Day: May 23, 2023

May 19, 2023

Language: Cantonese

JC A-Connect’s Teacher Training Seminar (Secondary) based on the topic of “self-advocacy” from the Group Training Resource Package for Students with ASD was held on May 19, 2023. The seminar taught school personnel the ways to prepare secondary school students for adulthood through training and hence, reaching their personal goals.

“Self-advocacy” refers to the skills of reaching one’s goals and realising aspirations. It could be life planning or decision making in daily lives, including leisure activities, ways of birthday celebrations, making friends, further studies and career development. To help students develop such skills, it is not about the amount of knowledge or skills they learn but the mastery of their own characteristics and needs to make choices that are suitable for them, such as developing strengths and interests, further studies and career development. In the meantime, students should be able to adjust their targets, find solutions, be responsible for their own decisions and actions when facing challenges.

In this seminar, educational psychologists, Dr. Sonia Chan and Ms. Elsa Chiu from the Department of Psychology at the University of Hong Kong, were invited to introduce and explain the training skills, followed with professionals from two social welfare organisations, who shared their experiences in group training. The seminar was conducted online and positive feedback from the participants were received.