1. Steph Peters ABUHB / University of South Wales Study Title
The EarlyBird Plus programme in South East Wales: an evaluation of its efficacy from the perspectives of participants.
Rationale
The department has run this National Autistic Society programme for carers and school staff for a number of years. A service evaluation was carried out.
What did you do?
Six semi-structured interviews were carried out with carers and LSAs after they had attended the programme, as well as three with their non-attending teachers.
Carers and Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) completed questionnaires before and after three programmes.
What did you find out?
Both the carers and LSAs reported that their knowledge, understanding and confidence in relation to their child’s autism increased as a result of attending the programme. Participants also learnt, used and shared strategies relevant to supporting their child.
Next steps:
Carry out a study with a more quantitative focus and a larger sample size.
Clinical Implications:
The programme was perceived to be useful to its participants, supporting in a small way, its continued use by the team.