Cavan & Monaghan Konnect Program

Welcome

If you haven’t heard of us already then you can read more about us below but we are an Irish training provider. All of our team are Autistic and otherwise Neurodivergent. We provide training to professionals, educators, organisations and to families.

Our mission is to create a neuro-affirmative world by changing society and not Autistic people because we are perfect as we are!

An AUsome Story: Putting Autistic People at the Heart of Autism Training

Our story began in 2014 with a mission to create Autistic-led neurodiversity training designed and delivered by Autistic people. We recognized the need for Autistic-led training that would educate people on the realities of being Autistic and dispel the harmful myths and stigmas that surround our existence. Autistic people have long been shrouded in misunderstanding, and we are here to bridge that gap in understanding and remove the stigma.

Autistic-led Autism Training: Shaping a Better Narrative

At AUsome Training, we are proud to be an Autistic-led organization. Our dedicated team of Autistic professionals is passionate about creating a better world and rewriting the story for Autistic people of all ages. In addition to our comprehensive training programs, we have organized numerous events over the past number of years to raise positivity and genuine awareness. These events have featured and elevated Autistic voices, reaching thousands of parents, teachers, employers, therapists, and other professionals.

Making History: Ireland’s First All-Autistic Conference

One of the significant milestones in our journey occurred in 2019 when we hosted Ireland’s first-ever All-Autistic Conference in Cork. It was a groundbreaking event as it was the first time an autism conference featured exclusively Autistic presenters. We welcomed speakers from the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland, attracting an audience of 350 people and engaging another 5,000 online viewers. This conference marked an essential turning point in promoting progressive thinking and understanding of Neurodiversity.

And we did it all again in 2024 with Minding Autistic Minds Conference in Naas, Co. Kildare

Online Social Support for 9-17yr olds

We are really delighted to work with HSE to offer your children much needed support

Autistic children benefit HUGELY from spending time with other Autistic children. As children hit tween and teen stages socialising can become increasingly more difficult.

Our Konnect program includes a 40 min session on zoom each week for 8 weeks. Groups will be divided by age.

Children can take part in a way that suits them. Some might prefer to leave their camera off, others might prefer to use the chat function instead of talking aloud, others might have a preference to listen and watch- all types of participation are welcome.

Some young people might benefit from having a parent nearby and that’s ok too. Non-speaking young people are very welcome.

This is an Autistic-led, low-pressure environment where children can come together to talk about things that they need to talk about and to connect with other like-minded kids and teens.

The sessions will be child-led so the group will decide what they’d like to cover each week.

Suggested topics are:

  • Self-advocacy
  • Understanding our sensory needs
  • Understanding Autistic communication
  • Decoding non-autistic communication
  • Nurturing our Autistic Identity
  • Minding our sensitive selves
  • Consent
  • Setting good boundaries
  • Monotropism and transitions
  • Minding our minds

No, because we now understand through research and listening to Autistic people that Autistic people do not lack social skills. We actually communicate really well with other Autistic people.

Difficulties arise when we communicate with people who are not Autistic as they have difficulty reading and responding to us and vice versa.

We will look at different ways people communicate and validating your child’s way of communicating.

It’s important that care-givers understand that teaching Autistic children social skills is a thing of the past.

If your child’s school or therapist is still using old ways then it would be a good idea to direct to them to this helpful article

Once you respond to your local HSE team’s letter they will give us your details and we will be in touch with information on how you can book in for Konnect

What can I do in the meantime?

We have lots of info on Autistic social skills on our Youtube Channel

You can watch that here