He Aka Hui | Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua - Autism and Neurodiversity Trends and Potentials

Te Pou has partnered with Te Whāriki o te Ara Oranga and New Zealand Disability Support Network (NZDSN) to deliver a new professional development workshop series, designed for the disability and health workforces, Barriers and Pathways to a Good Life: Autism, Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) and FASD.

The three He Aka Hui will be run as two-hour, online workshops, hosted by Whāriki, and form part of the implementation of the Equitable Access to Wellbeing Framework (EAW).

The first He Aka Hui in the workshop series is He Aka Hui | Titiro whakamuri, kōkiri whakamua (Looking Back to Move Forward) Autism and Neurodiversity Trends and Potentials.

Delivered with Altogether Autism, this workshop explores a decade of disability support services for autistic people. In this session, there will be a reflection on current services and a discussion on strategies for the future. We will also reflect on the Te Pou Equitable Access to Wellbeing framework, and promote its implementation to ensure better support for people.

The workshop will include presentations, polls and discussions.

Workshop outcomes

• A clear picture of the past decade of support services for Autistic people
• A thoughtful look at the current state of these services, highlighting what's working and what needs to change
• Fresh ideas and plans for improving future services for neurodivergent communities.

Presenters

• Marina Elisara - neuro-affirming mental health occupational therapist
• Catherine Trezona - Altogether Autism national manager
• Rachael Wiltshire - Altogether Autism live chat agent and researcher
• John Vogenthaler - Te Pou programme lead and principal advisor – disability

The workshop will be run on Zoom, hosted by Whāriki.

The workshop series

• He Aka Hui | Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)
• He Aka Hui | FASD, the Hidden Disability: Building Skills and Professional Development for the Disability and Mental Health Workforces