Authors Cressida Pacia – University of Galway Jennifer Holloway – ASK- All Special Kids Centre Ciara Gunning – University of Galway Helena Lee – University of Galway Read more
June 30th, 2022 We are at the end of June, time to enjoy the long summer days and hopefully go on vacation. ASK offers the Bilingual Day Campand the ACCESS Summer Club in July for those who will be around Geneva. We are excited to have the SMARTfit program for physical and cognitive challenges, Bee in my Beanie Theatre Group for those drama enthusiasts, Artists and a Swimming Instructor, amongst our specialist team. It promises to be a fun packed schedule for our 2022 Campers. Registrations are still open for children to attend for 1 week or more! We also take this opportunity to share with you the structural changes being implemented at ASK including all the services and programs we will be offering in the next year. The registrations are open for these programs. Dr. Jennifer Holloway, who has been the Director of the ACCESS program since 2019, began her role of CEO for ASK in January. Since assuming her new role Jennifer is dedicated to advancing ASK to provide a range of services and supports to meet the needs of the individual with differential diagnoses, their families and community partners. Dr. Holloway is a Chartered Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has worked with children and adults with differential learning needs for over 25 years, as a clinician and researcher. Jennifer has specific expertise in designing evidence-based practices to teach socially significant goals for individuals with different learning needs. She has spent many years supporting families and other professionals through delivering training courses and workshops. We invite you to contact us for more information on any of our programs or book a parent consultation session to learn more about us and how we can help. We invite you to click here to access our entire newsletter.
July 31st, 2022 We are pleased to announce that the ACCESS program is now accredited by the Swiss Disability Insurance (DI) as a “Vocational Rehabilitation Initiative” for adults with additional needs aged 17-30 years. The ACCESS program, available in full and part-time options, provides adults with an individualized program which focuses on advancing social and professional skills within meaningful social and workplace inclusion opportunities. Unique needs, unique support. Enrolment in the ACCESS program may be covered by Disability Insurance if the individual is insured. Find out if your son/daughter is eligible for disability insurance benefits here. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) Program is accepting registrations online. We propose a 5 therapy session package which includes assessment and parent consultation. Register here. Social Skills enrolments are moving online. We are excited to offer you options for children from 3-17 years. Register your son/daughter now. We welcome new members to our team Dr. Lorna Barry – ACCESS Program Supervisor, Patricia Choueiri – ASK & ACCESS Office and Volunteer Coordinator, Renata Pessa – Communications Officer. July 29th marked the end of our Bilingual Day Camp and our ACCESS Summer Club. Thank you SMARTfit for being with us this year! We invite you to click here where we share with you some of our favorite moments and we look forward to seeing you next year!
Authors Lorna Barry – ASK- All Special Kids Jennifer Holloway – ASK- All Special Kids Centre Stephen Gallagher – University of Limerick Jennifer Mcmahon – University of Limerick Read more
August 31st, 2022 Participants can opt for a full-time program or select modules (part-time option) based on their own motivation and goals. All modules have basic and advanced level options to ensure all needs are met. ACCESS Modules: Work Orientation and Work Placement Inclusion Social Skills Module and PEERS Modules Health and Lifestyle Functional Life Skills Organisation, Self-management & Leisure Skills Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Emotional Education Preparing for Further Training Opportunities Psychosexual Education and Relationships We invite you to click here to learn about our current programs and services offered and this month’s team recommendation.
September 30th, 2022 Coffee Mornings starts this Monday! A chance for the parents of individuals enrolled at ACCESS to get together. We welcome a new member to our ACCESS team, Danai Orlandatou, a clinical psychologist joining the program as a Facilitator. ACCESS program has new interns, enrolled in full time or part-time schedules, and has also secured additional placement options. Contact us to learn more about the part-time modules available. We are pleased to announce a new parent-child consultation service. Contact us to learn more and book an appointment! You can check all programs and services currently available here. We invite you to click here to access the full newsletter and check this month’s team recommendations.
October 31st, 2022 We are happy to announce an Early Intervention Program. A program for parents focused on developing parent capacity to teach their child social, cognitive and language skills. We invite you to check our new Parent Corner which includes a comprehensive list of local resources and schools in Switzerland. ASK offers Informative Consultation for Parents – a 30 min phone or video call between you and Dr. Jennifer Holloway or Dr. Lorna Barry to discuss the programs at ASK that might be of benefit to your son/daughter and/or all family members. During this consultation Dr. Holloway or Dr. Barry will answer your questions and provide you useful information concerning children and youth with special educational needs and the support they can find in Switzerland. Contact us to book an appointment. Save the Date! Coffee with Experts Tips and Tricks for Positive Parenting Nov 24th, 12h00-13h30 Click here to read our full October Newsletter.
