Autism Mainstream School Singapore

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have core difficulties in social interaction and communication, as well as inflexibility in thoughts and behaviours. For students with ASD in Mainstream schools, despite having the intellectual ability to learn mainstream curriculum, their core difficulties often made it challenging for them to understand the social expectations and cope with the social demands in school.

In order to provide good support for students with ASD, it is important to understand their unique thought processes about the varied social situations. There are also many effective strategies and techniques that can be easily used with students with ASD to help them cope better with the social demands in the environment. In this 1-day workshop, we will be sharing many examples of how students with ASD perceived their environment as well as covering all the important strategies that will be helpful for these students to cope well in the school setting.

This skills training has 4 major components.

Part 1 covers an overview of the difficulties and needs of students with ASD in the school setting. Participants will get to understand how students with ASD see and understand the world, as well as how they respond to their environment.
Part 2 focuses on teaching participants about the learning needs of students with ASD. Autism friendly educational strategies will be shared.
Part 3 looks at the struggles of students with ASD in dealing with the varied social situations in school. Varied strategies to help students with ASD in their social skills will be shared.
Lastly, Part 4 covers the emotional issues that students with ASD commonly faced in schools. We will be sharing some strategies that will be helpful for the students to deal with their emotions effectively.

This workshop is designed especially for professionals that are working with students with ASD who has the ability to access mainstream curriculum. Parents who are keen to support their child in their school coping will also find this course insightful.

Course Duration: 7 hours

Part A: Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Core impairments in individuals with ASD – Triads of impairment
How these impairments are presented in the school setting?
Seeing the world from the Autism lens
Tapping on the strengths of individuals with ASD in supporting their growth
Other issues in individuals with ASD
Sensory issues
Emotion Regulation issues
Co-morbid mental health issues
- ADHD in Autism
- Anxiety in Autism, etc.

Part B: Supporting the Learning Needs of students with ASD

Structuring the environment to improve attention and engagement in class
Strategies to aid learning and development of good work habits
Practice Time
Case Studies on specific learning issues (in setting relevant to the audience)
- Discussion and application of strategy
- Presentation from all groups
Feedback and addressing any obstacles that are anticipated in the application of strategies

Part C: Supporting Social Coping in School

Social demands that are commonly challenging for students with ASD in school
How will they show these challenges?
Strategies in supporting the student’s social coping
Practice Time
Case Studies on specific social issues (in setting relevant to the audience)
- Discussion and application of strategy
- Presentation from all groups
Feedback and addressing any obstacles that are anticipated in the application of strategies

Part D: Supporting Emotional Coping in School

Anxiety and Anger
Common anxiety and anger behaviours and issues in school
Strategies to help students with anxiety and anger manage their emotions in school
Practice Time
Case studies on specific emotion-related issues (in setting relevant to the audience)
- Discussion and application of strategy
- Presentation from all groups
Feedback and addressing any obstacles that are anticipated in the application of strategies

Part E: Putting Things Together

Case studies – Drafting a plan to support the student with ASD on their learning, social and emotional coping in the various settings.
Working with families – Collaborating with parents and professionals to meet the student’s needs in school

Cindy Kua

Cindy Kua has more than 15 years of experience in providing therapy for children and adolescents (age 2+ to 19 years old) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Till date, Cindy has worked with hundreds of individuals with ASD, of all functioning levels. She has also provided many training workshops and talks for families as well as teachers and professionals on supporting children with ASD. Cindy has wide range of experience in working with children and adolescents with ASD; it ranges from being a therapist in the Early Intervention Programme (EPIC) at the Autism Association (Singapore), to being a Home- based Therapist, Educational Therapist, Shadow teacher and a Senior Psychologist in a child and adolescent mental health clinic (Neurobehavioural Clinic @ Child Guidance Clinic, IMH).Cindy is currently in private practice. Throughout her career in this field, she actively sought for opportunities to work with children with ASD in different settings so that she could gain good understanding of the difficulties of children with ASD across the different aspects of their functioning. Cindy holds a Master degree in Applied Psychology (Singapore) and a BSc in Psychology (Hon) (Singapore).

Available Funding

SkillsFuture Credit: Can be used to pay course fee fully or partially

NCSS (PCG Pre-Approval Funding): 40% ($240)

NTUC UTAP: NTUC union members enjoy 50% unfunded course fee support, capped at $250 or $500 (aged 40 years old and above)

It is suitable for:

Teachers, Counsellors, Allied Educators, School Leaders working with Individuals with High-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder
Therapists and other Professionals working with Individuals with High-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder
Parents of children or adolescents with ASD that are currently studying in Pre-schools, Primary and Secondary schools, Junior College, and Institutions

S$600

Cindy Kua

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