Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

A few words about the course: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder marked by impaired social interaction, limited communication, behavioral challenges, and a limited range of activities and interests. Individuals with ASD can show a wide variety of behavioral symptoms, from failure to develop appropriate peer relationships to a delay in or a total lack of spoken language.
While much has been learned about how to educate children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and program successes are widely touted, children and youth with ASD are nonetheless at heightened risk for poor academic outcomes, including conflictual relationships with general education teachers and more restrictive classroom placement. However, autism is a global concern, and it is equally important to consider how cultural differences may affect awareness and understanding of autism, and the particular challenges it poses in low income countries where resources are scarce.
This 5-day-intensive course provides meaningful insight into autism and how autism affects children and their families, how the condition is identified and how ideas and understanding have evolved through time. Participants will be presented with challenging behaviours and will be shown strategies to deal with them. They will be shown good practices applied in various educational settings and will be led to design the proper educational setting and curriculum for their ASD students. Moreover, trainees will have the unique opportunity to implement job shadowing in a center working with children on the spectrum and see first-hand how music, arts and physical education can accelerate students’ learning and inclusion.