Understanding Autism and Anxiety in the Early Years

Who is this module for? 

The session is suitable for staff/practitioners working with children and young people (CYP) across the three phases in both mainstream and specialist services.

You will be encouraged to reflect on your own experiences with anxiety, what you have found useful in reducing your own anxiety, and what has worked for you in practice when looking to address anxious thoughts and feelings in CYP.

The aims

After completing this module, you will be able to understand: 

• How autistic CYP might express anxiety. 
• What can cause anxiety in autistic CYP. 
• What you can do to prevent and reduce anxiety in autistic CYP. 

Learning objectives

After completing this module, you will:

• Have greater knowledge about how prevalent and impactful anxiety can be on autistic CYP.
• Know how anxiety can be transactional and that we all have a role in reducing anxiety in school.
• Understand that there is a toolbox of approaches that can be used to reduce anxiety and the first step is to learn about the individual's triggers and preferred means of support.
• Understand that by reducing anxiety we can significantly improve a CYP's ability to engage with school life and their peers, as well as improve their general well-being.