• Understand how sensory processing differences can affect the young person’s experience in school. 
• Gain knowledge of strategies, which will assist in meeting the young person’s sensory needs. 
Course Overview
• Sensory processing differences and how they present in autism. 
• How sensory processing differences can affect the young person’s experience in school.
Intervention strategies to address sensory processing differences in a school context.

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Notes

Location

Online Training Webinar

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Aideen Ruttledge

Aideen Ruttledge

Aideen Ruttledge is a Specialist Occupational Therapist for autistic children and young people.  Aideen has worked in a variety of education and health services in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This has involved working with children and young people in mainstream schools, special schools, respite and home settings.  She has been involved in the diagnostic process for autistic children and has training in a variety of specific therapeutic approaches including therapeutic listening, attachment theory and handwriting approaches. Aideen has a Master of Science Degree in Sensory Integration from Ulster University. She has carried out research in the area of Sensory Integration, which was recently published in the Irish Journal of Occupational Therapy. Aideen is a Clinical Mentor for the Sensory Integration Network.

Autism and the Promotion of Positive Behaviour

Event summary

Date

Start Time

End Time

Online Training Webinar,

Booking closes

Autism and the Promotion of Positive Behaviour
This training session will consist of a combination of a webinar presentation supported by supplementary activities.
The webinar will look at the understanding of the concept of a behaviour of concern and how parents and education professionals working together can forge and formulate complementary strategies to be used for the autistic young person.
The supplementary activities will include academic papers, review of webinars and podcasts from Internationally renowned speakers and videos to support understanding. 

Young people with autism can experience elevated levels of anxiety and stress often resulting in distressed behaviours for a variety of reasons, including interaction with the environment. This session will examine how an understanding of autism can influence interactions and thus the behaviour of young people.
Expected Outcomes
Participants will: 
• Understand reasons for what we see as inappropriate behaviour
• Learn practical strategies for recognising early warning signs and making positive interventions
• Recognise the “Rumbling, Raging and Recovery” aspects of behaviour, and the role we can play. 
• Understand the behaviour and anxiety bank account

Course Overview 
• Clarity of information, including expectations and procedures.
• Consistency: A healthy, strong home school partnership is vital.
• Common sense: Remembering that sometimes the most effective is also the most straightforward and easiest.
• Continuation: Keeping the teaching and the positive supports in place to continue to help the young person to develop effective life skills
 

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Notes

Location

Online Training Webinar

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Frances O'Neill

Frances O'Neill

Frances O’Neill is an Autism Trainer/Advisor in Middletown Centre for Autism. Frances has worked in Special, Post Primary and Further Education settings. She holds Post Graduate Certificates and Diplomas in Education and an MSc in Autism.