Support for Families

At APS, we believe that supporting families is at the heart of helping autistic and neurodivergent children thrive. When parents feel informed, empowered and connected, both to each other and to their child’s school, it creates a stronger foundation for wellbeing and progress. That’s why we work closely with both families and schools to offer sessions that provide practical strategies, emotional support and opportunities to strengthen the home-school connection.

We can support you by:

• Acting as a link between families and schools.
• Contacting schools on your behalf to arrange meetings.
• Attending meetings with you to provide guidance, assist with note‑taking, and offer follow‑on advocacy.
• Supporting schools to develop positive, collaborative approaches with families.

Please note: We are not able to offer legal advice.

Knowing Me Profiling Tool

APS support staff are also trained in ‘Knowing Me’, a strengths based tool used in education settings to explore a child or young person’s individual profile through a neurodivergent lens. It looks across key areas such as attention, sensory needs, energy, and emotional wellbeing to build a clearer understanding of what may be helpful or challenging, allowing us to identify practical, personalised support strategies for home and at school. For more information on this, please click here.

At APS, we offer a range of practical and engaging sessions designed to support schools, families, and professionals in understanding and embracing neurodiversity. From short workshops to in-depth training, our sessions are tailored to meet the needs of your setting and can be combined or extended depending on what works best for you.

Autism Professional Development Courses for Schools

These sessions can be anything from 1 hour long to two-day courses with combining sessions depending on need. 

Below are the courses/workshops that we currently offer to schools: 

1 Hour Sessions:

Big emotions for little people - emotional development for autistic children aged 4 -11

Supporting emotional wellbeing in autistic students - high schools 

Bridging the gap - supporting autistic children's transition to high school

Bridging the gap - supporting autistic teens transition into adulthood

Understanding Neurodiversity within Education

Brief Overview:

• Sensory differences
• How to adopt an inclusive culture
• The gender gap - how autism is different in girls
• Beyond Behaviour - Understanding the why behind autistic shutdowns and burnout
• Understanding Autism in the home

Celebrating Neurodiversity- Building an Autism-Inclusive School Culture - 2 Day Course

Brief Overview:

•  Social Model of neurodiversity
•  Common myths and misconceptions
•  The importance of language to reduce stigma 
•  The double empathy problem 
•  The strengths-based approach
•  What inclusion means in practice
•  Sensory differences 
•  Strategies to support autistic pupils

2 Hour Understanding Autism Workshop

Brief Overview:

• Definition and Characteristics of Autism
• Social model of neurodiversity
• Masking at school
• Autism in girls
• Autism and sensory differences
• Co-occurring conditions
• Communication
• Strengths based approach and basic classroom strategies

Autism Acceptance Sessions

APS offers engaging assemblies and interactive workshops for both primary and secondary students, designed to foster autism

acceptance and understanding within the school community. These sessions not only help pupils learn about neurodiversity in a

positive and age-appropriate way but also create a more inclusive environment for autistic children and their families.

If your school is passionate about promoting acceptance and supporting all learners, we’d love to work with you. 

Parent Coffee Mornings

APS hosts parent coffee mornings in nurseries, primary, and secondary schools. These sessions are a lovely opportunity for

parents with shared experiences to come together, connect, and offer each other peer support. They also give us at APS the

chance to meet families of autistic children who might benefit from extra support and explore how we can help.