Celebrating the world of art

1700 Care Staff In County Are Autism Trained

More than 1700 health and social care staff across the county have received new training to enable them to better support the autistic community. The staff, all employed by Dorset Council, BCP Council, NHS Dorset, hospitals and community health providers took part in an autism training programme co-produced and co-delivered by Christchurchbased charity Autism Unlimited. Autism Unlimited has designed its training around the National Core capabilities Framework for Autism with two stages, Understanding Autism, an e-learning course teaching learners what autism is and how the autistic community experience the world, and Autism Acceptance, a faceto-face session which equips learners with strategies and techniques so they can help autistic people feel included, understood and supported. On July 1, 2022, a new legal requirement was introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022 that all registered health and social care providers must ensure their staff receive training in learning disability and autism appropriate to their role.

Care homes across Dorset have chosen creative ways to celebrate visual art and culture. Residents at Colten Care homes in West Moors, Longham, Poole and Sherborne have all enjoyed activities, talks and presentations inspired by the annual Unesco World Art Day. At Brook View in West Moors, residents were treated to a talk and art demonstration by New Forest-based equine illustrator and author Alan Langford, pictured right. They watched and asked questions as he sketched and coloured a picture of a horse. As he worked, he explained