I've been lucky enough to take part in two training sessions written and delivered by Ailsa.
As a teacher in a Department of Additional Support, I'm always looking to improve my understanding of neurodiversity and Ailsa's training is absolutely fantastic. The sessions are tailor-made for education staff and offer practical advice for within a busy school and classroom environment, delivered in a humorous and down to earth manner. Ailsa's knowledge, care, passion, and experience are obvious, I can't recommend her highly enough to anyone who is looking for better understand and support young people who are neurodiverse.
- Teacher in Department of Additional Support, state sector
Ailsa has been the most amazing source of help for our school. We worked with her on a consultancy basis for individuals as well as in the capacity of trainer for a whole-school FASD CPD session. Ailsa’s lived experience combined with her teaching background and professional training give her a very unique set of skills that sits exactly into the niche of educating teachers and families. She presents information in an accessible way, without compromising on the psychological detail that is necessary for us to understand and support children and young people with complex trauma. She does all of this with grace and compassion; she is always supportive, never judgemental and never patronising. We are very grateful for her input and wisdom, and would encourage any school looking to improve their safeguarding and nurture support of vulnerable young people to book her in.
- Head of Support for Learning, Independent Sector
I think we here in New Zealand and Australia are incredibly privileged to have you join us on this journey. I am learning so much myself. FASD is far from an area of ‘expertise’ for me and you will find there is little and certainly not enough known about it here, so your input to this project has been priceless. Thank you.
- Educational Psychologist, Australia.
EXCELLENCE IN INFORMATION AND DELIVERY
Ailsa Clarke is amazing! She is so knowledgeable about FASD, from both the professional and lived-experience perspectives, and she has such an interactive, fun, and engaging presentation style. Her training material was accessible to all, and based on real-world practical strategies. Our training course participants were raving about what they had learned and how practical it was to implement. Thanks so much Ailsa.
- Kim Milne
Principal Advisor, FASD-CAN, Aotearoa New Zealand
‘Our young person is 15yrs old and is about to embark on her journey through S5…… 4 years ago we never thought this could be the case. Our young person was seen as this verbally challenging child, rude, often violent, non-conforming & disruptive child. She hated school & everything about it……… and then Ailsa came into our lives.
From day 1, Ailsa understood exactly what our child needed in an educational environment and from then the school journey became a bit easier.
The knowledge Ailsa has of how FASD affected our child’s way of thinking around school was instrumental in her getting to S5. From educating the staff about FASD and offering practical advice around our child’s school day, Ailsa has been a tremendous support for all involved in our child’s education and we can’t thank her enough. Her first-hand experience, knowledge, care & passion around any kind of neurodiversity is enormous so if you are looking for any kind of support or training around the understanding of neurodiversity then we highly can highly recommend Ailsa. We will forever be grateful for her input to our child’s learning journey.'
- Foster Carer, Edinburgh.
I highly recommend Ailsa. She has been amazing and so supportive. She went into my daughter’s school and did 1:1 sessions with her. She has also attended school meetings with my husband and I and was able to explain to the school about FASD and strategies that might help. Ailsa is truly caring and so understanding. I would not hesitate in asking her for help.
- Parent, Edinburgh.
I've worked closely with Ailsa in different capacities for a number of years now and she has become the first person to come to mind when I recommend training or consultancy. Her expert knowledge, gained through lived experience and detailed study, is unparalleled.
Ailsa draws on years of teaching experience to make her an expert communicator when developing and delivering training for different audiences, and she does so with a light-heartedness and charm that makes some very concerning topics enjoyable. It is hard not to become absorbed by her work and drawn into fascinating conversations, she is a fountain of knowledge and a valuable asset to FASD-informed practice.
- Former Colleague, PhD in FASD and Education.
Listening to Ailsa speak is like being wrapped in the most comforting blanket of knowledge. She has the unique gift of decades of teaching experience but way more importantly, Ailsa has the lived experience which simply can’t be learned. This combination makes for absolute top-tier, professional and compassionate training delivery.
- Clare
Mother of three teens with FASD and Lead for Voice of Children, Young People & Families for NHS England’s North East North Cumbria Mental Health Clinical Network.
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