RESOURCES For SENIOR SECONDARY school students, PARENTS & CARERS
Providing programs and materials to support neurodivergent school students in developing life skills and succeeding with their studies.
Providing materials for parents and carers to support their students.
1. TRANSITION TO UNIVERSITY
This information pertains to supporting autistic students in academic settings and comes from a variety of sources including local and international information, peer reviewed research and research conducted at OTARC, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia (funded by DHS, Victoria).
Please note, while this information is designed to support autistic students, a lot of the information and resources also apply to students with other neurodiverse variations. There are separate sections for students and parents/carers. In the “Resources for Universities” there is material for university staff. The sections have been tailored to best meet the needs of each group.
We use ‘university’ as a generic term referring to tertiary providers including universities, colleges and vocational training providers (and, for Australia: TAFEs).
Click the group you best identify with to access the relevant materials.
=> or download the pamphlet version
2. “BE YOUR BEST” LIFE SKILLS TRAINING
"Be Your Best" is an educational curriculum of materials to support life skills learning within neurodiverse populations in their transition to study at university. The materials are evidence-based, researched topics with therapeutic aims for engaged learning. Some of the topics covered include organizational skills, cooking and health and presentation skills.
COVID-19. We understand this is a trying time for everyone, so we have compiled some great resources, activities and thought-provoking text to help you navigate this crisis with greater ease. The “Lockdown survival pack” will suit both adults (18+) and parents with children aged 12-17. We have plenty of relevant activities and interesting texts in this mini course.
Follow the link to the learning platform where you can access these great course materials.
3. The Roadmap Lab Book
The RoadMap Lab™ is a tool that helps individuals and their collaborative teams build more strategic, more sustainable, human-centered transition plans. While anyone can use The RoadMap Lab™, it was intentionally designed to support Neurodiverse teens and young adults as they transition from secondary schooling to post-secondary schooling, the community, and/or the world of work. The RoadMap Lab™ is simply designed to help the user build a bridge of support to the next stop in life’s journey. You can also find the e-book version here.
4. MONEYBASICS COURSE
Learn the basics to managing your money.
WHY DO THIS COURSE?
Learn about budgeting and managing everyday expenses
Grow more confident in your money matters
Gain knowledge through additional resources
5. “explain the brain” 2020 competition
“Explain the Brain” is a competition run by Genazzano FCJ College - Institute of Learning and Brain Sciences - in Melbourne, Australia, to promote interest and understanding about the brain. The focus for 2020 was ‘Neurodiversity’. Students were invited to create and submit a short original video or infographic to highlight, explain or promote the brain theme.
Thank you to all those students across Australia and New Zealand that submitted entries and congratulations to the winners! Follow the link below to see the winning entries.
6. NEURODIVERSITY CELEBRATION WEEK
Siena Castellon is the founder of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a global campaign to bring awareness to the strengths, talents, and capabilities of neurodiverse individuals. In 2021, the campaign took place 15 to 21 March. Siena is a neurodiverse student in the United Kingdom and an advocate for neurodiversity. She was sixteen years old when she launched the initiative in November 2018. She created the campaign to encourage the acceptance of neurodiversity in society, and specifically in education and the workplace. The initiative aims to debunk the untrue and harmful stereotypes of neurodiverse people that some may hold. Siena’s goal is to flip the narrative from society only seeing neurodiverse people’s challenges, to seeing their capabilities and unique strengths.
Over 1300 schools worldwide participated in this revolutionary movement in 2021. There are many ways schools can be involved in Neurodiversity Celebration Week, some examples include bringing guest speakers to the school, posting personal reflections/ accounts, distributing neurodiversity fact sheets, and holding a neurodiversity assembly.
This is the link to Siena’s site for the Celebration Week. Your school or university is also able to register through the link. The website includes other resources such as neurodiversity fact sheets, acceptance posters, personal reflections, PowerPoint presentations, and suggestions for how to participate in Neurodiversity Celebration Week. https://www.neurodiversity-celebration-week.com/press
An interview of Siena, conducted by the Genazzano Institute of Leaning and Brain Science (Melbourne, Australia), can be found here.
