Autism Awareness On An International Scale

Two Caerphilly county borough schools were recently visited by representatives from the Autism Society of Latvia as part of a research project about autism provisions within education. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

A group of ten representatives visited Pantside Primary School and Trinity Fields School & Resource Centre on Thursday 9 February. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The visit aimed to demonstrate the benefits to pupils of good partnership working between schools, parents and medical professionals. The three day visit to Wales was arranged by the Wales Autism Research Centre and National ASD Development Team as part of their research into how increased identification of the signs of autism by front-line professionals is crucial for improving diagnostic referral and for enabling appropriate support from health, social care and education services. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Two key projects include the development of a campaign called SIGNS. The campaign has seen posters highlighting the signs of autism issued to all GP surgeries in Wales in the hope of identifying autism at an early stage. A second project being developed in partnership with the Welsh Local Government Association is ‘Learning with Autism’ which aims to help teachers recognise the signs of autism within the classroom. Both projects have been supported by Caerphilly County Borough Council. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr. Derek Havard, Cabinet Member for education and Lifelong learning said: “I am pleased that two Caerphilly county borough schools were able to take part in this scheme. Sharing best practice on how pupils with autism are supported within their school environment is very important, on both a local and global scale.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​