The aim of this training course is to develop our practice to best meet the needs and progress the social, emotional, communicative and academic development in our learners/service users with special educational needs. Whilst there is a greater emphasis on Autism and its common comorbidities of Sensory Processing Disorders, ADHD and Pathological Demand Avoidance, the general strategies and ideas given are beneficial to all our learners/client users with a wide range of additional needs.
Please note that this is a progressive course and all 3 sessions should be attended.
LEVEL 2: (3 hours)
• PDA- what to do when the answer is always no!
- A brief overview of the research into PDA and how it presents in pupils with autism.
- A look into best practice for children presenting with PDA traits. An overview of how we can have high behavioural and learning expectations of children with PDA without triggering their innate avoidance of demands.
• Sensory Teaching Techniques.
- A look into how we can integrate sensory techniques into our lessons/course content. We will have a look at how to create engaging sensory stories, you can take any book and make it into a sensory sensation! This will include examples of whole class/group sensory stories more suited to specialist provisions and examples of creating individual or small group sensory packs that are highly beneficial in a mainstream setting.
- We will also look at creating and delivering engaging inputs that make learning irresistible to the pupils. These inputs will span the entire Curriculum enabling you to create a Sensory Syllabus within your classroom, this will apply to the National Curriculum, the Pre-Key Stage Assessment, and the Engagement Model.
• The Power of Play.
- An overview of how we can use purposeful play within our curriculum/course content to develop key social, emotional, and communicative skills.
- A look at when and how play becomes purposeful and how we can move our learners/service users through the 4 stages of play- solitary play, parallel play, symbolic play, and cooperative play.
- Examples of how to include play into your curriculum/course content in a way that enhances learning. This includes practical ideas for sensory play, role play and strategies to support sharing.