November 30th, 2022 We invite you to learn about a new service we are offering: Positive Behavior Support. Positive Behavior Support is a comprehensive approach to assessment, planning and intervention that focuses on the individual’s needs across their home and school life. In 2023 we will be launching How to Tackle training series for parents. This workshop series has been developed by our psychologists, to help parents of young children with special needs to approach core life skills and use evidence-based strategies which can help to teach their child some important developmental milestones. We’ve updated our website to include important information to newcomers to Geneva planning to enrol their son/daughter in public school and the resources available. Click here to read our full November Newsletter.
WCF and ASK has started and we are delighted to welcome our first beneficiary. Contact us if this service can benefit your child. The Worthy Children Foundation (“WCF”) is pleased to announce a collaboration with ASK to provide individualized evidence-based interventions to meet the needs of Ukrainian children who have been displaced from their country due to the war. The initial donation from WCF shall fund up to 10 Ukrainian children, depending on their need, to attend ASK’s Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program and/or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) sessions. WCF will delegate the assessment of the potential beneficiaries of relevant interventions to ASK who shall comprehensively evaluate each child’s situation to determine which program to offer to the child (and in some cases both). A key factor shall be the presence of a neurodegenerative disease, global development delay, neurodevelopmental disorders or similar conditions inherited at birth or triggered through brain injury or trauma related to the war. Speaking of the initiative, Dr. Jennifer Holloway, CEO of ASK, said, “We appreciate the opportunity to partner with WCF to provide evidence-based supports to meet the needs of Ukrainian children who have been displaced from their country by war. Our ASK team is committed to ensuring children with complex differential needs receive individualized care and intervention. ASK is looking forward to working with WCF in support of Ukrainian children and their families” Vikram Sehgal, Chairman of the Worthy Children Foundation, said, “We are very pleased to embark on this important journey with ASK. The tragic conflict in the Ukraine has displaced many families and those children with learning differences are impacted even more so. We hope our contribution helps these children in their rehabilitation journey and by extension, provide some comfort to their caregivers, who themselves have experienced trauma and very much need their equally worthy children to be cared for first. The Worthy Children Foundation stands by these children.” About ASK ASK is a non-profit organization providing support to families of children and adults with differential learning abilities. ASK runs several community-based programs, intensive interventions, and parent engagement services, which fit within ASK’s overall mission to enrich the lives of individuals with different learning abilities. One of ASK’s core aims is to support the social inclusion and meaningful integration of those with additionalneeds into their communities. ASK provides a range of evidence-based supports and services which aim to target socially significant goals for individuals and their families. The team at ASK are focused on designing individualized programs to meet the unique needs of children and adults with differential learning abilities. All ASK programs involve an initial comprehensive assessment, a written individualised person-centred plan and an ongoing evaluation of goals, to ensure the needs of the individual are being met. About Worthy Children Foundation The Worthy Children Foundation was established in May 2022 to help children, diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases or global development delay or similar conditions, to get access to innovative & inclusive methods of education and cognitive therapies. The Foundation seeks to maximize such children’s cognitive, intellectual and social development to explore their long term true potential therefore contributing towards a wholesome childhood and improving their choices in life, while minimizing the burden on their families/guardians. Contacts Dr. Jennifer Holloway, C.PSYCHOL., PS.S.I., BCBA-D CEO, ASK – All Special Kids info@allspecialkids.org Geneva, Switzerland Vikram Sehgal Chairman, Worthy Children Foundation info@worthychildren.org Geneva, Switzerland
December 31st, 2022 Our ASK Centre has recently been approved as an Authorized Continuing Educator Provider (ACE) by the BACB. We will be announcing a free CEU event for professionals in February- watch this space. This term our ACCESS program has teamed with Step Academy to provide IT training to our young adults. The team at Step Academy have been extraordinarily welcoming and have helped our interns to learn skills in robotics, typing, and digital art. We look forward to continuing this collaboration into 2023, and would highly recommend this service to families and young people with additional needs. We are searching for parents who would like to get more involved in helping us to help parents. For 2023, we will be hosting a number of parent and family engagement events that will help to build a fun and supportive ASK community. Please contact us if you would like to become a parent volunteer. We launched a new benefit for parent members: a Facebook closed group where parents can connect and share their experiences. Become a member. To read our full December Newsletter click here.