The First Training Programme for Evergreen Primary School Educators and Staff Working with Autistic Children in Mainstream Classroom Settings

I am pleased to announce that I will be conducting my first training session for teachers and staff at Evergreen Primary School in order to help them to work with autistic students in their classrooms and school settings. I consider this a tremendous opportunity and privilege to be able to support the teachers in their challenging endeavours, while serving as a voice for many parents of autistic children who are encountering difficulties in mainstream classroom settings.

Here is a synopsis of the concise training programme that will take place for three subsequent Mondays in January and February 2007:

Session 1: Profile of an Autistic Child – Problems and Challenges Faced by an Autistic Student in the Mainstream Classroom Setting

In this session, I will provide an introductory profile of an autistic child, which will capture the complexity of the nature of the condition of autism. We will explore the profile by addressing the following areas: a) social/communication; b) academic; c) sensory; and d) behavioural. What this introductory session will do is to challenge educators to suspend their conventional thinking about how typical people think to take into consideration the perspective of the autistic student. Thus, they can have an improved understanding of the problems and challenges faced by autistic students in the mainstream classroom settings.

In small groups, we can apply the information to the students the educators encounter in their classrooms so that they can have an even more realistic conception of autistic children.

Session 2: Interaction Strategies with Autistic Children -- An Integrated Approach Based on Existing Best Practices

This session will provide a concise overview of the best practices of the diverse approaches commonly used to interact with autistic children such as Behavioural Management and Floortime. How these approaches can be integrated and utilised in the classroom will be discussed. In addition, various types of communication strategies (verbal and non-verbal) and tools such as PECS books, visual schedules and social stories are used to reinforce an autistic child’s understanding of classroom expectations.

Session 3: Functional Behavioural Assessments (FBA) in the Classroom -- How to Map out an Individualised and Customised Intervention for Your Autistic Student

Educators (both in the mainstream and special needs settings) will be trained to conduct functional behavioural assessments (FBAs) to deal with autistic students who display behavioural difficulties that undermine their ability to succeed in the classroom. In addition, educators will learn how to formulate strategies and programmes to eliminate the undesirable behaviours. Finally, they will learn how to perform an assessment of the outcomes of these strategies and programmes.

The objective of this session is to enable educators to design an individualised and customised intervention programme for their autistic students, which will incorporate interaction strategies and communication tools identified and discussed in the previous session.

During the session, educators can utilise actual case studies of their own students and apply their theoretical learning. Working in pairs, educators can help one another to develop their game plan, before presenting and justifying it to the rest of the group.

Note: Due to teacher training sessions, parent training sessions can only be held after the first week of February. Parents who are interested can contact me for possible dates at 8163-4509 or kchoo7@gmail.com.

In Memory of Ing Yong Chien -- Illustrator of All Because of the Hummingbird... or the Horse

Last night, Ing Yong Chien, the illustrator of All Because of the Hummingbird... or the Horse, passed away. To those of us who have had the honour and privilege to have known him and interacted with him, he was an extraordinary individual of utmost purity and integrity.

I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Yong Chien on the picture book project. Throughout this collaboration, he demonstrated his professionalism, his intuitive insights about life, his compassion and his desire to make the world a better place through his art.

More than just a talented artist, Yong Chien was a courageous and earnest young man who fought valiantly to live his life, in spite of his illness. Most important of all, he was my friend and my kindred spirit. I have been blessed beyond measure to have known him.

The world just got a little dimmer because we have lost a star...