Westmead Feelings Program 1: Facilitator Certification, accessible from Jan 27 – March 4 2025

The Westmead Feeling Program 1 teaches autistic children with mild intellectual disability (ID) the power of emotion recognition, perspective-taking, problems-solving and emotion regulation skills.

The comprehensive online Westmead Feelings Program 1 Facilitator Certification Course enables professionals to implement the 15-month Westmead Feelings Program 1 intervention program in school, private practise and hospital settings. It is designed to provide professionals with the knowledge, skills and confidence to effectively implement the 15-month Westmead Feelings Program 1 intervention in their setting to the highest standard.

This course is suitable for teachers, special educators, psychologists and allied health and disability practitioners who intend to provide Westmead Feelings Program 1 in their setting, and wish to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to successfully implement the program.

Delivery mode: Online
Time and duration: 20 hours of online coursework, over approximately 10 weeks.

Please note this certification registration does not include a Westmead Feelings Program 1 Resource Kit. The Resource Kit can be purchased here.

Intended learning outcomes
Participants will be able to:

• demonstrate the capacity to use Westmead Feelings Program 1, including all key resources, to teach autistic children with mild ID the skills required for understanding emotions, problem-solving, perspective taking and managing emotions
• demonstrate the capacity to use Westmead Feelings Program 1 to teach parents and teachers of autistic children with mild ID how to be ‘emotion coaches’, supporting skill development in understanding emotions, problem-solving, perspective taking and managing emotions
• analyse and critically evaluate a range of positive behaviour support strategies to be able to effectively deliver Westmead Feelings Program 1 to autistic children with mild ID
• apply knowledge to implement differentiated teaching strategies.

Course in detail
The course consists of four units and two learning assurance tasks. It covers proficiency in 12 separate areas of Westmead Feelings Program 1, through interactive tasks, activities and videos.

Unit 1: introduction and overview

• History, research and development of Westmead Feelings Program 1.
• Differentiated teaching methods for the learning profile of autistic children with mild ID.

Unit 2: Teaching ‘Westmead Feelings Program 1 Module 1: Understanding emotions’ to children, parents and teachers

• How to teach children to communicate about their own and others’ emotional states, using the Feelings Strength Bar and associated worksheets.
• How to introduce parents and teachers to their role as emotion coaches, and encouraging communication.
• Conveying the emotional and social strengths and challenges for autistic children with mild ID.

Unit 3: Teaching ‘Westmead Feelings Program 1 Module 3: Problem solving and perspective taking’ to children, parents and teachers

• How to develop children’s abilities to solve problems.
• How to develop children’s visual perspective taking cues.
• How to develop children’s understandings of emotional body signs.
• Consolidating parents’ and teachers’ use of visual cueing to assist with problem-solving.
• Familiarity with problem-solving and perspective-taking videos and worksheets.

Unit 4: Teaching ‘Westmead Feelings Program 1 Module 4: Managing emotions’ to children, parents and teachers<

• How to develop skills in managing feelings using the Feelings Control Kit strategies and worksheets.
• How to develop parents’ and teachers’ emotion coaching skills in the context of managing difficult feelings.
• A live (and recorded) webinar, providing an opportunity to discuss and share feedback on the implementation of different aspects of the program.

Learning assurance tasks
The learning assurance tasks are a multiple-choice quiz and a 5−10 minute video demonstrating proficiency in one area of the Westmead Feelings Program 1 delivery. On successful completion of the course, participants will receive:

• an accredited certificate, enabling participants to facilitate Westmead Feelings Program 1 at the highest standard with children, parents and teachers in schools, hospitals and other relevant clinical settings
• the opportunity to be listed on ACER’s online certified practitioners’ register.

AITSL Professional Standards for Teachers
The course specifically addresses Professional Knowledge standards 1.5 and 1.6.

• Standard 1.5: Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
• Standard 1.6: Strategies to support full participation of students with disability.

The Psychology Board of Australia
The Westmead Feelings Program 1 Facilitator Certification Course satisfies the guidelines for 20 hours of continuing professional development required for the annual registration of psychologists.

This course will run subject to minimum participant numbers. If the course does not proceed during the advertised dates, you may choose to have your registration costs refunded in full or credited towards the same course at a future time.