• University of Bath

Good Practice in Autism Education

Discover the best practices in autism education and learn how to create an inclusive curriculum for autistic children.

48,319 enrolled on this course

Boy interacting with puppet of a bear

Good Practice in Autism Education

48,319 enrolled on this course

  • 4 weeks

  • 3 hours per week

  • Accreditation available

  • Digital certificate when eligible

  • Intermediate level

Find out more about how to join this course

The CPD Certification Service

This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.

Support autistic children in the classroom

Do you want to improve your understanding of autism and learn good practice in autism education?

This 4-week course tackles crucial questions about autism education to ensure that children on the autism spectrum are educated to their greatest potential.

Understanding autism in education

The course will begin by exploring your understanding of autism, including the signs, symptoms, diagnosis, and potential causes. You’ll explore how special educational needs and disabilities can affect a child’s ability to learn.

Inclusivity in the classroom is extremely important, so you’ll explore how to develop an inclusive curriculum for autistic students.

You’ll also learn about the many modalities of schooling for students with autism, including general special schools, autism-specific special schools, autism units within mainstream schools, and being in a mainstream classroom.

Develop good practices for autistic children

Next, we’ll investigate more thoroughly what contributes to good practice in autism education, including building upon research-based evidence.

Sharing the best practices can be beneficial to the autism community, so we’ll explore social apps such as SOFA, co-designed by people on the autism spectrum.

You’ll learn how to promote inclusion, cognitive accessibility, wellbeing and academic skills at school, and also understand how life skills can benefit autistic children beyond the classroom.

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Skip to 0 minutes and 10 seconds Hello, this course provides a comprehensive introduction into Good Practice in Autism Education. It has been developed specifically for anyone working with autistic children and young people in education, as well as autistic people themselves. The course starts by discussing what autism is, as well as the role of special educational needs and disabilities within schools. Inclusion can be a difficult concept to define, and different models of inclusive education are discussed, including mainstream schools, special schools, and autism units attached to mainstream schools. What constitutes good practice in autism education is discussed, as is how to consider the evidence base for these good practices. Finally, we explore how to share good practice you is education Europe-wide.

Skip to 0 minutes and 58 seconds The course runs for four weeks, and contains a range of learning opportunities, including forums to discuss your ideas with other learners. The course is accessible to everyone working in education, so please come and join us.

Syllabus

  • Week 1

    Introduction to Autism and Intellectual Disability

    • AMUSE project logo with green hand and smiley face

      Welcome to Good Practice in Autism Education

      Professor Mark Brosnan introduces the course and outlines some of the activities you will be undertaking over the next four weeks.

    • Child playing with picture cards

      What is autism?

      We will start the course by exploring your understanding of autism including the signs, symptoms, diagnosis and potential causes.

    • Dot-to-dot image of head and brain

      Special education needs & disabilities (SEND) and intellectual disability

      Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can affect a child or young person’s ability to learn. Let us now explore some of the signs, symptoms and potential causes of learning (intellectual) difficulties.

    • Drawing of neural network

      Autism, intellectual disability and beyond.

      We'll now look at how autism and intellectual disability in combination can affect individuals. In addition we look at broader issues such as co-occurring conditions, a broader spectrum of autistic-like traits and neurodiversity.

  • Week 2

    Inclusive Education

    • grow of friends with arms around shoulders

      Inclusion

      Find out more about inclusion and inclusive practices

    • School classroom with traditional desks

      Schools, systems and structures for education provision

      Considering the alternatives available for different types of schooling

    • jigsaw pieces being slotted together

      Inclusive culture, policies and practice

      In this section, we'll explore the Index for Inclusion and discuss the importance of inclusion in educational settings.

  • Week 3

    Good Practice in Autism Education

    • Chalk figures standing on globe

      What is good practice in autism education?

      In this section we investigate more thoroughly what contributes to good practice in autism education

    • Bookshelves and magnifying glass

      Evidence-based practice (EBP)

      Good practice is often built upon good evidence. This section introduces evidence-based practice.

    • Stones balanced on a beach

      Evaluating research evidence

      Research-based evidence can be difficult to interpret, here we explore a mechanism for evaluating the quality of research underpinning good practice

  • Week 4

    Good practice examples

    • Feet balancing on a tightrope

      Get involved! Good practice with digital support for autism.

      How do you find the right piece of technology to support your child? Here we examine social stories and the SOFA-app which is co-designed with the autism community - will it work for you?

    • Coloured pencils lined up

      Good practice in autism education (AMUSE)

      The Autism Education Trust report highlights the importance of enabling pupils to ‘reach their potential’ and this is as an over-arching goal for schools. Use Link: https://en.autismunits.eu/web/

    • Placeholder

      Good practice beyond education (AMUSE too)

      Good practice also extends beyond the school context to the home. Use link: https://en.autismunits.eu/web/

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service
The CPD Certification Service:

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.

When would you like to start?

Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.

  • Available now

  • Available now

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Identify the educational requirements of children on the autism spectrum with and without intellectual (learning) difficulties
  • Explain the concept of inclusion to promote inclusive culture, policies and practices within mainstream schools
  • Reflect on what constitutes good practice for autism within educational settings
  • Compare specific examples of good practice in autism education

Who is the course for?

The primary target audience are those who work with autistic children in schools, such as teachers and teaching assistants. However all practitioners can benefit (eg speech and language therapists). The target age range is compulsory education (4-18 years). The course will also be of benefit to interested parents of autistic children, as well as the autistic community themselves.

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Who will you learn with?

Mark Brosnan

I am a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Centre for Applied Autism Research (CAAR) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath in the UK.

Louis Camilleri

Educational & Child Psychologist

Who developed the course?

University of Bath

University of Bath

The University of Bath is one of the UK’s leading universities both in terms of research and our reputation for excellence in teaching, learning and graduate prospects.

Endorsers and supporters

funded by

Erasmus+ Co-funder

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Ways to learn

Choose the best way to learn for you!

Subscribe & save

$244.99 for a whole year

Automatically renews

Develop skills to further your career

  • Access to this course
  • Access to 1,000+ courses
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Digital certificate when you're eligible

Cancel for free anytime

Buy this course

$109/one-off payment

Fulfill your current learning need

  • Access to this course
  • Learn at your own pace
  • Discuss your learning in comments
  • Tests to boost your learning
  • Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible

Limited access

Free

Sample the course materials

  • Access expires 6 Mar 2025

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)

Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

  • Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
  • Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
  • Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

  • Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
  • Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
  • Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

  • As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
  • Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
  • Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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