Our very popular parents conference is now available as a course “Parenting Your Autistic Child” on our e-learning platform. AUsome Parents Conference is an autism conference for parents of Autistic children. It is a parents autism course with a difference. Our autism course online teaches parents about autism from the Autistic viewpoint. It is the only autism conference in Ireland organised by Autistic trainers. Not only that but all of our presenters are Autistic themselves. And you don’t have to be in Ireland to avail of this wonderful autism course for parents.
If you want to know about autism then Autistic people can explain it to you. Most autism courses or training events unfortunately try to explain autism from the outside perspective or from the non-autistic perspective.
AUsome Training now brings you an online autism course specifically for parents of recently diagnosed children or of children who are awaiting diagnosis. AUsome Training has been supporting parents for years and there are common themes we have noticed. We have created an event that will address the needs of parents of newly diagnosed children.
AUsome Training knows that this can be an overwhelming time for parents because of the tragedy narrative around autism. There are overwhelming amounts of information available and unfortunately far too much misinformation. By attending our autism conference on parenting you can cut through all this misinformation and find out what you really need to know to raise a confident and happy Autistic child.
Our course on Parenting your Autistic child will give you the confidence to believe in your own skills and abilities as a parent. It will give you an understanding of how your child experiences the world. We are dedicated to creating better lives for Autistic children and adults so empowering parents is very much part of what we do best.
AUsome Training is changing the narrative
Our unique line up of Autistic conference speakers covers a range of topics to empower parents:
- Evaleen Whelton from AUsome Training and author of Konnect Social Skills Series will present on
” Communication: it’s a two-way thing!”
When we think of autism and social skills we may think of deficits. We may not know that those ideas are now very outdated. No one needs these outdated ideas where Autistic people need to be taught and trained how to behave in social situations. These sort of antiquated ideas only harm the Autistic sense of self. They also harm otherwise beautiful relationships between Autistic and non-autistic people. This presentation will help bridge the gaps in communication in the home and provide parents with practical strategies and tips to build wonderful relationships with their children. Communicating with your children effectively is a huge part of parenting your Autistic child.
- Melissa Murphy from Autistic Zebra . Melissa is an Autistic mother to two Autistic children.
Best ways to parent your Autistic Child
“From one parent to another: Useful resources”
“When you suspect, or have confirmed to you, that your child is autistic, where can you go for accurate information? It can be a very confusing and stressful position to be in. The internet is awash with information about autism, and there are hundreds of books on the subject, but how can you tell what’s helpful, and what’s not?
This was the conundrum Melissa faced when her son was diagnosed as autistic in 2015. And it’s a familiar problem for many parents today.
This talk aims to help parents access information that best supports them and their autistic children. Having the right information and support is paramount to parenting your Autistic child to develop authentically. This includes charities and organisations, blogs, websites, support groups, and books. It will also point out “red flags” to help you avoid problematic content.
As the saying goes “knowledge is power”. By helping parents access the best knowledge available, Melissa hopes to empower them to best help their children, and themselves.”
Autistic presenters will give you a totally different perspective
- Stiof MacAmhalghaidh , Autistic theorist and creator of The Munster Model will present on
‘My Self, My Space: Building confidence and control in young Autistics’
The ability of many Autistic parents to raise their Autistic children while avoiding a lot of the common struggles non-Autistic parents experience is a curious phenomenon that has become more and more obvious. When you ask, the answer often amounts to “you just know” and that’s the clue we start from.
Growing and developing a sense of your self, your space and your boundaries – and those of others – is at the heart of childhood development. Our cultures are designed to guide and support this process, and parents are themselves raised to internalise many skills subconsciously, know how to pick up on cues, have an instinct for interacting with their little one. They just know. It feels right. But if the child is Autistic, a range of factors get in the way and slow or halt the this development, throw parents off, and makes it all confusing.
It also can result in far too much stress for everyone involved, and leave Autistic children growing up feeling unsure of their boundaries, lacking confidence in their own senses and understanding, anxious of failure and unable to spread out and fill their space in the world.
Our world is just not set up for Autistic people, and that starts from day one. It is not set up to support parents of Autistic kids either. Understanding how and why that happens and what the impact is over time helps us adjust how we interact with Autistic children from newborn to adulthood.
At this online parents autism course we will discuss the idea of the extended self, and how each of us builds our sense of who we are around many overlapping ‘personal spaces.’ We will look at how knowing where your boundaries lie and feeling in control of the spaces within is the foundation for lifelong confidence and quality of life.
