Training Courses

The Psychology Consultancy (UK) Ltd

Training Courses

All our training courses are now jointly developed with our sister company, Reflective Learning UK Ltd

Download a flyer/enrolment form for the Spring 2010 sessions

These training courses have now run for several years in East Anglia. Following our successful London launch in November 2009, we have decided to focus our Spring 2010 offering on the Capital. The focus of the training sessions remain autism spectrum conditions, but we have broadened the range of the sessions available to include an introductory workshop on behaviour management which also covers related disabilities such as ADHD and dyspraxia. In addition, we can now offer our Autism Master Classes in London. These sessions are more in depth than “A First Workshop” sessions and are aimed at teachers and teaching assistants who would like to advance their knowledge and skills in supporting pupils on the autism spectrum to an advanced level.

The highlight of the sessions for Spring 2010 is our free event, scheduled for the afternoon of Thursday, 6^th May. Creating Autism Friendly Schools is a free practice sharing seminar for senior school leaders. Heads, SENCOs, and school governors are invited to come along for an afternoon of learning from others’ experiences and creative problem solving. Don’t let your school miss out on this session. Up to two places will be allocated to participating schools, but we have a limit on the total number of delegates we will accept for this session, so please pass this invitation on to your head teacher for action as soon as possible.

Of course, we still offer our hallmark introductory autism awareness sessions, “A First Workshop on Autism” and “A First Workshop on Asperger Syndrome”. As always, these sessions promise to be stimulating, entertaining, and filled to the brim with practical ideas that you can implement in the classroom setting.

We are very excited about the interesting mix of courses in our spring line up this year and hope that we will see you there. Don’t forget to tell your colleagues about this training. You can download an enrolment form by clicking on the link below:

Download a flyer/enrolment form for the Spring 2010 sessions

A First Workshop on Autism is our premier introductory workshop for anyone living with or working with children and young people who are on the autistic spectrum. You will learn what autism is, how a diagnosis is made, and what is meant by the “autistic spectrum”. The workshop also covers challenges faced by carers, parents, and schools, and how children and young people on the spectrum experience autism. The session is presented in a relaxed, informal style and we make use of group discussion and video material to help participants gain insight and understanding of the lives of children and families affected by autism.

Praise from previous participants for “A First Workshop on Autism”

“Thoroughly enjoyed the day. Found it extremely interesting and have learnt so much. Wish all my staff could have come.”

SENCO, Primary School

“It was very informative and improved my understanding of autism immensely.”

Learning Support Assistant, 6^th form college

“Excellent. Very pleased I was able to attend. It has really helped. Thank you.”

Teaching Assistant

A First Workshop on Asperger’s Syndrome: Designed to complement A First Workshop on Autism, this workshop will provide an introduction to Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and the challenges and opportunities created by pupils with this diagnosis. The session also focuses on some of the most difficult challenges faced by children and young people with AS, such as sensory sensitivity and social skills.

Autism Master Classes

Sensory processing in pupils on the autism spectrum.

People on the autism spectrum experience many difficulties with their sensory systems. Information from the senses is processed differently, often leading to differences in sensory awareness and a tendency to experience some environments as overwhelming. In this master class, we will explore the way the sensory system works in people with ASD and review some of the neurological findings that underpin the differences people with autism experience.

You will leave with a good understanding of sensory processing in autism and, through group work, you will gain practical ideas on how to help someone with sensory differences manage different environments more effectively.

Extreme behaviour in autism – teaching pupils self regulation

Some pupils on the autism spectrum show extremes of behaviour. In this session, we will review the human stress response which is activated in situations where extreme behaviour occur and consider how best to manage the different phases of this cycle. We will also consider the stages and steps involved in teaching pupils to self manage their emotions. Although this session focuses on behaviour in autism, the principles and techniques that we will discuss are relevant to a wide range of behavioural problems seen in children and young people, including children with anger problems and ADHD.

We have a number of other training workshops on autism available and will consider requests for delivering most of these as inset sessions:

A First Workshop on Autism – preschool version: This workshop is a specially adapted version of A First Workshop on Autism tailor made for the needs of staff in early years settings. The workshop covers what autism is, how a diagnosis is made, and what is meant by the “autistic spectrum”. The second half of the session focuses on practical strategies for teaching and supporting young children on the spectrum and also how staff can support parents or access help from professionals in their locality.

A First Workshop on Behaviour Management for pupils with ASD, dyspraxia, and ADHD: This workshop is suitable for teachers, SENCOs, and support staff who would like an introduction to managing the difficult behaviour of children with a variety of “learning difficulties”. You will learn about a model for thinking about the behaviour of the children that takes into account their difficulties with processing information and making sense of the world around them. We will discuss examples of relevant behavioural challenges and where one can start when trying to resolve these. This workshop is not an advanced training session and no prior attendance at one of our workshops is required, but a working knowledge of autism, Asperger’s syndrome or another specific learning difficulty such as dyspraxia or ADHD will be necessary if participants are to get the most out of the session.

Social Stories in the classroom: The session focuses on helping participants acquire the skills they need to develop and write social scripts or social stories for the pupils with ASD they work with. Social stories is a very useful technique to help young people with ASD manage difficult social situations. The method was first published by Carol Gray, and developed further by many other practitioners in the autism field. This workshop will focus on what social scripts and social stories are, why and how they work and how to develop and use this method effectively in the school environment. We will also discuss some recent innovations and variations on the theme of social stories that can advance your practice! The course follows on from the content of our other workshops on ASD and therefore it is only open to participants who have already completed a First Workshop course previously.