PALS – Personal and Life Skills Programme

The PALS – Personal and Life Skills Programme has been designed and operated by Laura Crowley, BA ECS(hons) MA Ed(Open) PG Cert TLHE, at the Shine Centre for the past 12 years. This programme, the first of its kind, places equal emphasis on personal and emotional self-management skills, self-esteem and social skill development. It directly addresses the barriers to social skill advancement through individualised child centred lessons, and constantly feeds back information and lesson plans to parents. Given the success of the programme and the geographical and intake restrictions, the PALS programme has been modularised for e-learning, allowing children everywhere to engage and benefit from the programme. Currently there are six modules available, which cover a wide range of pertinent social skill areas including non-verbal communication, conversation skills, interpersonal skills and stress management. The effectiveness of the programme was examined as an MSc Research Project in UCC and was found to produce positive results and outcomes for the participants.

How PALS Online Works
The PALS Online Programme is open to children between the ages of 10 and 14, with a diagnosis of Autism Level one. A maximum of 4 places are available in each online module class. While multiple modules will be available at one time, they will also be repeated regularly. The programme is conducted one afternoon per week, with classes lasting for thirty minutes. Each module is between 4-6 weeks in duration and progress is measured using multiple choice quizzes at the end of each lesson. We see parents as instrumental in their children’s social skill development journey, and so parent information sheets are available for download after each session. This allows parents to equip themselves with the knowledge and tips for advancing their child’s social development and allowing them flourish in the neurotypical social world.

Please be advised, the waitlist for this programme can be quite lengthy, and places are awarded on a first come first served basis.