The Hampshire Autistic Society offers help and advice to people on the autism spectrum, their carers and professionals across the South of England. Here, they talk about their autism awareness and training scheme.

Adult care training

Hampshire Autistic Society successfully tendered to Hampshire County Council in August 2010 to deliver 'Awareness of Autism and Asperger Syndrome' training to all staff working in adult care in Hampshire.

The training day covers the following:

Lesson aims (trainer's intentions):

  • To provide basic knowledge and practical advice when supporting people with autism/Aspergers.
  • To share trainers' experience and strategies to support communication and behaviour.


Specific learning objectives:

All staff will be able to:

  • define autism and Asperger syndrome and describe how they may differ
  • explore 'the myths'
  • name the areas of the 'Triad of Impairments' and their possible effects on the person
  • describe the importance of sensory issues and its relationship to the triad
  • describe augmentative and alternative communication systems and how they can provide support 
  • define the most up-to-date theories relating to autism and Asperger syndrome – including the Autism Act 2009 and Fulfilling and rewarding lives: the strategy for adults with autism in England
  • define challenging behaviour
  • explore behaviours that could be classed as challenging and the messages they may be conveying.


Training and learning is given a high priority within Hampshire Autistic Society. To ensure learning is accessible and effective for external staff attending autism awareness training, all 'learning styles' – visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (VAK) – are covered within each lesson plan. Aims and objectives are also clearly outlined, as well as ground rules and confidentiality, and training is delivered using a variety of methods, including presentation, interaction and search and discovery. An assessment element, some more formal than others, is a key component of the lesson plan. All participants are encouraged to complete a reflective account following the training, which can be used for discussion with line managers and as evidence for work place qualifications eg NVQ/Diploma in Health and Social Care.

The training and development team need to be informed of any specific learning difficulty for any staff attending training, so that additional help and support mechanisms can be put in place. If a participant has been diagnosed with dyslexia, then the trainers ensure that specific needs are met ie coloured card/paper, coloured acetates, large print handouts and static visual aids/PowerPoint slides. PowerPoint use is kept to a minimum and slides only have bullet points, in order to help visual learners. Trainers are also able to give information regarding help and support with literacy and numeracy learning deficits, through Foundation Learning (Skills for Life) opportunities with local providers.

Hampshire Autistic Society has in place a therapy team, including a speech and language therapist and occupational therapist, plus a behaviour support team, and the trainers have access to this specialist expertise and knowledge.

All Hampshire Autistic Society trainers (all qualified to train) have a wealth of autism-specific knowledge, understanding and experience that is used to illustrate learning points within each training course and answer in full the questions raised by participants in training.

To find out more, contact:

Teresa Sayer-Smith
Training and Development Manager
Hampshire Autistic Society
Anglesey Lodge
Anglesey Road
Alverstoke, Gosport
Hampshire PO12 2DX

Emergency services training

Initially it was agreed with our training department that the outreach team would deliver an autism awareness presentation, which was developed to give an overview of the Hampshire Autistic Society services, autism traits and behaviours, strategies to support and the Alert Card Project.

Police

Due to the fact that the Hampshire Constabulary were the first emergency service we engaged with and that the catalyst for this was the Alert Card project, it was agreed that part of the project would be for key staff (chosen by the police) to undergo specific autism training from our training department. This was delivered in three sessions. Further autism awareness was undertaken by the outreach team through custody suites, police stations and supporting agencies within the police, such as the Criminal Records Office.

Posters have been developed to raise internal awareness and all officers have guidelines of Dos and Don'ts (there is ongoing issuing of this leaflet at all training and new recruitment sources) when working with someone with autism. They also have aide memoires within their notebooks to raise awareness of the Alert Card. Our outreach team are also discussing being an integral part of the update custody training delivered annually to officers in custody (e-learning when completed).

Fire and Rescue

Due to the size and number of the stations and personnel, there has been two delivery methods: our outreach team has presented to stations/watches on an individual basis; and we are in the process of developing an e-learning package, which we have agreed to share with the Hampshire Constabulary and South Central Ambulance Service. There are posters raising awareness and guidelines similar to the police on the Dos and Don'ts, with aide memoires in all operational vehicles. We are also working with the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) to develop an operational briefing document, which will become part of the operational manual.

Ambulance

This is still in its early stages. However, there will be a similar system to that of the Fire Brigade, with autism awareness being delivered to individual ambulance ports of South Central Ambulance Service. The lead for the project has also attended the HAS autism training and further consideration will be given to how to deliver this. Posters and leaflets are again being used to raise awareness (e-learning when completed).

In addition to this, through the Criminal Justice Autism Group, training, outreach and briefings have been delivered to the police, Police Authority (including independent custody advisors and appropriate adults), Her Majesty's Court Services (including magistrates), legal services (eg duty solicitors), youth offending teams (eg civil enforcement ASBO teams and wardens), Her Majesty's Prison Winchester and probation services (including Community Payback teams).

To find out more about the Hampshire Autistic Society, contact:

Karen Templeton-Mepstead
Project Manager (Outreach)
Hope Lodge School
22 Midanbury Lane
Bitterne Park
Southampton SO18 4HP
Tel: 02380 633951
E-mail: karen.templeton-mepstead@has.org.uk
Website: www.has.org.uk