Event summary
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Dunmore Community School, Dunmore, Galway
Autism, Learning Styles, and Visual Teaching Methods
This training session will provide information on supportive practices in the functional use of visual supports.
The focus of this course is in understanding the learning style, strengths, interests and needs of the autistic student or young person and how these can be facilitated using visuals. This will assist those who support the young person in the teaching of life skills, emotional regulation, and daily planning, creating opportunities for communication and independence.
Expected Outcomes
Understand how the use of visuals can support the thinking and learning style of autistic young people.
Understand how the use of visuals can be generalised across all environments and can build on the learning experience in school, home, and the wider community.
Learn how to develop visual supports in a practical manner to maximise the young person’s strengths and provide support if necessary.
Location
Dunmore Community School
Barrack Street, Abbeyland South,
Dunmore
Galway
H54 KP03
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Joan McDonald
Following many years teaching in mainstream classrooms, Joan worked on individual planning in centres for adults with learning disabilities and those with mental health struggles.
She, then, became one of the first SENOs in Ireland, observing and providing school supports for students with atypical needs across eighty rural schools.
While studying for an M.Ed. in Autism, Joan was taught by and met a variety of autistic adults, which ultimately led to her own autism assessment. Prior to meeting such a diverse range of autistic people, Joan would only have recognised autism in people with profound and complex support needs.
Joan is passionate about using students’ interests to support autistic learners of all levels of cognitive ability to access education and contented lives.
She currently works on a variety of projects with agencies such as Middletown Centre for Autism, Dublin City University, Nua Healthcare, Fingal Libraries. In recent years, creating and delivering the Posauteen and Posaudult courses to help autistic people understand and advocate for themselves has been a major focus of Joan’s time.
Event summary
Date
Start Time
End Time
Dunmore Community School , Dunmore , Galway