Galway Autism Partnership has announced the roll out of Phase 2 of their School Awareness Packs throughout Galway city and county and extending nationwide, including a school in Northern Ireland.
GAP is again leading the way with autism awareness information provision in Ireland, by identifying the need for schools to talk to children at a much younger age on the importance of difference and the need for acceptance and inclusion for those with a disability.
GAP rolled out phase one of the School Awareness Pack, comprising of a 20-page teachers manual and 10-minute CD presentation to 50 schools in Galway city and county with huge success and interesting feedback. Teachers reported that the pack, created by GAP project co-ordinator Louise Sheehy, was extremely informative, relevant and user friendly for the staff and children in the specific target age group, 4-7years.
“One teacher quoted “The pack is an essential for the modern education society where the emphasis on personal development of children and their responsibilities in society are encouraged”. Building on this success GAP will release 100 more information packs in October 2013 to remaining schools in Galway city and county and to the schools which requested the pack in other counties in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Plans are in place to provide the pack through Irish as requested by an number of gaelscoileanna in Galway.
Dr Tony Carroll, former clinical director, Galway Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services has expressed huge benefits to the disemination of the information pack. He regularly consults with GAP on many of its autism awareness projects and has stated “The pack is very user friendly and extremely suitable for children in the primary school system, I would like to encourage GAP to develop the pack for the secondary school system too.”
GAP is inviting interest from any primary schools interested in receiving an information pack to contact the office in Galway at 083 1332302 or [email protected]
