Tips for Autism Course

By Kristen Anuik | Posted: Wednesday July 5, 2017

"It takes a community to raise a child. To raise a child with ASD takes a community who are knowledgeable, committed and prepared to work together. No one person can do it alone.

Tips for Autism is a 3 day course offered to schools and parents in New Zealand every year,  and it is funded by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. It is an opportunity for teams to spend three days together learning and developing plans for their child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Teams must include the child's teacher and parent(s), and can also include the Teacher Aide, SENCO, MoE lead worker, Speech Language Therapists, RTLB, the child's caregiver, or anyone else who is involved in the child's life. 

Each course has two  facilitators: one who has experience parenting a child with ASD so that parents can feel supported and heard, and the other is a school specialist in the field of Autism. The course is made up of a balance of professional information and personal experiences from the facilitators, and focused time in teams to discuss individual goals for the child. 

I attended a TIPS course last year, and another one last week for students at Kaikorai. Both times I walked away with a wealth of new knowledge, a consolidation of information I already knew and best of all, a detailed plan with specific goals, teaching strategies and resource options to implement at school and at home to ensure success for the child. 

I would recommend this course to anyone who has a child with ASD in their family. It is the only course I've been to that is extremely child focused, and you complete the course with a positive outlook for moving forward. 

If you would like more information, please visit their website:

www.tipsforautism.org.nz

Mrs Ferguson (SENCO)