Autism Training Available for County Businesses

This training will help individuals and organisations to work with customers and colleagues on the autism spectrum. 

It is designed to help businesses reach out to a wider range of customers, supporting a more diverse and productive workforce.  

Councillor Marc Bayliss, Cabinet Member for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with the National Autistic Society to give our businesses an opportunity to learn more about autism, and how those with the condition can be best supported in the business community. We are keen to make our business community, open and welcoming to all, so that they can go on and thrive. At least one in 100 people are autistic, which means more than 700,000 people in the UK. So, make up a significant part of our national customer network and potential current and future workforce employees.”

There are 4 free training modules available to organisations in Worcestershire:

1. Understanding Autism - this module looks at common difficulties faced by autistic people, how to challenge common stereotypes and provides information on how to makes environments more enabling for autistic people.
2. Autism and Communication – this module provides information on how to recognise and respond to the natural communication preferences of autistic people.
3. Autism and Sensory Experience – this module describes differences in how people on the autism spectrum process information, discusses the impact of sensory differences on everyday life for autistic people and provides information on how to recognise and respond to sensory needs of people on the autism spectrum.
4. Autism in the Workplace - This course is specifically for employers and colleagues of autistic people. It describes difficulties autistic people may experience in the workplace and why. It Provides information on potential causes of anxiety for autistic people in the workplace. It identifies and gives recommendations on implementing reasonable adjustments to support autistic colleagues.

For more information, including how to sign up to the scheme, please visit the dedicated Worcestershire County Council training pages of the National Autistic Society website.