Autism advocates has been set up to meet the needs of students with autism throughout a setting. We recognised a growing need to provide a more responsive and cohesive service within schools as supporting young people on the spectrum is not a ‘one size fits all’ solution.
We support and mentor specific staff to provide tailored person centred support for students; these ‘autism advocates’ are trained and mentored by specialists on our team, in order to promote further autism acceptance throughout a setting. The autism advocates provide a first port of call for young people and their parents or carers and their teachers so that small problems can be overcome before they escalate into bigger issues.
We can provide Online Communication Clinics for schools for advice for pupils on a no names basis and 1:1 online sessions during school time with students and liaison with staff.
Emily Willingdale and Emma Witten are the autism advocates at The Cottesloe School. They are finding that acceptance and awareness by staff and peers of the key areas of difference of young people on the spectrum is promoting better inclusion throughout the school.