Making Sense of Autism Across Surrey
As Autism specialists, we wanted to take this opportunity to remind you about the Surrey Outreach Service available free of charge to all mainstream secondary schools and specialist provisions in Surrey. We are happy to visit independent schools and schools outside of Surrey on a charged basis, details of which are available upon request.
Under the new 2014 SEND Code, schools are required to consider any causal factors leading to a student presenting with special educational needs, including those exhibited as traits of ASD.
There is now a clear emphasis on understanding the nature of individual need in order to work out what action the school needs to take. With particular reference to ASD, schools need to recognise the impact of resilience and well-being on attainment outcomes: witnessing the increasing pressures of 21st century living and supporting students in managing the stress and pace of change in our world today.
Ofsted highlights the importance of lessons being planned to specifically address potential areas of difficulty and thereby remove barriers to student achievement. Successful schools have developed an ethos which pro-actively develops self-awareness, scaffolds strategies for self-regulation and provides opportunities to practise social skills.
We can support you in addressing these issues and offer the following support and guidance:
- Classroom observations and meetings with students, developing the student’s understanding of their ASD;
- INSET Training: from a general overview of ASD, to workshops relating to specific students or issues;
- Basic autism awareness training for teaching or non-teaching staff within any education setting who need an understanding of autism in their role (including office staff, governors, caretakers, drivers and escorts);
- Meetings with parents/carers and external agencies;
- Written reports following an Outreach visit that will include baseline screening, target setting, resources and suggested strategies. This can be followed up by further visits as necessary;
- Strategies designed to enhance the quality of Wave 1 provision to have maximum impact where consistently implemented;
- E-mail and telephone advice, with personalised fact sheets available;
- In-reach for staff, to enable them to see good practice in action and discuss interventions and resources.
A formal diagnosis of Autism is not necessary; Teachers, SENCO’s EP’s and GP’s can make a referral for any young person between the age of 11 and 18 who is currently attending school, who may have an ASD diagnosis, show traits of Autism and/or has social and communication difficulties and would benefit from autism related strategies. Please see our website for a referral form to access our service.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Debbie Walford and Di Hill
Secondary ASD Outreach Service
01883 713928 Ext 120
debbiewalfordoutreach@limpsfield-grange.surrey.sch.uk
dihilloutreach@limpsfield-grange.surrey.sch.uk
LGS ASD Outreach referral form 2019
Effective-Teaching-Practices-for-Students-with-ASD
Empowering-Teenagers-with-ASD-to-understand-the-4-challenges
Top-Tips-for-transition-to-Secondary-School
ASD-Advice-Teenage-Girls-and-Puberty-Sheet
Please note the contact details in this booklet are out of date. Please use the information below:
http://www.pdasociety.org.uk
info@pdasociety.org.uk
training@pdasociety.org.uk
comms@pdasociety.org.uk (an informal PDA Development Group)
Surrey Cygnet Programme For Parents Carers
AET Forthcoming Dates Sept 2018 to July 2019
Resources and Reading
General
http://www.autism.org.uk/ The National Autistic Society
https://www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx Autism Services Directory for services and
support for people on the Autistic spectrum, their families and people who work with them.
https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/
https://specialneedsjungle.com/
‘Neurotribes’ by Steve Silberman http://stevesilberman.com/
‘Thinking in Pictures’ and ‘The Autistic Brain’ by Temple Grandin www.templegrandin.com
Inspiring ‘TED’ Talks:
https://www.ted.com/talks/steve_silberman_the_forgotten_history_of_autism
https://www.ted.com/talks/temple_grandin_the_world_needs_all_kinds_of_minds
Research: https://spectrumnews.org/author/williammandy/
Sibling support: https://www.sibs.org.uk/
Surrey
www.surreylocaloffer.org.uk The online hub for 0-25 year olds with special educational needs or a disability.
- Find services and support for yourself or someone you care for with SEND.
- Access a wide range of information and advice about SEND.
- Talk to other families online and share SEND experiences.
- Talk to the Local Offer team online or by phone about your SEND queries.
http://www.nassurreybranch.org/home.html
Tom Moore runs the Surrey Autism Partnership board, which is the closest thing to outreach/advice service for the post 16s
http://www.surreypb.org.uk/modx/welcome-to-the-surrey-autism-partnership-board.html Thomas.moore@surreycc.gov.uk
Suggested Teenage/Parent Autism Resources and Booklist
http://the-art-of-autism.com/understanding-the-spectrum-a-comic-strip-explanation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JdCY-cdgkI cartoon explanation of ASD
https://www.youtube.com/user/AspieWorld1
https://kooth.com/ – XenZone is a provider of online mental health services for children, young people and adults. Kooth, from XenZone, is an online counselling and emotional well-being platform for children and young people, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop and free at the point of use.
