HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Nineteen lecturers and practitioners are learningcommunication and language therapy as well as life skills that can be taught tochildren with autism.

This instruction is part of the last phase of a three-year project called"Early Intervention for Children with Autism – Training theTrainers".

The Saigon Children’s Charity CIO (saigonchildren) started the last phase onMonday.

In the two-week phase, six experts facilitate and support trainees’ activitiesbut do not lead training sessions. They guide trainees on how to solve realsituations which they have faced while teaching and working.

Despite a growing demand for appropriate intervention for children with autism,there has not been consistent guidance for teachers and parents on how to bestsupport these children.

The Saigon Children's Charity has been working with international experts inautism and specialists from across Vietnam to develop a new approach and toimprove the standard of early intervention for children with autism.

The project was launched in 2016 as a joint initiative of the charity, theNational College of Education Ho Chi Minh City and OWL Therapy Centre in theUK.

The project has been conducted since 2017 to provide training for core teachersand parents across Vietnam in theoretical and practical sessions.

With financial support from Lufthansa Help Alliance for the last year ofimplementation, all trainees are offered free courses and workshops withconsultations from leading experts in the field.

Damien Roberts, executive director of the Saigon Children's Charity, said:“With your knowledge and expertise, we can build an effective network across Vietnamto help give care, support and education to many children with autism and theirfamilies.”

Nguyen Thi Mai, an early intervention practitioner in Dong Nai province, atrainee in the course, said that practical training and the contributions andengagement from other trainees in the course would help build a strongcommunity to support children with autism and their families.

The project modules will be duplicated for the upcoming year with free trainingcourses to support teachers, therapists, caregivers and parents how to approachchildren with autism appropriately.

The next course will take place from 2020-22 with two weeks of intensivetraining each year.

A 2017 study from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs foundthat nearly 200,000 children in the country had autism at the time.

However, practitioners providing interventions to these children say the realnumber is higher. — VNS/VNA