AsIAm.ie is spending August gearing up for our Secondary Schools Programme 2015/16 – which will see us visit Secondary Schools across Ireland, providing information workshops on Autism to students, and challenging existing perceptions and attitudes towards people with Autism.
Last year, we reached students right across Ireland from Cork and Cavan to Donegal and Dublin to Roscommon and Kilkenny. We spent significant time last year training school speakers around Ireland, who will undertake school visits in their local communities in the year ahead.
All volunteers must go through an application and vetting process and also attend two training days in Dublin (one initial introduction and one intensive training day). Visiting schools is an incredibly powerful way for us as a community (people with Autism, parents/family members and professionals) to tell our story and work towards a more inclusive, understanding Ireland for people with Autism!
The AsIAm Secondary School Workshop takes place over 90 minutes and involves talking about Autism in the context of difference generally, a difference which brings challenges, opportunities and even strengths. The workshop gives a voice to people with Autism and their past experiences of Secondary School, gives students an attention-grabbing experience of Autism and also empowers students to consider how THEY can be more Autism friendly. While the workshop is a once-off event, AsIAm will work to maintain active relationships with schools through the “Autism-friendly charters” students draft in the workshop, coming up with ideas as to how they, as students, can be more Autism-friendly.
A huge amount of time and work is invested into personalising workshops to match the individual needs and concerns of a school and any student with Autism in the school or their family. This year, the programme will also see us conduct research into Autism-awareness in Secondary School and the impact of our workshops
We are still looking for more volunteers in many parts of the country and have a number of training opportunities in between now and the end of September, if you are interested in being a part of the initiative please email info@asiam.ie and we will be in touch with the relevant application forms!
If you are interested in hosting an AsIAm School Workshop please email the above address and we can send you the relevant application form