For more information about XenZone, please visit XENZONE.COM. If you’re a parent looking for more information about Kooth, please email PARENTS@XENZONE.COM
The Girl with the Curly Hair books: ‘Asperger’s Syndrome in 13-16year olds’; ‘Asperger’s Syndrome and https://thegirlwiththecurlyhair.co.uk/
https://en-gb.facebook.com/pg/TheGirlWithTheCurlyHair/about/?ref=page_internal – Monitored social media website.
http://martinantony.com/publications/ download publications for free, eg: overcome fear of animals
http://astraldrivejunior.ednet.ns.ca/worksheets.pdf materials and worksheets, ‘Anxiety’ by Paul Stallard
Books
Can I tell you about Asperger Syndrome? Jude Welton
Kids with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Elizabeth Verdick and Elizabeth Reeve, MD
Snivel & Shriek Guides: Transition, Wellbeing and Learning. http://www.snivelandshriek.com/
The ASD Workbook, Understanding your Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Penny Kershaw
With The Light: Raising an Autistic Child, Keiko Tobe
The Asperger Teen’s Toolkit, Francis Musgrave
Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome, Luke Jackson
Sex, Drugs and Asperger’s Syndrome, Luke Jackson
How to Start, Carry On and End Conversations, Paul Jordan
The Reason I Jump, Naoki Higashida
The Whole-Brain Child (and Workbook), Dr Daniel Siegel and Dr Tina Bryson
The Asperkid’s Secret Book of Social Rules, Jennifer Cook O’Toole – List of do’s and don’ts from Page 27
Revealing the Hidden Social Code, Marie Howley and Eileen Arnold
Can I tell you about Anxiety? Lucy Willets and Polly Waite
Little Book series: The Little Book of Exam Skills Kate Brookes; The Little Book of Exam Calm, Anita Naik
Starving the Anxiety Gremlin, Kate Collins-Donnelly
Starving the Stress Gremlin, Kate Collins-Donnelly
Starving the Anger Gremlin, Kate Collins-Donnelly
‘Live Out Loud’ and ‘It’s all in the mind, Don’t Sweat the small stuff’, Marilynn Tucknot, publisher Koa Ltd
The Growing Up Book for Boys by Davida Hartman 
Girl specific
Girls with Autism Channel 4 clip: https://www.channel4.com/news/girls-affected-by-autism 8.16mins
http://www.nasen.org.uk/resources/resources.girls-and-autism-flying-under-the-radar.html
https://limpsfieldgrange.co.uk/ Film clips and ITV Documentary, and our book, ‘M is for Autism’ and ‘M in the Middle’
Girls Growing Up on the Autistic Spectrum Shana by Nichols with 
Gina Marie Moravcik and Samara Pulver Tetenbaum.
The Growing Up Guide for Girls by Davida Hartman
http://aspie-girl.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-45422985 
‘Girl in a mask’ draws out school fears
www.bbc.co.uk
Jessi C’Artoon has autism and draws to express her anxiety over moving from primary to secondary school.
Purple Ella – https://www.youtube.com/user/purplemumify 
https://network.autism.org.uk/good-practice/case-studies/autism-and-mental-health
Autism and mental health
Ella Tabb, a blogger, YouTuber and autism speaker, discusses her mental health difficulties prior to her autism diagnoses in her 30s. She explores how unmasking and strategies such as mindfulness have helped to improve her mental health.
https://network.autism.org.uk/knowledge/insight-opinion/energy-accounting-interview-maja-toudal
Energy accounting: an interview with Maja Toudal
Autism Apps
https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-apps Apps listed in alphabetical order, with a research rating:
- Anecdotal = No specific or related scientific studies
- Research = There are some related scientific studies, but no direct research support
- Evidence = There is solid or specific scientific evidence that this type of App is helpful
Breathe2Relax (4.5 stars on App Store, 4.1 stars on Google Play)
Quickshift Apps. Look at the Vitallinks site, Sensory Modulation & Regulation: Regulations 1 and 2. https://www.vitallinks.net/pages/Quickshifts-Album-Descriptions.php
https://vitallinks.com/support/documents/therapeutic-listening-app/ – download instructions
https://www.autistica.org.uk/get-involved/molehill-mountain-app – Molehill Mountain is designed to help autistic people understand more about their anxiety. The app is based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) approaches adapted for autistic people and developed from a paper toolkit focused on psychoeducation, created and evaluated by Professor Emily Simonoff. Molehill Mountain is co-owned by Autistica and King’s College London.
Studying, Planning, Organising and Revising
Top Tips for Asperger Students, Rosemary Martin
The Study Skills Handbook, Stella Cottrell
www.educationoasis.com/printables/graphic-organizers/
www.gojimo.com – the free app to help you pass exams!
https://bubbl.us – the first 3 mind maps that you create are free
www.quizlet.com – create flashcards. Interactive games, study modes and practice tests make learning fun!
https://getrevising.co.uk/planner – be organised and create a revision study planner
This is not an exhaustive list, but somewhere to start the journey, and supplement knowledge and skills. For more information or guidance contact:
debbiewalfordoutreach@limpsfield-grange.surrey.sch.uk
dihilloutreach@limpsfield-grange.surrey.sch.uk
01883 713928 Ext 120