Course | Autism and Learning Disability – A Masterclass Course for Teachers

Price

€575

If you're looking to purchase this course, please visit the 'Online self-paced courses' section on ShipCon's website. Choose 'Autism and learning Disability – A masterclass course for Teachers' from the list.

Facilitator

Jacqui Ashton Smith (Dr) has over 35 years’ experience working in the field of education, autism and SEN. She has presented at numerous conferences world wide, delivered international training and consultancy and post graduate training at a number of universities in the UK, Europe and Japan.

Jacqui is a qualified teacher with post graduate qualifications in SEN and autism. She has a Doctorate in Education and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and has undertaken a range of training in the field of autism and education. Her specialist areas are Educational Leadership, the identification of Girls and Women on the autism spectrum, autism specific quality assurance and autism specific education. She was a lead trainer for the National Autistic Society in the UK and has had her research and papers published in professional journals.

For 25 years Jacqui was Principal then Executive Principal of specialist residential schools for autistic children and for the past 9 years has led the Education Division of a national organisation which runs eight schools as Head of Operations then Director of Education. She led all aspects of strategic development, business development and operations. As the Director of Education Development she has recently been involved in the opening of 4 specialist schools and has gained valuable expertise in this field.

Jacqui is a member of the Autism Education Trust Expert Reference Group and a member of the Expert Advisory Panel of Autism Accreditation, a UK quality assurance system run by the National Autistic Society for autism specific schools and adult services. She is an Associate Consultant for AT-Autism and has provided specialist consultancy in the UK, delivered management and autism training in the middle east and involved in a number of research projects.

Description

This self-paced online masterclass course is designed to provide teachers in mainstream settings the knowledge and skills required to support the educational and social needs of students on the autism spectrum with learning disabilities in order to achieve their full potential.

Empowering teachers to realise the full potential of students on the autism spectrum with learning disabilities in an education setting consists of five modules. Each module has a specific aim and learning targets and concludes with further reading or resources which the learner may find helpful. Each module builds on what was learnt in the previous module. This results to a broad and in-depth knowledge & understanding of a series of important aspects and challenges faced by students on the autism spectrum in an education setting.

More specifically, the course aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the signs and symptoms of the autism spectrum; this is achieved via a detailed analysis of Special educational Needs (SEN), neurodiversity & Autism. To this extent, the course provides detailed references on how the autistic brain functions as well as the importance of co-occurring conditions to individuals on the autism spectrum.

Moreover, this masterclass course places emphasis in increasing the knowledge and understanding of the informal assessment and diagnosis of the autism spectrum. This is achieved through examining the diagnostic process of Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) as well as issues related to the diagnosis of ASC and importance of IQ, SPLD’s and educational skills tests.

Furthermore, in this masterclass course there is a dedicated module on how to extend teacher’s understanding of students on the autism spectrum and learning disabilities, and this is achieved by providing detailed reference on the key areas of difficulty experienced at school and the various approaches and strategies that can be developed by teachers in order to deal with the disabilities and general difficulties associated with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC).

Main Aims

- Recognize the early signs and symptoms of the autism spectrum and co-occurring conditions
- Respond to the impact of the autism spectrum condition on a child’s overall functioning
- Understand the importance of a formal diagnosis
- Understand the difference between learning difficulty and learning disability
- Develop teacher’s knowledge and understanding the definition and diagnosis of the autism spectrum and the conditions that fall within this umbrella
- Recognize the appropriate assessments required to fully understand the individual profile of each child on the Autism Spectrum
- Respond effectively and proactively to individual student’s educational needs as informed by diagnosis, IQ tests and other assessments
- Implement the educational strategies required to support students on Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) to achieve their full potential
- Understanding and responding to the distinct cognitive differences of students on the autism spectrum
- Understanding the social and emotional difficulties students on the autism spectrum face
implement strategies to help students develop emotional resilience, social understanding and friendship skills which is essential for their wellbeing and academic achievement
- Extend and further develop teacher’s knowledge and understanding of inclusive education and the range of strategies to achieve this
- Respond effectively and proactively to individual student’s educational needs in order to prepare them fully for adulthood

Who to Attend?

- Teachers in mainstream education
- SEN teaching assistants
- Educators working in SEN field and want to polish their knowledge and skill
- Coaches/mentors/professionals working on SEN and/or with pupils with autism and learning disabilities

For further information, please visit ShipCon website.