'Supporting your Autistic Child at Home' - An Online Training Day for Parents
Saturday 15th June 2024, 9.30am - 2.30pmFour hours of quality input from experienced professionals, providing parents with practical strategies, insight and new learning to best support their child at home.
Recording and slides available after the event!
Session One: 9.30 - 10.40: Jess, Occupational Therapist
‘Supporting Sensory Differences at Home’
This 60minute presentation will explore the key role of co-regulation when regulating your child’s emotions and behaviours along with practical ways to support your child’s sensory differences at home in order to expand their ability to cope with everyday tasks. There will also be plenty of time throughout to ask questions.
Jess is an Occupational Therapist who has worked in private practice for over ten years in both Ireland and abroad. She is the Director of OT & Me and Co-Founder of Gabadoo which is an award winning platform offering OT & SLT support to schools and families. Jess’s research has been published in the Journal of Occupational Science and the BJOT. She has a keen interest in supporting children in their natural environments, education and early intervention.
10.40 - 10.50: Break
Session Two: 10.50 - 11.50: Michelle Lyons, Neurodivergent Primary School Teacher
‘Autism: A Neurodivergent Perspective’
In this presentation, Michelle will discuss autism from the perspective of a neurodivergent person, with a strong emphasis on lived experience. She will touch briefly on the medical model of disability and the shift towards a society that views autism through the lens of neurodiversity. She will discuss some core traits of autistic people and how these can guide us in supporting our autistic loved ones in an affirmative way, catering to their unique style of learning and communicating with the world.
Michelle Lyons-Doyle is a neurodivergent primary school teacher with more than 10 years experience of supporting autistic students as a home tutor, mainstream, SET and autism class teacher. She believes strongly in the need to create a culture that values the unique perspective of all people and celebrates diversity in all its forms. Michelle is currently undertaking further post-graduate studies in the area of autism. She is also the Chairperson of Triple A Alliance Wicklow, a local autism and ADHD support group and is Mum to an autistic child. Michelle shares ideas, information, the occasional cat meme and everyday life on her Instagram page, @StarStarAutism.
11.50 - 12.20: Lunch
Session Three: 12.20 - 1.20: Jessie Kelly, Autism School Teacher and Deputy Principal
‘Using Visual Supports at Home’
“I am a visual thinker, not a language-based thinker. My brain is like Google images” – Dr. Temple Grandin.
Autistic children are visual learners. In this presentation, Jessie will share her insight into why we use visual supports and how they can support autistic children. Parents will learn about a range of visual supports and be able to identify the appropriate supports for their child. Jessie will share tips, tricks and ideas on how to easily incorporate visual supports into every day life at home.
Jessie is a Special School teacher and Deputy Principal with 12 years experience working with and teaching Autistic children and teenagers. Jessie has worked in a range of roles and has spent many years supporting children and their families at home as a home tutor and as a home support worker.. Jessie completed an undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education and Care in 2012 and qualified as a primary school teacher with Hibernia College in 2019. Jessie recently completed a Postgraduate Certificate in the Education of Students on the Autism Spectrum at DCU. Jessie is passionate about educating Autistic students to their fullest potential. She runs the Instagram page ‘InspiredbyAutism’.
1.20 - 1.30: Break
Session Four: 1.30 - 2.30: Jenny Hillier, Speech and Language Therapist
‘Developing Speech, Language and Communication Skills at Home’
Jenny will guide you on how to best support your child's communication skills at home using a child-led, natural language acquisition approach. Jenny will also discuss using visual aids and AAC (Alternative Augmentative Communication) for children who struggle to communicate with spoken language alone.
Jenny Hillier is a Pediatric Speech and Language Therapist and NLA Trained Clinician. With experience as a School-Based Speech Pathologist in Australia, Jenny has since established a successful private practice in Naas, Co. Kildare. Due to high demand, she now also offers online AAC training to parents and school staff nationwide. Jenny is also Co Creator of Rubens Baby educational dolls.