Book the course today to change your tomorrow
- Eoin Stephens is a psycotherapist who has worked on other events with AUsome Training over the past year. “Good Enough” – Minding your Mental Health as a Parent
As 2020 has shown us, ongoing intense uncertainty can put severe strain on our mental health. The adjustments that need to be made by the parents of a child who is or may be neurodivergent bring a lot of uncertainty, not least the uncertainty of knowing who to listen to for reliable information regarding the child’s wellbeing.
This is especially true for highly responsible, high standard, parents.
And of course, no matter how well parents may adjust, the outside world may not be so flexible, especially as the child grows towards and into adulthood.
The stresses that arise can be difficult to manage, but getting stuck in patterns such as worry, self-blame, or perfectionism only makes things worse.
This talk for parents of Autistic children will look at Cognitive-Behavioural ways to minimise and manage these unhelpful responses, helping to make the raising of a neurodivergent child the most positive experience possible for both parents and child. Read Eoin’s interview with us here
Informed parents raise a confident and happy Autistic child.
- Frank L Ludwig is an early years childcare worker who will present on “Autistic Play”. He will explain how Autistic play can differ from non-autistic play and how Autistic play should be embraced and encouraged.
Frank tells us:
“The Collins dictionary defines play as consisting of ‘games, exercise, or other activity undertaken for pleasure, diversion, etc’. And Wikipedia states that ‘play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment’. Accordingly there can’t be any way of ‘playing inappropriately’. And yet this is exactly what many autistic children are accused of. While autistic children may have other interests and approaches due to their individual nature, there is always purpose in their way of playing, even if that purpose isn’t obvious to others; for example, by lining up toys they may hone their counting skills or create subtle patterns, and by permanently spinning the wheels of their toy cars they may figure out the mechanics.
In my speech for this wonderful parents autism course I will demonstrate that all autistic play serves a purpose, and that suppressing autistic play means suppressing the individual development of the autistic child.” Read Frank’s interview with us here
AUsome Training empowers parents
- Karen Christine Wise and Damon Mathew Wise Âû are parents to Autistic children who will take part in our panel discussion on “Dealing with the System”.
They will take part in our panel discussion for parents on how to navigate diagnosis and the system. This is based on their own life experience as Autistic parents to Autistic children and years of advocacy for the Autistic Community. The information required by parents is being slowly steered away from a medical/professional stance. Karen and Damon’s experiences are an invaluable part of this parents autism course.
Their focus is on how to just enjoy the experience of having a child. Karen tells us “parents and family members get weary battling for treatments, services and education. I know because I have encountered these obstacles for over 20 years. I was too busy being an advocate and not being a parent. Every child has a unique personality and childhood. I learnt to describe my children by their diagnoses to the medical professionals and by their personality to their teachers and relatives. ” She also tells parents to “Come along and join the fun. We are real people, we have spouses and children. I have learned through experience and discrimination, how to navigate the insanity that is trying to access your legal entitlements in this country. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, learn from the experts.”
Navigating autism therapies
- Jay Jay Mudridge will present on “Navigating Autism Therapies”.
Jay Jay reframes an Autism diagnosis. And covers the dangers of Applied Behaviour Analysis for autism from a neurodiversity advocacy perspective. Parents will learn the history of and goals of Applied Behaviour Analysis. They will also learn about its relation to gay conversion therapy. Jay Jay will also share what adult autistics who have been through Applied Behaviour Analysis think about it.
This presentation will outline research on Applied Behaviour Analysis including studies that outline its association to PTSD. It will also highlight the impact of long-term ABA, the predatory nature of the Applied Behaviour Analysis industry. Jay Jay will give feasible alternative therapies to parents who want to raise their Autistic child authentically. JayJay will also speak to their own experience of enduring Applied Behaviour Analysis for twelve years and how they connect their experience in ABA to being groomed for trauma they endured later in life.
Jay Jay shared some of their experiences with Evaleen from AUsome Training in a recent interview for our youtube channel. Applied Behaviour Analysis (also shortened to ABA) is marketed to vulnerable parents as an “evidence- based” therapy for autism. But the ABA industry just created all this “evidence”. This “evidence” fails to represent that actual experiences from the people who have been subjected to it. The ABA industry with its powerful marketing persuades parents that it is the best thing for their child. And what parent doesn’t want what’s best for their child?
JayJay Mudridge is a non-binary Autistic adult, academic tutor, multiply published poet, hobbiest CrossFit athlete, and Applied Behaviour Analysis survivor. They are a neurodiversity advocate and run the facebook page Not Another Autistic Advocate where they attempt to dispel cultural myths about Autism and Autistics. Originally from County Waterford, Ireland, they reside in Massachusetts, USA with their trucks and dogs; when they aren’t reading books, they’re reading more books.
