Free training
On social media I am seeing more and more opportunities for free autism training. Sounds great (except for those who run training businesses).
But it has made me think about what is the most important thing when it comes to learning about autism at any level?
Having delivered autism training in many different situations over the last 30 years, without doubt, the most important thing is the opportunity for the learner to ask questions, to translate the theories into what it means for the autistic people they know, their family members, the people they work with.
During the pandemic, despite the guidelines, the most common query was ‘what do the guidelines actually mean for me…in my particular situation’.
Only a small minority of people live in a typical nuclear family which the guidelines seemed to be written for. Most people don’t live in family units with 2 parents, 2 children, and a couple of grandparents, two streets away.
Most autistic people don’t fit the training courses view of the ‘typical autistic person’.
So…whatever training in autism you choose//deliver/recommend, make sure there is an opportunity to ask ‘What does that actually mean for me, for my family, for the person I work with?’