Autism training for RWP colleagues

Internal training courses

A variety of courses that cover autism awareness provide RWP colleagues with essential learning on autism. Autism awareness courses are mandatory for supported living housing officers.

Internal training courses include:

• Autism awareness
• Autism awareness: ‘Too Much Information’ campaign

External training courses include:

• ‘Understanding autism in the workplace’ with the National Autistic Society

‘Too Much Information’ campaign

The National Autistic Society created the Too Much Information campaign to challenge myths, misconceptions and stereotypes that mean that 79% of autistic people feel socially isolated. The campaign ran for three years from 2015-2018, helping the public to better understand autism and the changes they can make.

What was the campaign about?

Autistic people and their families told the National Autistic Society that the five things that they wanted the public to understand were that autistic people:

• need extra time to process information
• experience anxiety in social situations
• experience anxiety with unexpected changes
• find noise, smells and bright lights painful and distressing
• become overwhelmed and experience a 'meltdown' or 'shutdown'.

They have shared 4 videos to help with our understanding of autism. 

‘Understanding autism in the workplace’ with the National Autistic Society

We have been holding ‘Understanding autism in the workplace’ training, delivered by the National Autistic Society. This course reviews the main areas of difference and provides an increased awareness of how autistic people may experience the workplace. In recent years, many of our housing officers and managers have completed this in-person training course.

Key topics

• Understanding autism
• Communication and interaction
• Processing information
• Sensory differences
• Potential workplace stressors
• Workplace adjustments

Neurodiversity awareness course

The Healthy Work Company delivered a one-hour webinar to Progress Housing Group colleagues, which RWP is part of, earlier this year on neurodiversity awareness. It helped the 73 colleagues who attended to improve their understanding and even challenge their ways of thinking.

Key topics:

• What neurodiversity means
• Different types of neurodiverse conditions
• How to harness difference more effectively
• Whether neurodiversity is a disability or a superpower
• What reasonable adjustments are

Autism training feedback

RWP housing officer Lyndsey attended training with Key and shares why the training helped develop her understanding of autism and best practice for communication.

Lyndsey said: “I recently completed some autism training with Progress Housing Group’s, which RWP is part of, charity arm Key and the training was delivered by an autistic person. I think it is really important to have that lived experience within the group and to deliver training. It was really insightful and gave us a really good understanding of some of the barriers and challenges that people can face, but also the diversity within the autism community.”