Autism (Children) MEd/BPhil/Postgraduate Diploma/Postgraduate Certificate/Advanced Certificate

Summary

This programme is designed for professionals working with children and young people on the autism spectrum, including Asperger syndrome. It is appropriate for those working in early years provision, schools, residential care, advisory, support or therapeutic services. The programme draws on the student’s own experience as part of the content and assessment. It is offered as a taught course on a full- or part-time basis, or via distance learning. 

Key facts

Type of Course: Taught, distance learning, continuing professional development

Duration: MEd – 1 year full-time, 2–6 years distance learning; Diploma – 1 year full-time, 2–4 years part-time/distance learning; Certificate 1–2 years part-time/distance learning, BPhil – 1 year full time, 2-3 years part-time/distance learning; AdCert – 1 semester full time, 1-3 years part-time/distance learning

Start date: Residential weekend 14-16 September 2012.

Entry requirements

Please refer directly to the School of Education entry requirements webpage 
 
Learn more about entry requirements

International students
 We accept a range of qualifications from different countries – learn more about international entry requirements 

Standard English language requirements apply

Contact details

Distance learning programmes

Dr Glenys Jones
Tel: +44 (0)121 414 7102
Email: g.e.jones@bham.ac.uk 

Programme Administrator 
Syma Mumtaz
Tel: +44 (0)121 414 7486
Email: s.mumtaz.1@bham.ac.uk

Campus programmes

Dr Mitzi Waltz
Tel: +44 (0)121 414 7607
Email: m.waltz@bham.ac.uk 

Programme Administrator
Linda Brush
Tel: +44 (0)121 414 4838
Email: l.j.brush@bham.ac.uk 

How to apply

When clicking on the Apply Now button you will be directed to an application specifically designed for the programme you wish to apply for where you will create an account with the University application system and submit your application and supporting documents online. Further information regarding how to apply online can be found on the How to apply pages

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Fees and funding

Fees Home/EU 2012-2013 

Campus Based programmes

  • Code 2743 AdCert part time £1,850 
  • Code 2791 BPhil full time £3,700
  • Code 2792 BPhil part time £1,850
  • Code 2823 PGCert £1,650
  • Code 2854 PGDip full time £3,300
  • Code 3640 PGDip part time £1,650 
  • Code 2904 MEd full time £4,950

Distance Education Programmes 

  • Code 2744 AdCert £2,800
  • Code 2793 BPhil £2,800
  • Code 2824 PGCert £2,600 
  • Code 2855 PGDip £2,600
  • Code 2907 MEd £2,600

The fees shown above are annual fees for students starting their courses September in 2012. Please note that where courses last more than one year, the annual fees for subsequent years on the course may increase due to inflation.

Fees overseas 2012-2013

Please view our Fees for International Students page for further details

Scholarships and studentships
Scholarships may be available. International students can often gain funding through overseas research scholarships, Commonwealth scholarships or their home government. 

For further information contact the School directly or the Student Funding Office via online enquiries. 

Programme overview

This is a programme designed for professionals working with children and young people on the autism spectrum, including Asperger syndrome. It is appropriate for those working in early years provision, schools, residential care, advisory, support or therapeutic services. The programme draws on the student’s own experience as part of the content and assessment.

The programme is offered as a taught course on the University of Birmingham campus or as a distance learning course. Each distance learning student has a personal tutor in a regional or online tutor group and learning is supported through paper-based study packs, tutorial groups, telephone, email and online WebCT contact. There are two University-based study weekends in the first year on the distance learning course.

The aims of the programme are to give students knowledge of the autism spectrum, based on theory, research and practice. It aims to develop skills in identifying and meeting the needs of these children and improve the student’s awareness of different approaches and models of service delivery (particularly in the area of education). Taking the perspective of the child on the autism spectrum is paramount, and listening to families and what they need and value is also stressed.

Three compulsory modules are studied in the first year and they lead to the award of AdCert or PGCert (Masters Level). For students wishing to gain a PGDip, three more modules from autism or from another field of study are studied in the second year. For students wishing to gain a BPhil or MEd, further modules in autism and/or other fields are studied and a dissertation submitted. The dissertation must be in the area of autism.

More details may be found on the Additional Information Tab.

