Communication and Supporting Skills
This course is helpful to families who are just beginning their journey as well as those who are further along the path. Those who have attended report that they feel more confident and are able to make more informed choices and decisions on behalf of their family member.
Who can attend?
The course is open to families who have a family member with a disability and to people whose chosen career is to work with people who have a disability and their families.
Facilitators organise the workshops to ensure that the ratio of families and people who work in the disability sector will be maintained, to enable a balanced learning of each others’ perspectives.
The workshop is conducted in an environment that fosters the sharing of experiences and skills in a confidential, respectful and supportive atmosphere. Participants are never expected to share more than they are comfortable with.
How long does it take to complete the course?
The CASS course takes 16 hours to complete and may be presented over a number of sessions. These could be 4sessions of 4 hours duration each or 8 sessions of 2 hours duration each.
Some of the areas covered in the workshops include:
- Sharing of experiences: Sometimes experiences shared enable us to see things more clearly and feel less isolated.
- Caring for ourselves: Sometimes in our busy lives we forget to care for our own needs too.
- Communication skills: What are good communication skills? How do we communicate with each other? How can we learn improved negotiation skills?
- Listening skills: We all think we listen, but do we really? How can listening enable us to be more effective in getting our needs and those of our family member met?
- Supporting skills: Learn how to support each other, how to recognize when we need support ourselves and how to feel more comfortable to ask.
- Assertion skills: What are they and how can we be more assertive in our daily lives?
- Advocacy: What is it and how can we use it?
- Integrating skills: Learn how to integrate and use these skills in a practical way.
- Support groups: What are they and how might they be useful to us? Do we want to be pro-active?
For further information download a CASS brochure: CASS Brochure or for a printable version of this page click here
If you are interested in participating in this training please click here to contact our office