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Sat 19th April | Sun 11th May | Sat 17th May |Sun 8th June | Sat 14th June

For professionals who support Autistic adults

“I would highly recommend the course to any professional wishing to provide a more informed and ethical support for their neurodivergent clients. The tutors are all very knowledgeable in their field of expertise and I was provided with a wealth of further reading and resources to keep for future use.”

Robert Patterson Robert Patterson, IACP-accredited Psychotherapist & Clinical Supervisor, Kerry, Ireland

“A truly insightful and transformative experience for me. The course felt like an immersion in the lived experience of an autistic person. The trainers are autistic themselves and the majority of my classmates happened to also be neurodivergent. This made it a unique learning experience for me which has impacted me both professionally and personally since. Highly recommend this for all psychotherapists.”

Grace Harrison Grace Harrison, Student Counsellor & Psychotherapist, University of Galway

“It’s been an enlightening and eyeopening course for me, from start to finish. I’ve learnt so much and have had to rethink so much over the last few months. Thank you all at Ausome Training for facilitating that experience!”
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Mary Flynn, Cognitive Scientist & Trainee Psychotherapist
“Very helpful for me professionally and personally- I think the most useful course I have done since qualifying.”
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Dawn Graduate course feedback
“Extremely helpful. From the first day I have been more aware and adapted my practice. It was exactly what I had hoped for.”
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Dawn Graduate course feedback
“Personally, it has helped me in too many ways to mention. Professionally, it is hard to measure, but there are at least 3 people that now know they are Autistic – neither I nor they knew before I did this course.”
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Dawn Graduate course feedback

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RIGHTS-BASED TRAINING & MENTORING

Welcome to DAWN – our 10-day online program for professionals who support Autistic adults in a therapeutic or clinical setting

Dawn is a unique neurodiversity-affirming approach, designed and delivered by our award-winning trainers who are Autistic themselves.

You will be immersed in Autistic experiences so that you can recognise and support your clients with a sensitivity that understands the trauma experienced by our community. A combination of practical skills-based training, a strong theoretical overview, and ongoing community mentoring will help you support your clients in the most effective and ethical way.

Places are strictly limited to 25 participants, so early booking is advised. IACP CPD recognised and awarded 60 CPD points.

dawn mind map

Course Overview

Course lenght

10 days over 6 months, running from 10am-5pm Irish Time each day
Convert your time zone.

Course dates

2024/2025 dates: Sat 12 Oct | Sun 20 Oct | Sat 9 Nov | Sat 30 Nov | Sun 8 Dec 2024
Sat 11 Jan | Sat 25 Jan | Sun 9 Feb | Sat 22 Feb | Sat 8 March 2025
All sessions take place online on Zoom.

Course costs

Full fee: €1,250.
Go to our product page and use the converter at the top to see how much it is in your currency.
Payment plans are available at no extra cost, just contact us!

Ready to Neurodiversify your practice?

Dawn is ideal for helping professionals such as Counsellors, Psychotherapists, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, GPs, Nurses, Coaches, Play Therapists, Art Therapists, Drama and Music or Dance Therapists who work with adult clients in a therapeutic or clinical setting.

Participants who complete this 10-day course will gain skills and strategies to deeply understand and meet the needs of their Autistic clients.

  • Create a trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming workspace, communication style & therapeutic approach for your Neurodivergent clients.
  • Learn how to recognise Autistic people beyond the narrow confines of the medical model.
  • Become competent in supporting your clients through unmasking, late discovery, trauma, dealing with exclusion, addiction, low self-esteem and accompany them on their complex healing journey.
  • Learn to collaboratively identify relevant & realistic therapy goals.
  • Join our directory & community of like-minded professionals for continuous development & support.

This Programme will be facilitated online via Zoom.

Assessment:

Choice between a presentation or an essay on your Individual Learning Summary based on your Reflective Learning Journal. Accommodations are available.

You can download our detailed course outline here.
For any questions, feel free to book a free consultation or email us.

There is currently a massive increase in adults either realising they are Autistic or being diagnosed as Autistic.

Growing up not knowing we are Autistic can take its toll on our mental health and overall wellbeing. Finding out we are Autistic brings a healing in itself.

Whether we are late-identified, unidentified, or identified as children: We often need significant support in building self-esteem, dealing with anxiety, trauma and a host of mental health and identity issues.

Unfortunately, there is a shortage of helping professionals who use Neurodiversity-affirming approaches towards Autistic adults.

Finding a neurodiversity-affirming therapist can make all the difference to an Autistic adult and their recovery. You might be the first person to ever truly recognise and validate your client as their Autistic self.

Your journey with us doesn’t end there!

Our views on the Autistic experience evolve constantly, which is why it is vital that we continue to listen and learn from the Autistic community.

Here are some ways you can stay connected:

Missed Time policy

1. If someone is going to be missing a day or part of a day, we will record the session(s) they are missing so that they can watch the recording and write up a 1,000-word summary of their understanding of the issues covered.

The recording is only made available to the participant(s) who have missed the time.

2. No more than a total of 1.5 days out of the whole course can be missed and compensated for in this way. Any further days missed have to be attended next time the course is run, in order to complete the course.

3. Day 8 (Demo and Skills Practice) must be attended in person, because there is no real learning benefit from listening to a recording of other people doing skills practice.

If more than half of this day is missed, it has to be attended next time the course is run, in order to complete the course.

4. If Day 10 (Presentation of Individual Learning Summary) is missed, one of the course trainers can make an individual arrangement for making the presentation (but a fee is payable for the trainer’s time).

5. Days 8 and 10 are not recorded, because participants are in “individual performance” mod

Take a deep dive into Dawn

Watch Dawn trainer Evaleen Whelton

Watch Dawn graduate Phil Gormley

Download our curriculum

dawn-course-outline

Watch Dawn trainer Eoin Stephens

your Autistic Trainers & Mentors

Eoin Stephens

Eoin Stephens

Psychotherapist & Counsellor

“As therapists, we need to adapt our therapeutic settings, approaches and goals to the particular ways Autistic people process the world.”

Evaleen

Evaleen Whelton

AUsome Founder & Speech and Drama Teacher

“Our community needs you. We need people to see beyond the medical model and to support us through the trauma of exclusion.”

Katie Munday

Katie Munday

Researcher & Consultant

“It’s important to listen to Autistic people, really listen to us. We are the experts in our experiences, and what could make our lives more liveable.”

Stiof Macamhalghaidh

Stiof Macamhalghaidh

Theorist & Subject Matter Expert

“Dignity is our soul. Joy is our sustenance. We have a lot to be proud of, and I say ‘we’ deliberately because the pride I feel in being Autistic is a shared experience as a member of a community.”

Katie Kerley

Katie Kerley

OT & Director of Horizons Therapy Services

“Enforcing neuro-normative standards of behaviour and occupation denies an Autistic person the right to their own individuality and the right to choose what is meaningful to them. This is an occupational justice issue as well as a human rights issue.”

Katie Kerley

Grace Harrison

Psychotherapist

“Immerse yourself in the lived experience of autistic people”.

Become part of our Network of neuro-affirming Professionals

All successful DAWN graduates will have the option to join our directory and monthly networking opportunities online.

Download our Brochure for info on all courses

dawn brochure

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