KU’s Equity, Education and Support Team supports KU services with the inclusion of children with additional needs. In January 2022, the team welcomed three new permanent members, forming an ongoing Autism Support component within the team.
After the KU Marcia Burgess Autism Specific Early Learning and Care Centre, a service providing specialist support for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), amalgamated with KU Liverpool Preschool, three Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) Certified Therapists from KU Marcia Burgess ASELCC came together to form the Autism Support Team.
The newly created team consists of Rebecca Harrison, Autism Support Coordinator, and Linda Johnson and Anita Cvijic, Autism Support Facilitators.
Rebecca coordinates the provision of Autism Support in KU services and supports Linda and Anita, while all three provide support and guidance to educators to implement inclusive programs and equitable outcomes for children in KU services who are either diagnosed with ASD or undergoing assessment for ASD.
KU services can request ‘Guided Practice’ visits on completion of ‘One of the Kids’ professional learning sessions.
The aim of Guided Practice visits is to strengthen the capacity of educators to deliver a high quality inclusive educational program that is responsive to the individual learning and behaviour support plans of children with ASD.
During these visits, the Autism Support Facilitator will speak with the child’s educators, spend time in the play environment observing and interacting with the child, and provide guidance and support directly to educators to implement inclusive programs and individualised strategies to support positive outcomes for the child.
After a visit, the Facilitator will provide a report for the educators documenting discussions, observations, resources and follow up strategies. The Education Support Manager for the service will then provide engagement with the resources and follow up strategies, while the Autism Support Facilitator may provide continued support, such as through ongoing visits.
The ‘One of the Kids’ training package and associated ‘Guided Practice’ sessions were implemented in three KU services during research conducted in 2016. The delivery of supports to KU educators has been reviewed, and improved upon since that time and is now delivered by the dedicated team to all KU services.
“It’s been exciting to be part of the evolution of the Autism Support Team from its beginning with the research project in 2016 to now. It has been a pleasure for the team and I to walk with educators as they support children with ASD in KU services,” says Rebecca Harrison.
In 2022, the team increased the capacity of 208 educators across 31 KU services via the delivery of ‘One of the Kids’ training. The team also supported 214 children with ASD, or undergoing assessment for ASD, through ‘Guided Practice’ visits at 53 KU services.
Feedback from KU staff about the training sessions and Guided Practice visits has been overwhelmingly positive, with Kathy Cole-Clarke, Director at KU North Ryde Preschool, commenting:
“This was one of the best professional learning opportunities we have experienced, especially paired with the ‘One of the Kids’ training. It was practical, directly relatable to the needs of the staff team and the individual children in the service, and provided many helpful strategies that were modelled and then able to be put into practice. Each staff member involved felt more empowered and confident after the training.”
The training sessions and Guided Practice visits are changing mindsets, increasing the capacity of educators, reducing staff stress, and enhancing developmental outcomes for children with ASD in the context of play-based inclusive environments.
The team is looking forward to building on their work from 2022 as they continue to engage with educators supporting children with ASD in KU services.