Half Day Trainings Online Webinars (For Professionals)

Autism and the Use of Visual Supports in Mainstream Education
This professional training programme will provide education professionals with an insight into the assessment and prioritisation of visual supports to aid the autistic student’s learning style. This will assist those working with the young person in the teaching of everyday skills, and to support the transfer of these to increase opportunities for independence.
Participants will:
Gain an understanding of how autism can affect daily routines and experiences.
Recognise the individual’s preference for “visual teaching.”
Discuss how to assess and develop the use of visual approaches with a view to generalisation.
Observe a range of video footage, practical examples and reading material in the use of visual supports for teaching the autistic student.

Autism and the Special School, Understanding Anxiety Management, and Reframing Behaviour. 
For many autistic students, school is a major source of stress and there are some key factors relating to autism that mean stress and anxiety are more likely. Everyone shows their anxiety in individual ways, so the most reliable observations that a student is anxious are going to be made by the people who know the student best. This shows the importance of working closely not only within the family structure, but also with the school staff.
This session is an introduction to strategies that can be used to alleviate the experience of anxiety, including,
An introduction to cognitively based strategies 
How to develop student centred approaches to deal with anxiety.
Participants will: 
Understand how the difficulties experienced, including sensory difficulties, can contribute to the development of anxiety.
Appreciate how anxiety can escalate and may result in an outburst.
Develop some supportive practices to prevent the escalation of anxiety.

Autism and Transitions
This session will examine why students experience difficulties when faced with a transition to Pre, Primary and Post Primary School and discuss how developing a greater understanding of transition, with practical approaches to support students on their journey through school and beyond, offers the child or young person the chance of future academic and social success. 
Within this session, the importance and design of a planned transition programme will be examined along with ideas and suggestions as to how to best prepare not only the education setting but also the parents and student.
Participants will:
Understand why transitions are difficult for autistic students
Understand that it is critical to plan and have a strategy around key transitions in the child’s or young person's day
Develop simple transition plans and supports around key areas. 
Gain an understanding of available support during transition.
Gain knowledge of personalised support to children and young people.
Learn how to cope with emotional distress caused by transition, such as stress and anxiety.

Autism and Communication.
This session explores the differences in neurotypical vs autistic communication styles. It provides delegates with an understanding of how to appreciate communication differences and adapt their communication style to better support autistic children and young people at home and school.
Delegates will:
· Explore current relevant theories related to communication differences
· Develop an understanding of their own communication preferences and how these might hinder or support the autistic communicator
· Explore a range of supportive practices in receptive (understanding) and expressive communication

Autism and Sensory Processing
Sensory processing refers to the ability of a child to register, interpret and respond to sensory information. This is a complex process involving all the sensory systems, auditory, gustatory, visual, olfactory, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, and interoception. When sensory processing is working well, a child can engage in daily functional activities and social interaction. Sensory processing differences are prevalent in autistic children and can affect every aspect of life and development.
This session examines the sensory processing differences experienced by many autistic children and will demonstrate how such differences impact on learning, play, social interactions, and behaviour for the primary school aged child.
Participants will: 
•    Develop an understanding of the sensory processing differences.
•    Appreciate how sensory processing differences can affect the child’s experience at school.
•    Understand how sensory processing differences can influence the child’s participation in daily activities.
•    Develop an understanding of general intervention supports to accommodate sensory processing differences in daily activities at school and beyond.
•    How sensory processing differences can present in an autistic child.
•    Supportive approaches to address sensory processing differences in school or the family home.

Autism and Understanding Anxiety
This training course will help parents and education professionals understand the stresses autistic children and young people experience, particularly within the Primary School environment.  We will discuss the external environmental demands and stress experienced by many autistic children which can contribute to anxiety experiences.

Participants will understand:
The relationship between autism and anxiety, and how anxiety affects our body and mind.
Fatigue and masking in relation to anxiety from an autistic point of view.
How environmental, communication, sensory, emotional, and cognitive stresses can be supported to reduce anxiety experience within the school environment.

During the course, we will explore a range of supports and resources which can be used to support an autistic child or young person.