All systems GO! Wrexham Austim Conference count down.

Home Educators will be out in force at the First North Wales Annual Autism Conference. Organised by one of our group members, and with an ex- Home Educated Young Adult as a key speaker. We are also really pleased to see Sensory Issues, and The Additional Learning Needs code listed as workshop topics.

Mark Isherwood AM, chair of the cross party autism group, will be chairing the event; NAS Cymru will be attending to give an update on the cross party autism group and autism development in the National Assembly for Wales and MP David Hanson will be attending to give an update from Westminster.The North Wales Annual Autism Conference will be held at the Catrin Finch Centre, Wrexham Glyndwr University on Friday, October 7 from 8.30am-5pm.

To obtain your ticket (they are selling fast!) Please click here
Press Release for the event is here

It's all systems GO elsewhere too ! 

We've been having face to face conversations/meetings ( play provision/ scrutiny meetings/ Gower College/3rd Sector Steering groups/Health groups/coffee mornings to name a few)emails etc, challenging and raising positive awareness around HE and additional learning needs. Various members have been putting a lot of work in on this front right, across Wales, and it's time to give them a MASSIVE round of praise: )

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Next week we'll be in Swansea, Cardiff and Wrexham flying the flag for HE. If you have a child with Autism, we hope to see you for a chat at the Wrexham Autism conference 

2016/17 Focus

We are actively be working to obtain funding and co-production opportunities with other organisations to improve the life chances of our children and Young people in these priority areas over the coming year.

1. - Exam & Qualifications Access & funding.

There are numerous barriers to obtaining recognised qualifications for our young people. These range from organising exam access arrangements, cost to private candidates and geographical distance to exam centres.
Increase the number of available exam access centres in Wales for iGCSE/A LEVEL candidates that will accept candidates with additional Learning Needs.
Explore and make available to Young people a range of alternative qualifications such as Arts Award, ECDL & ASDAN.

2. Learning Resources.

3. Access to work and training opportunities for Home Educated Young people.

4. The Additional Learning Needs Bill!

If you can help us with any of the above right across Wales shout out!!!!!!


Useful Info from across Wales 

Carers Wales We're here to make life better for carers. Working as part of Carers UK:

• we give expert advice, information and support
• we connect carers so no-one has to care alone
• we campaign together for lasting change
• we innovate to find new ways to reach and support carers. www.carersuk.org/wales/news/track-the-act

Assessments: A guide to getting an assessment in Wales from April 2016 Many carers find it easier to continue in their caring role if they can get some help. The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 came into force on 6 April 2016. The Act repeals the majority of previous community care legislation and intends to transform the way that social services are delivered in Wales.  For the first time, carers will have the same rights as those they care for. The Act introduces a new broader definition of a carer, a duty on local authorities to offer carers their own needs assessment as well as a legal duty to meet the eligible needs of carers following assessment.

Factsheet W1020 - Assessments: your guide to getting help

Dimensions screenings ODEON’s next autism friendly film screening is

Trolls on Sunday 30th October at 11:30am. ODEON are changing their autism friendly screenings start time

It is expected, from November, that ODEON will change their screening time from 11:30am to 10:15am. We will send another enewsletter out once the change has been confirmed, please check our website for updates.

Vue's October autism friendly film screening is Ice Age: Collision Course on Sunday 30th October at 10:15am.

Vue host an autism friendly cinema screening on the last Sunday of every month at 10:15am, from £1.99. Vue have changed their autism friendly screenings start time From now on Vue's screenings will start at 10:15am.

Swansea Free play sessions Oct half term http://www.swansea.gov.uk/article/5255/Search-all-events?f=Free&sort=Most+Recent&size=10#leftcolumn

Autism & being educated outside school in Wales.

There is a whole grey area that grows in population size year on year of children/young people who need to be educated outside the state system.

Who are these children and young people? 

Below is a really rough attempt to categorise the groups our ASC children fall into. It's a rough indicator only as regards how ASC and home education has become a growing phenomenon in recent years. 

1. LA funded home education programmes. These are most often ABA & II programmes, 8 Welsh LAs fund pupils who attend online schools. 
2. Children who have sensory issues that mean they just can't tolerate a school environment. These children most often seem to wind up being electively home educated by their parents and thrive being educated in an environment that can be tailored to meet their sensory needs. 
3. Aspies who just cannot cope in mainstream schools but are too "academic" for specialist provision. This is a suprisingly large group & again they tend to really thrive thru elective home education. 
4. Those children who have hit crisis point. Sadly within this group we have mostly teens (but some are much younger) who have become too traumatised by the school system to attend. Secondary mental health issues are a huge factor here and range from anxiety, suicidal thoughts, pstd etc. These families are often almost broken by unhelpful professionals and recovery from trauma is the priority before education in the sense most folk understand it can even begin to commence. These families have been let down by the system and we consider them to be "forced" home educators. 
5. Elective Home Educators - some parents choose right at the start to educate their children at home. All counties of Wales have a mainstream local HE group that oraganises social events, learning activities etc for their members. The issue is that often our kids don't fit within these NT alternative spaces either. 

This diagram demonstrates how many parents of neurodiverse children need to address their child's learning needs. Typically mainstream schools focus on the tip of this pyramid.

There is urgent work to be done in getting LAs to understand the fluidity of placement provision as ASC kids change and grow. There needs to be much more official acceptance that not all children are suited to a particular placement for the entirety of their education. Some children find that after a few years of elective home ed they are able to return to the school/college environment but their parents find the barriers to doing so are enormous.

Primary Goals right now. 

1. Remove barriers to learning at ALL stages.
2. Improve access to support services within the public and third sector for our children & young people. 
3. Peer support for families whose children are educated outside the school system.
4. Help our children and young people learn how to self-advocate
5. Transition to adult life - obtaining qualifications, work experience and placements, negotiating the oft confusing world of adult support services, PIP etc. 
6. Legal stuff. There is no legal aid office in Wales for education issues. We really need lots of help in this area. 



We really need the help of ASC adults across a whole range of issues to help us help our children & young people get to a point where they can fulfil their true potential and lead happy, independent productive adult lives within their communities. Noone is better placed to advise & mentor both parents and young people with ASC.

Home Education Acronyms.  

EOTAS - LA funded home programmes are commonly referred to as EOTAS (Education other than at school) in official documentation.
EHE - Self-funded programmes are called EHE (elective home education).
ASC - Autistic Spectrum Conditions. We use this as an umbrella term covering a whole range of neurodiverse conditions in addition to/co-morbid with Autism. Examples might include social communication disorder, dyspraxia, adhd, sensory processing issues.

Join us

If you are a parent of a child with an ASC condition then we cordially invite you to join us on facebook here

If your organisation is interested in co-production with ourselves or our Young people then drop us a line to this address - cymrualn@gmail.com