📍 Course Overview
Understanding Autism is an on-demand foundational training designed to deepen knowledge of autism through a neuro-affirming and evidence-informed lens. Developed by Amy Kadwell, Behaviour Support Practitioner at Billy Cart Behaviour, this course supports practitioners, carers, educators, and support workers to build a respectful, strengths-based understanding of Autistic people and neurodiversity.
This Understanding Autism course moves beyond outdated stereotypes and deficit-based narratives to explore autism as a natural variation in human experience. Participants gain practical insights to better support Autistic individuals across disability, education, and community settings.
🌱 What You’ll Learn
Throughout this autism training, participants will explore key concepts that support neuro-affirming practice, including:
- Neurodiversity and the differences between medical and social models of disability
- The use of affirming, identity-first language as preferred by many Autistic people
- DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria alongside real-world experiences of social communication differences and repetitive behaviours
- Masking, autistic burnout, and alexithymia, and their impact on mental health and wellbeing
- The Double Empathy Problem and how mutual misunderstandings shape communication
- Executive functioning, attention differences, central coherence, and predictive coding
- Sensory processing differences and intolerance of uncertainty, and how these influence behaviour and emotional regulation
🎥 Course Structure
This Understanding Autism training includes on-demand video lectures, reflective activities, real-world examples, and Autistic voices to ground theory in lived experience. The course integrates contemporary neurodevelopmental and trauma-informed frameworks, drawing on the work of Dan Siegel, Bruce Perry, and Stephen Porges to explain neurobiology, stress, and behaviour. Learning is supported through visual aids, quotes, and multimedia resources to enhance accessibility and understanding.
🎯 Who Is This For?
This training is suitable for anyone seeking a respectful, evidence-informed, and neuro-affirming understanding of autism, including:
- Professionals working within NDIS, education, and community services
- Behaviour Support Practitioners
- Allied health professionals
- Disability support workers
- Parents, caregivers, and educators
🌈 Supporting Neuro-Affirming Practice
By completing this Understanding Autism course, participants develop a deeper appreciation of Autistic identity, communication, and sensory experience. The training supports the creation of environments where Autistic people feel understood, respected, and supported to thrive.
You’re not just learning about autism — you’re building the foundations for inclusive, neuro-affirming practice.
