Ulsters Teachers Union Package 4 Week Course

This session will begin discussing what exactly autism is and how we may recognise the skills and strengths of autistic students whilst being mindful of their specific needs. How can we best include autistic children in our classroom? What simple strategies and supports can we immediately adopt and adapt into our classrooms and schools that allows all students to see themselves positively reflected in their immediate environment and develop an inclusive school ethos? 

Visual strategies are widely used when working and living with autistic children and young people, as they: 
•    Complement the learning style of many autistic children, and young people 
•    Can be introduced alongside other intervention strategies. 
•    Are adaptable, portable and can be used in most situations. 
The use of visual strategies can have a notable impact on how an autistic student experiences family, community, and school life, as they help to clarify expectations and make abstract concepts more concrete. Visual strategies support students as they develop effective communication, appropriate social interaction, and positive behaviour skills, as well as accessing the curriculum.
This session will cover why visual teaching methods work. Professionals will become more familiar with how their input will reflect a sound evidence base and be more able to adapt the school environment and individualised tasks to meet the needs of the student

Many autistic students 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 autistic students. This will include an introduction to cognitively based strategies and how to develop student centred strategies to deal with anxiety. 
This will include: 
•    An introduction to cognitively based strategies  
•    An introduction to relaxation-based strategies 
•    How to develop student centred strategies to deal with anxiety

Sensory processing refers to the ability of a child or young person to register, interpret and respond to sensory information. This is a complex process involving all the sensory systems, auditory, gustatory, visual, olfactory, tactile, proprioception, vestibular and interoception. When sensory processing is working well, a child or young person can engage in daily functional activities and social interaction. Sensory processing differences are prevalent in autistic children and young people and can affect every aspect of daily life. 
This session examines these sensory processing differences and will demonstrate how such differences impact on learning, leisure activities and choices, social interactions, and life skills in school.