In the lead-up to World Autism Awareness Day on 2 April, WHO is releasing an online version of its training programme for caregivers of children with developmental delays or disabilities, including autism. The programme, which has already been piloted in face-to-face format in more than 30 countries, such as Brazil, India, Italy and Kenya, teaches parents and other caregivers day-to-day skills that help boost the well-being and development of children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
The programme, which has been developed with the collaboration of the nongovernmental organization, Autism Speaks, has been specifically designed to be implemented by non-specialist providers, which is particularly helpful in low-resource communities.
The launch of the digital programme will be followed, later in April, with the launch of manuals that support in-person sessions of the training programme. The manuals, intended for facilitators of trainings, include learnings from the pilot trainings that have been conducted over the past five years, and will be used to deliver the training through demonstrations, coaching and group discussions. The format will enable programme participants to gain insight directly from trained community members and other families to further strengthen their local support network.
To register for the online training:
Create an OpenWHO account. Click here
For additional instructions on how to create an account
To start the course:
Open the training platform then click on the button: Enroll me for this course