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Explore effective strategies for working with autistic learners.

Course outline

This course includes two online workshops, and an optional, four-week, facilitated support module. The module takes a minimum of 1-2 hours of engagement per week.

Participants will have the opportunity to practise and reflect on the new learning and exchange experiences and ideas with each other and the facilitator.

The course is offered by Ako Aotearoa in partnership with Altogether Autism.

Drawing on survey data from autistic tertiary learners and their whānau, as well as published research, Altogether Autism, supported by the Tertiary Education Commission, has created new guidelines to help tertiary educators better support their autistic learners.

This course will use the guidelines to help participants develop a deeper understanding of the specific challenges autistic tertiary learners face, and explore strategies that can support autistic learners to have a more positive tertiary experience.

Topics covered

• What is autism?
• Challenges faced by autistic learners: Communication, executive function, mental health, self-advocacy, sensory experiences and social interactions.
• Strategies for working with autistic learners.

About the facilitator

Rachael Wiltshire is a Live Chat Agent/Researcher at Altogether Autism. She found out she was autistic when she was 12 and has been passionate about supporting other autistic people ever since. This passion has seen her present at the Altogether Autism conferences in 2015 and 2017, and at the Aspect Autism in Education conference in Brisbane in 2018. Before moving into the Live Chat role, Rachael was a member of Altogether Autism’s Consumer Advisory Panel from 2020-2023.

Rachael completed her Bachelor of Creativity in Commercial Dance at Te Auaha in 2021, and currently dances at events around Wellington with Society Event Entertainment. She spent 2023 studying towards her Master of Intercultural Communication and Applied Translation at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington. She is especially passionate about education, and regularly tutors NCEA students.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course you will be able to:

• recognise and describe some of the challenges autistic learners face in the tertiary education environment, and why these challenges occur
• apply strategies in your teaching practice to mitigate some of these challenges.

Who is this course for?

This course is for anyone who works with autistic learners and would like to learn how to support them better.

Ako Aotearoa badges

Participants can earn Ako Aotearoa digital badges as evidence of participation and completion of course requirements.

Please read these Terms and Conditions before you register.