How to get autism info/awareness where it's needed?

[missworld2010]

OK a more serious question this time...

DD2 has ASD. I seem to get quite a few emails about courses which are being run such as 'an introduction to asd', 'how to help with sensory issues', social integration etc. I'm sure these are very useful to some people but I struggle to find the time to attend a whole day or even morning course after doing the school drop off and then being back in time for pick up, with no family nearby and no-one local really able to babysit (and if they were I may be more tempted by a spa day tbh!).

Anyhow slightly off topic there, but my thoughts are that I'd really like the school and teachers/assistants who are going to be dealing with DD2 from Sep to be more experienced and to learn more about autism. Would it be wrong to ask them what training they have, or to suggest courses that I hear of to them? I don't want to be rude or to get known as pushy, but do want the best for my child obv. I can't get my head around how they would do the courses either though, if they're during school time, and sure they don't want to give up free time to do it... if its a question of funding I'd be happy for them to pay to get the experience, but how do you suggest that in a good way - re you even allowed to?!

Likewise I was wondering about trying to hold some sort of info session so that other parents could find out more about ASD and maybe be a bit more understanding - might even help them with their own undiagnosed children. But how do you persuade anyone to attend that sort of thing? Should I suggest the head somehow drums up a captive audience?! Send info sheets out in book bags to whole school? Would anything actually help?!

Our local NAS group is holding an annual conference which I'm sure will be great for some, but covering a wide range of ages and issues may not be relevant or the best use of everyone's time and I'd love to think of something more specific that funds can be used for - sure it's a headache they have too.

Anyone got any great ideas or examples of things they have done or seen done?

Teachers have access to training courses and information, they're supposed to do continuous CPD - and some of those course will be about ASD, but whether teachers choose to go to those rather than others is down to whether they're interested in it and budget.

As for other parents...I find that people are largely uninterested unless it affects them in some way

not helpful and a very cynical answer from me I'm afraid, lol

It's extraordinary that teachers don't have to go on courses in special needs, not just ASD as the SN population in schools is so big. I also find it extraordinary that they rely on poorly paid TA's who don't seem to have any core training unlike most social care workers who work with children with SN.

Do you have a local parent group who could help with any training or leafleting? I would have thought a leaflet on ASD, in school bags could be very useful, but of course some parents with ASD kids might not like it.

Can the school host a group for all the parents who have SN kids once in a while?

They could access training; our Uni offers a PT MA (you can do as a post grad cert or diploma if you wish) that many teachers take.

have quite a few ASD info powerpoints from just that in fact if you want them: may be of use. have a bunch to send out in next few days so just PM me your email addy and will include you.

most teachers will at some point have some training, some do loads on it, some seem to actively avoid anything to do with it because they don't see it as part of their job

It should be a compulsory and significant part of their training. any techniques and approaches in special needs education are usually very good in mainstream, used with non-SEN kids. It would help teachers communicate more effectively with a whole range of children

Absolutely DD>

In fact, my old uni tutor did the SEN section of the teacher training there: one afternoon, with the lowest attendance of any single scheduled half day.

It is compulsory up here - in secondary that consists of a couple of lectures - mostly in the vein of...it doesn't matter what the label is you should be led by the needs of the pupil

Which is ideologically fantastic but really irritating when you're a parent and are sick of explaining how Asperger's affects your child to teachers and only as much as they should know after a 20 minute google anyway (sighs)

oh and then there was the lecture that pretty much made all the student teachers think that ADHD was a convenient label for bad parenting (complained about that one very vocally)