You may be interested now or in the future in our other autism courses. These are both distance learning courses.

Related Research

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Teaching and Learning

Campus based Programme

This is part-time programme. By studying part-time, you remain in your work setting and can therefore tailor the programme to meet your professional needs. All activities and assignments in the programme have a practical as well as a theoretical perspective.

Learning and teaching take place through:

  • Teaching sessions: There are weekly teaching sessions every Tuesday evening at the University 
  • Tutorials: with the programme of study tutors, either as a group or individually. 
  • Reading books, journals and using electronic resources. 
  • Reflecting on and critically evaluating your everyday practice within your schools and services

Distance Learning Programme

By studying at a distance, you remain in your work setting and can therefore tailor the programme to meet your professional needs or your particular interests and experiences. All activities and assignments in the programme have a practical as well as a theoretical perspective. We hope you will find that your own experiences with children and young people on the autism spectrum will link with the ideas and activities in the programme. However, as well as being a practitioner, you are also very much a student and will have the resources of a large university to help you on and off campus. Learning and teaching take place through: 

Self-study materials

Self-study materials are in the form of booklets, and resources on a memory stick and on-line on WebCT. The programme materials are written as Units which make up a Module. Each Module has overall aims and outcomes and there are activities (which are not assessed) which you can do to relate the text to your own situation. In addition to the Units, students are expected to read a range of other books and journal articles.

Regional Tutorials

The tutorials with a tutor and other students are to support students in their learning. At the tutorials students discuss course materials, plan assignments and share their experiences of practice in the field. Attendance at tutorials is essential so that you learn from each other by listening and contributing. For international students, and in some exceptional cases in the UK, it may not be possible to find a local tutor group, and students will then be supported by a tutor using email.

Residential Study Weekends

These weekends, in Spetember and April at the University of Birmingham, are essential in the first year of study. The first residential weekend acts as an introduction to the course in a series of lectures. It introduces many of the ideas in the course and prepares students for the particular approaches to study. The second weekend is a mixture of lectures and workshops. In both weekends, it is a chance to visit the University, buy relevant books, mix with students and tutors and meet people on the autism spectrum who are able to articulate what autism means to them. Study weekends operate from Friday lunchtime to Sunday lunchtime.

Learning Assessment

Learning is assessed through a written assignment at the end of each module. The assignments for the first two modules on the programme are essays, addressing an issue that is of practical and intellectual significance to the student. Students are expected to draw on the literature and their own experience to support their arguments. The third assignment in the first year is a project module where the student undertakes and writes up a piece of reflective practice. These first three modules form the ‘core’ and are compulsory for an award to be made in Autism (Children). The three modules are sequential; information in Modules 2 and 3 building on the earlier units and the modules must be taken in sequence.

In the second year, students may stay within the autism field by taking a double project (which is all that is needed at Level H for a BPhil, followed by the dissertation of 10,000 words). Masters students may also do a double project module, but in addition they need to do one or two other subject modules, which may be the second module from the Autism (Adults) programme, or a module on Challenging Behaviour and Autism, or a module on Inclusive practice. Masters students then take the research module (PIE) and write a 15,000 word dissertation.

Students who successfully complete three modules at Level H are awarded the Advanced Certificate in Autism (children) at the end of the first year or they can proceed into a second year to complete the BPhil degree. Students who successfully complete three modules at Level M are awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Autism (children) at the end of the first year or can continue to study for the Postgraduate Diploma (one more year) or a Masters degree (two more years minimum).

Modules

Module 1: Special Educational Needs of Children with Autism

This module aims to increase the understanding of the autism spectrum for practitioners (eg teachers, psychologists, speech and language therapists, social workers, nurses and parents), who are currently working or living with children on the autism spectrum, in whatever setting. Study time will vary from one student to another but it is designed to take 200 hours of student time, including tutorials, reading and work on the assignment.

