Nurturing a Positive Autistic Identity in School

8 hours in total

5hrs with autistic students & SENCO/teacher/TAs, 3hrs with school staff – flexible on how the hours are delivered.

Training is virtual unless otherwise arranged.

An autism diagnosis is much more than just a ‘label’. If you’re autistic, you’ve been autistic your whole life and you will gradually become aware that you experience the world in a different way to many of your peers. Unfortunately, an autism diagnosis carries with it a stigma, and becoming aware of this stigma can be damaging to a young person’s wellbeing as they get older – and the later they are recognised as autistic, the more problematic this becomes. Naturally, we want to remove the stigma, but this depends not on the autistic young person to change, but everyone around them, which is why we advocate for whole school training on neurodiversity – the more you understand about difference, not deficit, the less likely you are to stigmatise. However we can also nurture the young person so that they develop a positive view of their autistic identity, and can become advocates for themselves and others.

This training will help to

  • Build a connection with key members of staff so that the young person feels safe and understood in school

  • Identify what being autistic means to the young person

  • Build knowledge of aspects of an autistic profile that are common such as interoceptive issues and alexithymia – both can cause misunderstanding and anxiety in a school setting and it’s important that all are aware of them

  • Identify what triggers dysregulation and what helps to self-regulate

  • Develop self-advocacy skills

  • Understand communication issues and the Double Empathy problem

  • Understand sensory issues for autistic pupils

  • Understand the benefits of energy accounting and setting boundaries

  • Understand why it’s so important (for life, not just for school) that autistic pupils are listened to and their needs/requested validated rather than dismissed

  • Build knowledge of neurodiversity in a neuro-affirmative way

Students and teachers will be told exactly what to expect before taking part, so that we eliminate as much uncertainty as possible (uncertainty = anxiety).

We include:

  • Teacher notes

  • Pupil worksheets

  • A Q & A session and email support for a month following the training

PRICE: £1150 (no VAT) for up to 40 staff, please contact us for a price for higher numbers of attendees.

We are UK-based so training will take place in UK time – we can accommodate UK evening training, but if you’re in Australia or New Zealand it will need to be an early start.

Please contact us for more details.

I found the content very engaging with lots of examples to link to the terminology. Cathy was a good presenter with a lovely personality, with a real passion for her subject. I have developed an understanding of how to identify autistic traits and feel I could better deal with them in the classroom.

Staff member, Durham Sixth Form

Really informative and clearly comes from someone passionate about the topic, not someone who is paid to just facilitate training.

Staff member, Durham Sixth Form