Supporting People with Autism
Supporting People with Autism
Autism is a complex, lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviours and is a “spectrum condition” that affects people differently and to varying degrees. About 1 in 43 people in Ireland have Autism while 20% have an accompanying intellectual impairment, and some have an accompanying language impairment. Providing support to this group can poise many challenges, such as, numerous social, behavioural and physical challenges. Individuals with Autism often display unusual behaviours and interests, unusual ways of learning and paying attention, and may have impaired verbal and non-verbal communication skills. This programme provides learners with the opportunity to develop the following competencies:
Develop professional knowledge such as:
Examining the key aspects of Autism as per DSM 2014, to gain an overview of the diagnosis criteria, assessment and effective intervention
- Understanding how Autism impacts on a person’s, their family and or carers day to day life.
- Develop positive approaches.
Develop appropriate attitudes towards people on the Autism so it can;
Enrich the role of frontline workers to provide a more thorough understanding of how they can utilise their skills to support people with Autism to live more independent and fulfilling lives.
Develop Strategies such as
- Overcome the challenges of communication using verbal and non-verbal skills methods
- Support and organise a person’s day so they can cope better with the challenges of daily living and daily interaction with others
- Learn practical skills to interpret social behaviour and develop communication skills
- Teach those with Autism how to think and behave flexibly (i.e. to adapt their behaviour to suit specific situations).
Continuous Professional Development
CPD is any activity that contributes to a professional’s learning and development. It can be as diverse as completing a course, reflecting on work practices through supervision or researching a new technique or reading a related article. The activity (i.e. action) can be viewed as CPD, as long as it enables the Social Care Worker to apply this learning through reflection or practical application in their professional life.
Target Group – Frontline staff in residential, day, respite or schools
2 and 3 day programmes