The National Autistic Society Autism Awareness week is now over but autism awareness is vitally important every week of the year and in this blog I will explain my view on why this is. I’ve actually been saddened by the controversy this year over the word ‘awareness’. I follow a number of SEN forums to…
As part of the ‘education autism – supporting your practice’ education setting pathway of support, autism act offers a 5 week course to train an Autism Champion for your school. Let me answer the 3 most asked questions about this role in school. What is an autism champion? An autism champion takes the lead role…
Research shows that autistic people wished they’d had a teacher that understood them better at school and say this would have helped to have a positive impact on their school experience. I wonder how many school staff wished they had access to that training too? Felt at a bit of a loss on what to…
As another lockdown begins, then autism act services need to adapt accordingly. At a time when the new Covid 19 variant is affecting many of our lives, there is uncertainty in what the next day will bring and what you feel you are able to do or access. To bring a reliable service that works…
Starting a new business in 2020 was … well, I am really not sure HOW to describe it! Different? Frustrating? Constantly changing? Draining? Exhilarating? Soul destroying? Amazing? Unexpected? Challenging? Rewarding? Yes, all of these and probably many more! However, autism act survived year 1 of business, with a wider audience served, 12 x 5 star…
Back in May I started to deliver some of my workshops via zoom. In all honesty, it was to keep my new business going after being hit by Covid just 3 months into my first year. The need to provide my service was essential as all my booked work had been lost over night when…
I wrote this blog in April and with another lockdown planned it seems relevant to reshare it. Starting autism act as a brand new business in January 2020 after the trauma of losing my local authority autism specialist teacher role, was a huge step for me. A SEN department redesign and the redundancy that…
BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing was back on our screens at the weekend – happy times for me! My husband calls it ‘Strictly Widower’ season as I sprawl out on the sofa and he shuffles upstairs with a bar of chocolate to watch something else. I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a ‘special interest’…
This blog is the final chapter of my M Ed dissertation (for which I received a distinction) It details the conclusions of my research into SEN training and autism training for teachers and how it can impact on their understanding and ultimately, their practice. I wrote and delivered a workshop based on the Autism Education…
Covid 19 has restricted many of our activities, both personal and professional for 6 months. I know what the restrictions it has meant for autism act, with all face to face work and school visits cancelled and postponed since March. It was good to be out in 2 schools last week delivering staff training –…