Aims 

  • To increase knowledge and understanding of the autism spectrum 
  • To consider the relationship between diagnosis and education / treatment and to understand some of the individual special needs of children on the autism spectrum 
  • To have knowledge of the range of provision and support needed for the children and their families. 
  • To increase understanding of why the behaviour of those on the autism spectrum may challenge others, and to develop strategies for understanding, preventing and managing this

The distance education module consists of 7 Units: 

  1. Understanding the autism spectrum 
  2. Social and emotional understanding 
  3. Communication and language 
  4. Flexibility of thinking and behaviour
  5. Sensory perceptual issues 
  6. Challenging behaviour 
  7. Engaging effectively with parents and carers

The campus-based version of the module is comprised of 12 sessions that also cover all of these areas.

Assessment

Students get the opportunity to do a section of an assignment as practice, early on in this first module, which is read for feedback only by your personal or regional tutor and forms the basis of the first assignment. This enables you to check your grasp of academic writing and the procedures followed by the University of Birmingham, such as referencing.

The assignment is chosen from a list of titles which change from year to year, to enable you to choose a topic of relevance to your own situation. Students can negotiate a title at the appropriate level with the University tutors if they do not feel there is a title which is relevant to their situation.

Level H : Essay Length: 3,000 words 
Level M : Essay Length: 4,000 words

Module 2: Curriculum and Approaches for Children with Autism

This module aims to develop awareness of educational interventions for children on the autism spectrum and to explore how decisions might be made as to which to use. Issues in conducting evaluations of the effectiveness of interventions will be examined together with the current research evidence on some of the most frequently used interventions. It is intended for practitioners who have completed the first module in autism 'Special Educational Needs of Children with Autism' and who are practitioners or parents (eg teachers, psychologists, speech and language therapists, social workers, occupational therapists or nurses), working with children with on the autism spectrum, in whatever setting. Study time will vary from one student to another but it is designed to take 200 hours of student time, including tutorials, reading and work on the assignments.

Aims 

  • To give students ways of assessing, evaluating and recording children’s skills and behaviour and evaluating practice
  • To critically examine a variety of educational approaches in relation to children on the autism spectrum
  • To examine ways of developing language, communication, and social and emotional understanding in children on the autism spectrum
  • To examine some of the problems and possibilities in the transition from childhood to adulthood.

This module comprises of 6 Units: 

  1. Educational interventions on the autism spectrum: an introduction 
  2. The Autism Spectrum and Computers 
  3. Assessment, Evaluation and Recording 
  4. Parent Partnership: Supporting the parents of Children on the Autism Spectrum
  5. Providing a Broad and Relevant Curriculum 
  6. Preparing for adulthood: outcomes and transitions for children and young people on the autism spectrum

Assessment

In order to demonstrate their learning in this module students select an assignment from a range of titles reflecting the content of the module or you may negotiate a title with the University tutor. 

Level H: Essay Length: 3,000 words
Level M : Essay Length: 4,000 words

 

What Next?  

Following completion of the two autism modules your choice depends which level and which award you want to obtain. The projects for all levels should be a reflection or evaluation on an aspect of your practice, the focus and title of which will be negotiated with your regional tutor. 

For those students studying at Level H for an Advanced Certificate in Education (Autism) you do a single project module, which is an assignment of 3,000 words.  

For those students studying at Level H for a BPhil (Autism), you can do a single or a double project module, which is an assignment of 3000 or 6,000 words respectively. If you write a single project, you can choose another subject module from within the autism programme or from a different area of special needs. You will discuss which modules are available nearer the time with the tutor. You will then write a dissertation of 10,000 words on a topic discussed with your personal or regional tutor. 

For those students studying at Level M for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Autism) you do a single project module, which is an assignment of 4,000 words. 

For those students studying at Level M for a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Autism) you can do a single or a double project module, which is an assignment of 4000 or 8,000 words respectively. You can then choose two or three other subject modules from within the Autism programme and/or another programme of study at the University to complete the 6 module requirement for the Diploma. 

For those students studying at Level M for a Masters degree in Autism, you may do a single or a double project module, which is an assignment of 4,000 or 8,000 words respectively. You will then study one or two other modules from the autism programme or from a different programme of study. Following this, you need to do the research module (PIE), which prepares you for your dissertation. On completion of PIE, you will then write a dissertation of 15,000 words on a topic discussed with your personal or regional tutor. This will be due in, within 5 years of the start of your autism programme at the University. 

Recent graduate Lisa Galea Naudi from Malta, talks about her experience of the Autism (Childrens) course and the University of Birmingham.