Description
Understanding and Valuing the Communication of Autistic Children and Adults in Schools
► Presenter: Dr, Rebecca Wood, Senior Lecturer in Special Education, King’s College London
► On-Demand Course: Learners have access to the recording and materials for 180 days from the date of enrollment.
► Audience: Therapy Providers and Educators seeking to deepen their understanding of autistic communication in the educational setting.
(Therapy Neurodiversity Collective Members, this course is included in your membership!)
Gain greater insight into autistic communication in the school setting, and uncover ways to improve experiences and outcomes within educational environments.
Join Therapist Neurodiversity Collective for a riveting, one-hour, on-demand journey designed for therapists and educators seeking to become catalysts for positive change in the school setting. Presented by Dr. Rebecca Wood, an expert in the field of autism education, this evidence-based course is an insightful expedition into the nuanced world of autistic communication. As a seasoned former teacher, autism education practitioner, and a distinguished Senior Lecturer in Special Education at the University of East London, Dr. Wood brings a wealth of expertise and groundbreaking research findings from the Autistic School Staff Project.
Discover the often-overlooked realities of how autistic student communication is disregarded in the classroom and the profound implications it carries. Engage with powerful narratives that reveal how the suppression of communication can strip autistic individuals of their personal agency, leading to denied opportunities and a misunderstanding among school colleagues.
Through this course, you will:
► Gain Deep Insights: Understand the intricacies of autistic communication and the challenges autistic individuals face in educational settings.
► Challenge the Status Quo: Learn why autistic communication is frequently ignored or under-valued, and the pivotal role you can play in altering this narrative.
► Empower Autistic Voices: Explore how autistic individuals can reclaim their personal agency and the impact of embracing their various forms of expression.
► Leverage Cutting-Edge Research: Utilize findings from the Autistic School Staff Project to inform your practice and advocate for change.
► Implement Effective Strategies: Acquire practical tools to establish constructive and enabling communication supports that respect the individuality of autistic children.
► Drive Better Outcomes: Equip yourself with the knowledge to foster environments where better outcomes for autistic individuals aren’t just possible—they’re expected.
By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped not just with knowledge, but with actionable steps to make tangible positive differences for autistic communicators in the educational setting.
Included:
☑A comprehensive slide handout
☑ Course handout for reference
☑ Certificate of Attendance for 1 hour of professional development
Dr. Rebecca Wood is a former teacher and autism education practitioner who is a Senior Lecturer in Special Education at the University of East London. She is also the Principal Investigator of the Autistic School Staff Project. Rebecca completed her Ph.D. at the University of Birmingham with a full-time scholarship, where she was also Project Manager of the Transform Autism Education project, funded by the European Commission. This was followed by an ESRC postdoctoral Fellowship at the Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Centre of King’s College London. Rebecca speaks at national and international conferences and has a number of publications in peer-reviewed journals and edited books.
Rebecca’s principal interests are in valuing and supporting multi-modal forms of communication in the context of autism and in promoting strengths-based approaches in schools. Her work also shows that educational inclusion can only be achieved by supporting acceptance and diversity across the whole school community, for adults as well as children.
Books:
Wood, R., Crane, L., Happé, F., Morrison, A. and Moyse, R. (eds) (2022) Learning from Autistic Teachers: How to be a Neurodiversity-Inclusive School. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Wood, R. (2019) Inclusive Education for Autistic Children: Helping Children and Young People to Learn and Flourish in the Classroom. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
You will learn
- Why autistic student communication is often ignored, under-valued and suppressed in the classroom, and what this looks like.
- How disregarding communication strips autistic children's personal agency.
- How autistic children take back their personal agency.
- How to implement constructive and enabling communication supports for autistic children
- How we can achieve better outcomes for autistic children and adults in the school setting.
- What the research findings from the Autistic School Staff Project tell us.
- Why school colleagues misunderstand autistic adult communication leading to denied opportunities.
