Promoting Wellbeing, Reducing Burnout: Development and Evaluation of Neurodiversity Affirming 'Supporting Autistic Students' Online Course
Tracks
Tamborine Gallery - In-Person Only
| Wednesday, March 26, 2025 |
| 10:55 AM - 11:15 AM |
Overview
Lydia Meem, Autism Understanding
Presenter
Ms Lydia Meem
Clinical Psychologist
Autism Understanding
Promoting Wellbeing, Reducing Burnout: Development and Evaluation of Neurodiversity Affirming 'Supporting Autistic Students' Online Course
Abstract
Introduction:
Supports and accommodations for autistic students are essential for student wellbeing and engagement. Improving identification, support and accommodation of Autistic students were key recommendations of the Senate inquiry into school refusal (now understood as School Can't). Understanding and celebrating autistic brain styles, using teaching strategies to make learning more accessible for all brain styles, and creating safe places to unmask is essential for student wellbeing. However many teachers and teacher aides don't feel confident implementing neurodiversity affirming strategies.
Objectives:
To develop an on-demand online course for primary and secondary teachers and teacher aides with practical autism strategies for the classroom and playground.
Method/ approach:
In 2022, a series of 10 online workshops for 30 teachers 'Supporting Autistic Students: Your Questions Answered' were presented by a neurodivergent clinical psychologist. The recordings were edited and quizzes were created to form a 10-module course (11 hours of content).
The modules were:
1. Latest autism diagnostic criteria changes
2. Causes of autism and why we don't need a cure
3. Special interests and passions, opportunities to engage
4. Communication styles and the Double Empathy Problem
5. Neurodiversity and thinking styles
6. Social interaction styles and creating opportunities around interests
7. Sensory preferences and sensitivities
8. Preferences around sameness and routine, easing transitions
9. Repetitive movement and stims, moving to listen and learn
10. Planning for life after school, finding your tribe
Results:
From May 2023 to September 2024, 135 people enrolled in Supporting Autistic Students. A quality improvement questionnaire was emailed to all participants. This informed the development of a pre/post quality improvement questionnaire design for participants who joined the course from October 2024.
Conclusions: The Supporting Autistic Students course encourages teachers to reflect on their own practice. Course participants reported increased confidence in implementing neurodiversity affirming autism strategies with their students.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Importance of identification, neurodiversity affirming supports and accommodations for improving the wellbeing of Autistic students and preventing Autistic burnout and School Can't
2. Free Neurodivergent Student Profile resource for gathering and sharing information to support an Autistic child or young person
3. Supporting Autistic Students online course is a helpful resource for teachers, teacher aides, professionals working with children and young people, and parents who want to advocate for supports and accommodations for their child or young person at school
Supports and accommodations for autistic students are essential for student wellbeing and engagement. Improving identification, support and accommodation of Autistic students were key recommendations of the Senate inquiry into school refusal (now understood as School Can't). Understanding and celebrating autistic brain styles, using teaching strategies to make learning more accessible for all brain styles, and creating safe places to unmask is essential for student wellbeing. However many teachers and teacher aides don't feel confident implementing neurodiversity affirming strategies.
Objectives:
To develop an on-demand online course for primary and secondary teachers and teacher aides with practical autism strategies for the classroom and playground.
Method/ approach:
In 2022, a series of 10 online workshops for 30 teachers 'Supporting Autistic Students: Your Questions Answered' were presented by a neurodivergent clinical psychologist. The recordings were edited and quizzes were created to form a 10-module course (11 hours of content).
The modules were:
1. Latest autism diagnostic criteria changes
2. Causes of autism and why we don't need a cure
3. Special interests and passions, opportunities to engage
4. Communication styles and the Double Empathy Problem
5. Neurodiversity and thinking styles
6. Social interaction styles and creating opportunities around interests
7. Sensory preferences and sensitivities
8. Preferences around sameness and routine, easing transitions
9. Repetitive movement and stims, moving to listen and learn
10. Planning for life after school, finding your tribe
Results:
From May 2023 to September 2024, 135 people enrolled in Supporting Autistic Students. A quality improvement questionnaire was emailed to all participants. This informed the development of a pre/post quality improvement questionnaire design for participants who joined the course from October 2024.
Conclusions: The Supporting Autistic Students course encourages teachers to reflect on their own practice. Course participants reported increased confidence in implementing neurodiversity affirming autism strategies with their students.
Three Key Learnings:
1. Importance of identification, neurodiversity affirming supports and accommodations for improving the wellbeing of Autistic students and preventing Autistic burnout and School Can't
2. Free Neurodivergent Student Profile resource for gathering and sharing information to support an Autistic child or young person
3. Supporting Autistic Students online course is a helpful resource for teachers, teacher aides, professionals working with children and young people, and parents who want to advocate for supports and accommodations for their child or young person at school
Biography
Lydia is a neurodivergent clinical psychologist and founder of Autism Understanding psychology practice in Newcastle, NSW. Lydia has worked with neurodivergent individuals since 1998, provided autism assessments from 2003. Lydia created the Neurodiversity Affirming Clinician online learning hub, which includes 15 courses, with a mix of on-demand and live webinars, resources, tools, case studies, sample reports and sample letters to assist practitioners to feel confident in neurodiversity affirming practices. She is the author of Beyond IQ Scores: A handbook for clinicians providing neurodiversity affirming cognitive and developmental assessments. She also developed a 10-module Supporting Autistic Students online course for teachers.
