From I am Special to H.A.P.P.Y.: psycho-education in autism. What have we learned the past 25 years.

Description

A little bit more than 25 years ago, I developed a psycho-education programme for children and youngsters on the autism spectrum, named ‘I am Special’ It was translated into more than 10 different languages and it is being used all over the world.

Times have changed. We are looking at autism in a quite different way than we did 25 years ago. We made the move from a purely deficit-based conceptualisation of autism towards a neurodiversity perspective where we see neurological differences as a positive thing. Moreover: is knowing the DSM-5 criteria actually benefits autistic people most? Do autistic people want to become expert in academic and general information about autism or do they want to become more knowledgeable about how to become autistically happy? And does traditional psycho-education and counselling actually meets their biggest needs?

Despite having a brain that is differently wired, autistic individuals have the same human needs as any other human being. Now the time has come for psycho-education to focus on the similarities and not only the differences between autistic and non-autistic people. We are all a bit special! A shift towards a more positive approach with a focus on well-being, and not just the lack of well-being, is happening. This will also affect how we help autistic people to understand themselves and their needs.

Based on these evolution, we made a shift from ‘I am Special’ to ‘H.A.P.P.Y.’, a new psycho-education programme focusing on happiness and well-being in autism. The H.A.P.P.Y. programme results in an individualized well-being plan for an autistic child, youngster or adult, based on 10 evidence based well-being strategies. These strategies are made autism friendly in the programme. H.A.P.P.Y. is where autistic thinking and well-being meet each other.

Topics that will be covered are:
– What is psycho-education?
– What do we know about self-knowledge in autism?
– What are the difficulties in self-understanding in autism and how can psycho-education help autistic people to understand themselves better?
– The ingredients of an autism friendly psycho-education.
– Making the shift in focus towards a neuro-affirmative approach in psycho-education and towards a focus on well-being
– The backgrounds and content of a new psycho-education programme: H.A.P.P.Y.