Through our funding from Perth & Kinross LEADER Programme, we have been able to take our training programmes out of Perth to Blairgowrie, Crieff and Highland Perthshire, here’s one of our fabulous parent, Nikki’s thoughts on the the training she has accessed and the benefits to having this in her local community of Blairgowrie
“Hi my name is Nikki and I have an 11 year old son called Connor. Connor was diagnosed with ADHD in 2017 and is now on a pathway for ASD. I went along to training with Perth Autism Support to gain some knowledge about Autism and how I can help my son. The training was fantastic, Elaine and Lynsey were so knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. I have so far attended two courses, the first one was on “What is Autism?”. I knew so much about Connor’s ADHD, but I knew that he was struggling with more issues. Being able to understand how sensory issues and Connor’s way of thinking impacts Connor’s day to day life has made being able to help him manage his condition much more manageable. We are now able to stop some of the anxiety before it even starts. It was also great to meet other parents who are in the same position as my family. The second course I attended was “Emotional Regulation”. This course has been invaluable, We were taught about the different stages of anxiety, learned some tools and strategies to help us navigate through difficult times. One of the helpful tips I took away was to take a sensory bag on days out with us, with new sensory toys and distraction items. Another helpful suggestion I was given, was to create Connor a communication passport, so that everyone who is involved with Connor has the same information about who he is, what his needs are and how he copes with things. It also gives strategies to help him to manage. This was a great suggestion and Elaine emailed me a template of a communication passport and I just had to put Connor’s details in.
Having the training in Blairgowrie made such a difference as it was more accessible. It also allowed me to meet and talk to other parents who’s children were already attending the High School that Connor is due to attend next summer. I highly recommend these courses and can’t wait till I go to my next one on “inflexible thinking”
