How this presentation on Autism Awareness Works:

This Autism Awareness Presentation is designed to give the user an opportunity to learn more about autism and to build a general picture of the condition and how it impacts on a person with autism and their family.

The resources on the site are split into two parts, the first is the presentation on Autism Awareness and the second element is a Resource Centre containing additional short presentations on specific subject and also containing downloadable resources on items directly related to the content of the Autism Awareness presentation.

The Autism Awareness Presentation is split into 8 modules with each module covering a specific element of autism. Each module takes approximately 5 minutes to complete and the user can completed modules 1 to 8 in chronological order (recommended) or select a specific module from the module menu.

For more information on the content for each module, just click on the module title, on the panel opposite.

How to get started:

It’s really easy to get started. Just go to the “Course Start” link on the menu bar at the top of the page and complete the sign up procedure. It is necessary to create your own unique account so that you can track your own progress through the modules. If you don’t complete all of the modules in one sitting you will arrive back at the same point of progress when you sign in on your next visit. You can also revisit the site anytime you wish to look at specific elements of the presentation if you so wish. Once you create an account you will also have access to the extensive Resource Centre.

Email addresses registered on this site are not shared with any other third party and you will not receive any unsolicited emails or other correspondence from this website.

GET STARTED

Please Note: This site has been developed to support Autism Awareness in the Irish Public Sector but other visitors with an interest in autism awareness are also very welcome to use this resource.

For an overview on each module, just click on the title below for a short description.

This section will cover the Autistic Spectrum and explains the range of conditions commonly referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). It will explain how no two people with autism are the same but that they will share characteristics of the condition. It will explain that the spectrum covers people with severe/profound autism to very high functioning individuals with Asperger Syndrome and give an overview of the mains traits of these categorisations.
This part of the presentation will look at the main traits of autism and how they manifest themselves in individuals with autism as they appear on the autism spectrum. It will address the commonalities of the condition and the unique traits of individual classifications of autism.
This section of the presentation will look at how autism impacts the person with the condition. It will give the user an insight into how people with autism perceive the world around them and the issues that they face in their day to day lives. It will look at behavioural, sensory, communication, life skills and social skills deficits as a result of their diagnosis of autism.
Many people with autism are not capable, through no fault of their own, of managing day to day tasks and rely heavily on family members, carers or guardians to help them with these tasks. It is very likely that a staff member in the Public Sector will deal with a family member acting on behalf of the person with autism and this can often be a very emotional situation. It is therefore important that the staff member has an understanding of the impact that an autism diagnosis can have on the family of that person.
This element of the presentation will cover the prevalence of autism both in Ireland and internationally and the huge growth in autism spectrum diagnosis in the last 10 years. It will also look at the societal impact of autism in the coming years.
The majority of people with autism have sensory issues which feed into their ability to self manage their emotions and behaviours. In this part of the presentation we will give an overview of how sensory challenges impact on people with autism and how to create a good sensory environment.
Many people with autism have difficulties with anxiety which feed into their ability to self manage their emotions and behaviours. In this part of the presentation we will give an overview of how anxiety and social anxiety impact on people with autism.
The ability to communicate effectively with a person with autism is key in establishing their needs. In this section we will identify the possible impediments to effective communication and offer strategies that will assist in opening effective channels of communication.