When she was 13, Siena also created Quantum Leap Mentoring - a peer mentoring site for bright kids who were autistic or had learning differences: https://www.qlmentoring.com
She has also written a book - THE SPECTRUM GIRL’S SURVIVAL GUIDE - which was launched on Friday 20 March.
As part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week for 2020, an event was scheduled for Thursday 19 March 2020 at Genazzano FCJ College. However, due to COVID-19 this had to be cancelled. As an alternative, the keynote for the event, Beth Radulski, La Trobe University PhD Candidate, recorded two short talks on Neurodiversity and Neurodiversity in Education. (Note: The YouTube videos may not play on Safari.)
7. Managing anxiety
A. NEURODIVERSE SELF-CARE: MANAGING ANXIETY THROUGH CONNECTION
This piece has been written by neurodiverse individuals for neurodiverse individuals. It will discuss several strategies to enact self-care through 'connection'. We explore grounding, meditation, creative therapies, and more.
B. MOLEHILL MOUNTAIN APP
Parents, is your student struggling to manage their anxiety? While a healthy level of anxiety can be productive, too much anxiety can be debilitating and interfere with everyday activities.
The Molehill Mountain app is designed specifically for autistic teens to help control and understand their anxiety. Once a day (or more if they like) your student can play a fun game where they “pop” their anxieties/ stressors and, after completing the game, “unlock” their daily tip. The app tracks your student’s anxiety levels and stressors daily and creates a baseline. This is done through quick daily journal/ survey entries that ask very basic questions about one’s day. The app is user friendly and a minimal time commitment.
As another unique feature, you are able to enter your mobile number and receive notifications about your student’s progress. This app is a great tool to help your student manage their anxiety and allows you to stay updated on their progress.
8. “GROUNDING EXERCISE” BOOKLET
This booklet provides a simple exercise that may help calm you when you’re feeling overwhelmed or if you are going to panic.
The PDF can be printed and folded into an 8-page booklet. Firstly, it needs to be printed out in “landscape" and “full size” / “actual size”. The instructions on how to fold it can be found in this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/21qi9ZcQVto or view folding instructions below.
9. “Dear Dyslexic”
Dear Dyslexic is a foundation that helps people with learning differences achieve their full potential. This is done by bringing awareness and educating the population about Dyslexia, sharing personal stories and engaging in research. Click on the link below for a curation of some great resources.
10. ADHD AUstralia
ADHD Australia is an organization that is working to improve the quality of life for people with ADHD. The link below provides information on ADHD that would be useful to any parent or carer who is looking to learn about this neurodiverse variation.
11. mapology guides - ILLUSTRATED SELF-HELP MAPS FOR LIFE'S JOURNEY
These unique illustrated and colourful self-help maps from Mapology Guides are inspiring! The founder is passionate about mental health and well-being and the maps really speak to this mission. All the fold-out maps offer beautiful imagery, thoughtful prose and reflective learning. They can help you navigate the tricky parts of your life, including how to "Grow your No", explore anger and uncertainty, solve problems, find answers and help you manage overthinking. Great for visual learners and those of you who like to engage your mind through creativity. Mapology Guides is worth a visit! https://www.mapologyguides.com/
12. INCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGY REVIEWS AND GUIDES
Diversity and Ability (DnA) is an award-winning UK based disabled-led social enterprise, that has put together a page of accessibility resources including:
Reviews of useful inclusive technologies to support learning and working
Study skills handouts for students
Various guides such as 'Getting Support in the Workplace'.
The resources have been collated by DnA's diverse team of end-users with their own lived experiences of disability and neurodiversity. DnA supports disabled and neurodiverse people in higher education and the workplace to overcome any barriers they may be facing. DnA also supports organisations to be more inclusive and harness the value of diversity. With a commitment to social justice issues, DnA is also tackling issues surrounding recurring homelessness linked to neurodiversity and the disability employment gap. DnA is convinced that the celebration of diversity coupled with authentic strategies enables people not just to survive, but truly thrive.