Welcome

Welcome to the May edition of our newsletter, where we focus on our ongoing partnership work with Donaldson’s Trust and Anna Freud.
We would also like to congratulate our colleague from Scottish Autism, Dr Joe Long on his election to the Scottish Parliament!

Working in partnership with Donaldson’s Trust, Scotland

Our Head of Research, Clinical Support and Programme evaluation, Richard Mills continued his work with Donaldson’s, the National Centre for Neurodiversity, Scotland, on the independent evaluation of their internal and external programmes and the continued development and implementation of the wellbeing curriculum that extends across their services. This incorporates the evidence-based domains of the Personal Wellbeing Index (Cummins et al) which have been shown to be helpful, effective, and relevant in measuring subjective wellbeing of autistic children and adults. The Personal Wellbeing Index also complements the GIRFEC children’s wellbeing framework of the Scottish Government by introducing a subjective component. The Donaldson’s wellbeing curriculum extends to adults. The ongoing independent service evaluation also includes regularly obtaining the views of parents and carers on the impact of services on their child /young person, including their suggestions, which are analysed thematically to inform any change or development. This invaluable contribution to the evaluation is confidential and views expressed are not attributable to individuals.

SPELL Framework

Stage 1 SPELL training course. Stage 1 is a 12-hour (6 hours x 2 days) CPD-accredited foundation course. It is suitable for all practitioners working with autistic people of all ages, across multiple settings. This SPELL practice workshop covers an understanding of autism, considers the principles and five domains of SPELL, and reflects on applications of the framework to individual practice. Due to interest from across the world, we will shortly be offering more dates for individuals to attend this course online.

For further information and to register your interest: Stage 1 SPELL Framework training – AT-Autism

The 3rd Edition of the SPELL Framework is now available to pre-order: Understanding and Responding to Autism: The SPELL framework (3rd edition) Self-study Guide

Synergy Programme

Please contact us at info@atautism.org to book training on the Synergy Programme. This practical training aims to reduce stress, improve staff skills and support wellbeing. In this the primary focus is on the narrative, the practitioner and the culture of a setting – not the ‘behaviour’ of the child or adult.