Autism Awareness Centre Inc.
Presents
 
March 5 & 6, 2010
Radisson Hotel Edmonton South, 4440 Gateway Blvd., Edmonton, Alberta

Friday, March 5
Carol Gray
Solving the Social Equation in Autism Spectrum Disorders

It is well documented that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD):

1. struggle to make accurate guesses about what the people around them are thinking and/or feeling;
2. have difficulty retrieving and sequencing information;
3. often miss the underlying meaning in social communication, and may
4. use logic and deduction to process the social information that others arrive at “intuitively”. Unable to quickly “get the gist” of what is happening, a day at school may be a frustrating  series of events, filled with directions that are misunderstood and failed interactions with peers. Understandably, a child with ASD may be attracted to pursuits in line with his/her strengths, i.e. topics and activities that are logical, meaningful, and thus, hold greater promise for success.

This fun and practical workshop uses lecture, demonstration, and activities to explore instructional strategies that directly address the core deficits in ASD through utilization of everyone’s strengths. This includes:

1. a research based rationale;
2. a very new FAST TRACK to quickly learn/review the Social Stories 10.1™, the most  recent defining criteria and guidelines for writing and implementing a Social Story, with demonstration of Social Stories™ in practice,
3. Solution Circles (a strategy developed by Pearpoint & Forrest), and
4. social learning strategies that systematically model and teach friendship concepts and skills.

Participants will learn:
1. about the cognitive theories that are relevant to teaching social concepts and skills (for example, theory of mind, central coherence, and executive function);
2. how to write and implement a Social Story;
3. how to work as a team with parents/professionals to effectively and efficiently address challenging behaviors and situations; and
4. how to build and promote friendly behavior and friendship opportunities among all children

Saturday, March 6
John Clements
Thoughts, Feelings and Behavior: Empathy and Analysis in Working Through the Behavioral and Emotional Difficulties of Children with ASD

The course will argue for identifying our concerns in terms of thoughts, feelings and behavior rather than just behavior on its own. From this starting point the contributors to these challenges will be identified – those to do with autism, those to do with the environment and those to do with the  interaction between the two. Approaches to assessment will be considered and an assessment aide provided. This will then lead into approaches to intervention. These will be discussed in terms of some of the common flashpoints:

1.  Requests
2.  Transitions
3.  Denials
4.  Unstructured/overloading situations

Practical interventions for these situations will be presented and their use illustrated by case studies. If time permits, there will then be a  general overview of two central areas of work:
-Maintaining social engagement
-Promoting personal well being

It is intended that as a result of the day’s work participants will:
1.  Gain greater understanding of the drivers behind the behavioral  difficulties that give rise to concern
2.  Have an enhanced ability to assess these difficulties
3.  Take away specific intervention ideas for the people with ASD that they support, in whatever capacity

REGISTRATION FEE SCHEDULE  

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATIONS February 26, 2010
See Cancellation Policy on back page of brochure.

PARENT/PARA-PROFESSIONAL       Before January 15                      
1 Day Only  $160.00 + $8.00 GST = $168.00 
2 Days        $260.00 + $13.00 GST = $273.00 
 
PROFESSIONAL     Before January 15                           
1 Day Only $195.00 + $9.75 GST = $204.75 
2 Days        $300.00 + $15.00 GST = $315.00

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER CONTACT:
Autism Awareness Centre Inc.
9331-151 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5R 1K1
Ph: (Toll Free) 1-866-724-2224 or 780-474-8355
Fax: 780-477-8350
E-mail: vharris@shaw.ca
www.autismawarenesscentre.org