Education
Advanced Education and Skills
January 31, 2014

Investing in the Education and Well-Being of Children

New Online Autism Training Program Provides Support for Teachers

An Atlantic partnership to deliver autism training to teachers, administrators and other educational personnel was announced yesterday (Thursday, January 30) at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET) in Fredericton, N.B. The e-learning program is designed to provide consistency in training, build capacity across all four provinces, and allow education systems to be more responsive to emerging research and needs around autism.

“We recognize that Autism Spectrum Disorder has become more prevalent in our society, and that many families are affected by this disorder. As a government, we have introduced and enhanced several initiatives in recent years which have been designed to help children diagnosed with autism, and to help educators find the most effective teaching approaches to meet their needs. This new, online autism training partnership with our Atlantic colleagues is designed to give individual educators additional assistance in implementing effective teaching strategies for students with autism.”
- Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Education

The Honourable Kevin O’Brien, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills, attended the CAMET meeting on behalf of the Provincial Government. Among the other issues discussed were the importance of innovative career development programs to promote and support the transition from public to post-secondary education; preparing young people for jobs in the new economy, and challenges facing post-secondary education within the context of fiscal realities. A news release summarizing the meeting outcomes can be viewed at www.camet-camef.ca .

Meanwhile, the Provincial Government is investing almost $71,000 as its share of the interprovincial online autism training program, which builds on a model first introduced in New Brunswick in 2011. It is expected to be formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding among the four Atlantic Provinces in the near future.

The online training program is the latest in a series of Provincial Government investments and initiatives around supporting school-aged children diagnosed on the autism spectrum including, but not limited to:

• The creation of six autism itinerant positions at regional school board offices;
• The provision of autism resource kits for each school in the province;
• The provision of student assistant services, where appropriate;
• The development of a Provincial Professional Development Plan, which has seen $1.2 million invested to date in special training for teachers and student assistants;
• The provision of assistive technology (e.g., iPads), where appropriate; and,
• The expansion of the home-based Applied Behavioral Analysis program for children with autism, to include those up to Grade 3.

The Provincial Government is committed to supporting important social programs, strong communities and the health and well-being of children, families and seniors.

QUICK FACTS

• An Atlantic partnership to deliver online autism training to teachers and other educational personnel was announced today during a meeting of the Council of Atlantic Ministers of Education and Training (CAMET) in Fredericton, N.B.
• The Provincial Government is investing close to $71,000 as its share of the interprovincial online training program.
• The program is designed to provide consistency in autism training, build capacity across all four provinces, and allow education systems to be more responsive to emerging research and needs around autism.
• Students who have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Newfoundland and Labrador have access to a wide range of resources within the education system, including autism itinerants, speech-language pathologists, educational psychologists, guidance counsellors, special education teachers, classroom teachers and, where necessary, student assistants.

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2014 01 31                                        10:45 a.m.