Life on the Spectrum for System Involved Youth - What Helps and What Hinders

Waynette Brock & Anisa Mustafa

Training Description

Foster and/or System Involved Youth who live in out of home care not only bear the burden of their difficult family circumstances, but they also experience the weight of being subjected to biases that existed long before they entered this world. This interactive training is for professionals and caregivers of youth in the foster care system and/or justice system. Participants will learn the importance of recognizing how their life experiences and position of power can influence how they communicate with the young people on the autism spectrum that they serve/support. Participants will explore ways to relinquish traditional roles of power/authority and purposely use language in a way that empowers these youth to discover their own truths about their life, wellness, value, choices, and contributions; examine, discuss, and challenge issues related to life on the autism spectrum; consider the difference between strategies that help and those that hinder; learn tools that will help youth care for themselves as they continue this process; and explore ways to abandon thoughts and actions that hinder endeavors to building efficacy and empowering youth to lessen their isolation, provide supportive care and reach positive outcomes for foster and/or system involved youth that are on the spectrum.

Learning Objective

· Learn the importance of self-reflection in caregiving to abandon thoughts and actions that hinder endeavors to provide support to foster youth or system involved youth that are on the spectrum

· Learn 3 strategies as they commit to the task of dismantling stigma while providing empowering support

· Learn the difference between tools, techniques and strategies that are helpful and those that hinder

· Explore how their lens frames the way they communicate

· Learn how developing an awareness of self can help the professional/caregiver determine the appropriate language to use when working with system involved youth who live on the spectrum

· Learn tools to develop self-awareness around the use of language and to use intentionality with language to empower the system involved youth's efforts to develop hope, explore options, advocate for themselves, and build strong support systems

Agenda 

10:00-10:30am: Welcome, Housekeeping, Agenda Review, Create Supportive Learning Environment

10:30-11:30am: Group Activity – Exploring Strengths and Challenges

11:30-11:45am: BREAK (CEUs will not be offered for this time)

11:45-1:00pm: Exploring the difference in how we use language – What helps and What Hinders progress / Why it’s Important that We Become Intentional

1:00-1:30pm: LUNCH BREAK (CEUs will not be offered for this time)

1:30-2:45pm:  “The Big Picture” Fostering Self-Awareness around the use of language

2:45-3:00pm: BREAK (CEUs will not be offered for this time)

3:00-3:45pm:  The role of self-reflection and self-revelation in case formulation

3:45-4:00pm:  Debrief, Written Evaluation, Close

Meet Our Trainers

Waynette Brock has lead peer teams focusing on high risk individuals and underserved populations such as those that are incarcerated, individuals seeking recovery from substance use disorder, and those with life threatening illnesses, as well as anyone who wants to make positive life changes. Waynette lives in Northern California and is the National Trainer for the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery.

Anisa Mustafa is currently responsible for National and International Trauma, Crisis and Mental Health Recovery, Community Inclusion, Psychiatric Advanced Directives, Wellness/Recovery Education programs, certification training, curriculum development, and sourcing of initiatives through implementation. 

This course meets the qualifications for (4.0) BBS CEUs for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.