December 15, 2023

Language: Cantonese

The localised World Health Organisation – Caregiver Skills Training (WHO-CST) is the first caregiver training programme in Hong Kong specifically designed for caregivers of children aged 2-6 who are suspected to have or diagnosed with ASD, developmental delays or disabilities. The content of the course is developed by WHO, in collaboration with Autism Speaks, and localised by The University of Hong Kong and several non-governmental organisations to cater for the needs of local parents.

The programme has been implemented in Hong Kong for more than two years since 2021. In order to benefit more children with ASD and their parents, JC A-Connect organised the “World Health Organization Caregiver Skills Training Programme Webinar for Parents” on December 15, 2023. Professor Paul Wong, Associate Professor of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration at The University of Hong Kong, as well as two professionals from different non-governmental organisations, were invited to further introduce the course, allowing parents to learn more parenting skills and become effective caregivers. The webinar was conducted online and received positive feedback from participants, who expressed great interest in the programme.

May 23, 2023

Language: Cantonese

JC A-Connect’s Teacher Training Seminar (Primary) based on the topic of “self-advocacy” from the Group Training Resource Package for Students with ASD was held on May 23, 2023. The seminar taught school personnel the ways to prepare primary school students for possible choices in the future through training, such as participating in extra-curricular activities, developing strengths and interests, and hence, reaching their personal goals.

“Self-advocacy” refers to the skills of reaching one’s goals and realising aspirations, including decision and choice making. To help students developing 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, to cope with difficulties and to be responsible for their own decisions and actions.

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 a professional from a social welfare organisation, who shared her experiences in group training. The seminar was conducted online and positive feedback from the participants were received.

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.

August 22, 2022

Language: Cantonese

JC A-Connect adopted WHO’s “Caregiver Skills Training” with HKU and a number of NGOs in 2018, in which the Programme is designed by experts from WHO, the Parent Association and the autism advocacy organisation in America – “Autism Speaks”. The Programme provides appropriate skills training for carers of children with ASD, developmental disabilities or delays between the ages of 2 and 6, teaching them to use games and family activities as skills to foster children’s learning and development. Since 2021, the Project joined hands with various NGOs to localise the WHO-CST to better meet the needs of Hong Kong caregivers.

As a mean to benefit children with ASD and their caregivers, another webinar on “World Health Organisation Caregiver Skill Training Programme: ASD in Kindergartens and Child Care Centres” was held in late August 2022. Three professionals from various NGOs were invited as speakers to share insights on CST course and focused on teaching six major skills which are applicable to the environment of kindergartens or child care centres. We received positive feedback and the participants look forward to join more training seminars of the same type in the future.

August 12, 2022
Language: Cantonese

The novel coronavirus has been raging for nearly three years. To prevent the spread of the epidemic, schools have been suspended for a long time, which has greatly reduced the time for face-to-face teaching. Consequently, students’ learning has been affected in a varying extent. The impact is even greater to the students with ASD or developmental delays. In view of this, a webinar on “When Teachers Meet ASD: Post-pandemic Era” for primary school teachers was held on August 12, 2022. Dr. Elsa Chiu, Psychologist of Department of Psychology from HKU was invited to explore the impact of the epidemic on students, and share practical resources and skills. Experienced professionals from social welfare organisations discussed group trainings, family-school cooperation and case sharing under the epidemic. The seminar was conducted online and the comments from the participants were positive.

August 2, 2022
Language: Cantonese

The novel coronavirus has been raging for nearly three years. To prevent the spread of the epidemic, schools have been suspended for a long time, which has greatly reduced the time for face-to-face teaching. Consequently, students’ learning has been affected in a varying extent. The impact is even greater to the students with ASD or developmental delays. In view of this, a webinar on “When Teachers Meet ASD: Post-pandemic Era” for secondary school teachers was held on August 2, 2022. Dr. Elsa Chiu, Psychologist of Department of Psychology from HKU was invited to explore the impact of the epidemic on students, and share practical resources and skills. Experienced professionals from social welfare organisations discussed group trainings, family-school cooperation and case sharing under the epidemic. The seminar was conducted online and the comments from the participants were positive.