AsIAm is proud to launch the Teach Me AsIAm Workshop series to educate and care for autistic children in early years settings! The Teach Me AsIAm Workshop Series is brought to you by National Pyjama Day with Early Childhood Ireland, the Community Foundation of Ireland, and Ireland’s National Autism Charity – AsIAm.
The workshops will present best practices in working with autistic children in early years childhood settings in Ireland. The workshops are themed by the most requested topics in the early years sector to cater to a widely neurodiverse population of children. Each workshop will be followed by a Community of Practice session that will highlight the practical implementation of the research. This will be a wonderful opportunity to learn from one another and to provide autism-friendly services in our early years settings. On completion of the workshop series attendees will receive a certificate of attendance. The core components of this series are the inclusion of the autistic voice, and all that support inclusive practices in early years.
A Community of Practice will be established during the first session. A group of no more than 5 practitioners discuss together a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. Moving forward from the workshop series, each attendee will have their experiences heard and respected. All will be facilitated to learn from fellow members of early years settings and their experiences. This will aid the practical learnings from the workshop series.
The workshops will be co-presented by. Zarah Doyle, who is the Training Manager in AsIAm. Zarah has a Master of Education in Early Intervention from Trinity College Dublin where she focused research on the lived experience of the families of autistic children. Zarah has worked with many families with children ranging from the ages of 2 years to 18 years. Zarah is also a parent to three children, her eldest son is an autistic teen, and she is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of a social enterprise called SparkAbility CLG.
Amanda Mc Guinness, who is a Training Officer in AsIAm. Amanda is a Law Graduate and is currently undertaking a Master of Childhood Speech Language and Communication Needs at University Galway. She is a Visual Supports Specialist and Autism Consultant, supporting autistic individuals and their families since 2015 through her social platforms “Little Puddins” and “The Autism Educator”. Amanda is an autistic self-advocate and parent to 4 children, 3 of whom are autistic.
The calendar for the series of workshops is as follows.
October 25th 7pm-8.30pm Workshop 1: Introduction to Autism and the Teach Me AsIAm Workshop Series
November 8th 7pm- 8.30pm Community of Practice Session 1
November 29th 7pm-8.30pm Workshop 2: Autism and Communication
December 13th 7pm-8.30pm Community of Practice Session 2
January 10th 7pm- 8.30pm Workshop 3: Autism and Sensory Regulation
January 31st 7pm-8.30pm Community of Practice Session 3
February 21st 7pm-8.30pm Workshop 4: Autism and Social and Emotional Development
March 14th 7pm-8.30pm Community of Practice Session 4
March 28th 7pm-8.30pm Workshop 5: Play environments
April 18th 7pm-8.30pm Community of Practice Session 5
May 16th 7pm-8.30pm Workshop 6: Family Centred Practice
May 30th 7pm-8.30pm Community of Practice Session 6
With just 25% of our organisation’s running costs coming from the State, we must raise the balance through fundraising and outreach activities. The autistic community needs our support, we need your support
AsIAm wants to ensure that autistic people are afforded the Same Chance in every aspect of life, from going to school and making friends, to finding a job and accessing public services.
Unfortunately, too often autistic people face barriers which others in society do not.
AsIAm is working to remove these barriers, through our wide range of support, information and advocacy programmes, but we need your support to continue to deliver this work.
DONATE today and support our Same Chance campaign
Feedback from Teach Me AsIAm learners!
“I really loved the language used to talk about autism, I felt that it gave me an insight into their world. It was very accessible and easy to understand.”
“Hearing about Autism from people with practical life experience and not just academic learning on the subject is always my favourite kind of learning.”
“Really glad these workshops are being rolled out to early years practitioners who are working with autistic children on a daily basis.”
