The purpose of this two-day workshop was to enable participants to get to know one another, establish ways of working, and identify the key elements and direction of the future support programme.

During the workshop, the team also mapped out the action plan for the remainder of Year 1 and prepared a preliminary research structure.

The Research Group organised workshops and interviews with the Design and Development Group as part of a scoping review of existing support programmes for families raising autistic children. Together, the groups conducted a literature review of evidence-based practices relating to autism spectrum disorder and identified those most relevant to the future programme.

The team also carried out market research to identify existing support and educational programmes, tools and products for autistic children and their families. The findings from this preliminary research will inform the first drafts of the programme.

Global PET is a new initiative for parent education and training in autism spectrum disorder. The goal of such training is to empower families to support their child and family for lifelong learning and positive advocacy. There are very few PET programmes available internationally, most of them developed and evaluated in high-income countries. For instance, The National Autistic Society’s EarlyBird programme is well known and widely available across the UK, but it requires professionals to have significant existing experience working with autistic children before they can qualify for its specialised licensed user training. There are currently almost no PET programmes for families of children newly diagnosed with autism in low-income and/or low-resource communities who have received little or no previous support. Naked Heart Foundation’s joint project aims to bridge that gap.

Learn more about Global PET here.

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