TITO’S STORY, September 19, 10pm and midnight; September 24, 9pm

AUTISM AWARENESS

View the world through the eyes of someone with autism at National Autism Awareness Day, a fun event in Leicester Square, London, September 25. The condition will be explored through exhibitions, music, dance, children’s entertainment and a performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, featuring children with autism.

Contact: National Autistic Society on 020 7833 2299; www.nas.org.uk

AUTISM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE September 23-24. Organised by The National Autistic Society at Novotel Hammersmith. Speakers include: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, director, Autism Research Centre, Cambridge; and Gary Mesibov, director, Division TEACCH. Contact: see above.

Running up to the awareness day, Teachers’ TV is screening a season of programmes. Highlights include:

TITO’S STORY September 19, 10pm and midnight; September 24, 9pm. Severely autistic Tito, aged 11, from Bangalore, India, reveals what it is to be autistic with insight and humour. The British Autistic Society flew him to London for assessment.

THE FOOLISH WISE ONES September 19, 11.30pm. The savant syndrome is explored through the talents of three autistic people, including a boy who draws buildings from memory in minute detail.

I WANT MY LITTLE BOY BACK September 21, 10am and midnight. Jordan, aged 5, is put through the Option Process, where parent and child work together intensely.

A STRANGER IN THE FAMILY

September 22, 10am and midnight. At Giant Steps, a special school in Sydney set up and maintained by parents, progressive treatments have led to startling breakthroughs.

SPECIAL SCHOOLS - IMAGINATION ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM

September 19, 12.30pm, 6.30pm, 9pm; September 24, 8pm.

Arts projects in Rosehill Special School, Nottingham.

SCHOOL MATTERS - ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM: MEETING OUR NEEDS

September 20, 12.30pm, 6.30pm, 9pm; September 22, 1.30pm, 6.30pm; September 24, 8.30pm. Managing pupils with autism.

INSPIRATIONS: BLOGOSPHERE

September 20, 12pm, 6pm, 9.30pm; September 22, 1.15pm, 6.15pm, 9.45pm; September 25, 11pm. Stephen O’Hear investigates how blogging encourages pupils to think, write and share their feelings.

Full schedule and downloadable programmes at www.teachers.tv

CONFERENCES AND COURSES

September 27

EMOTIONALLY LITERATE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Conference for heads, deputies and other professionals at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Key speaker: Ian Glen, head of neighbourhood management, children and families, Edinburgh City Council. Fee: pound;129.

Contact: www.schoolofemotional-literacy.com; 01452 741106

September 30

CHILD HEALTH CONFERENCE

Organised by Glasgow University for those working with children in education and social care.

Contact: Carolyn Fraser on 0141 201 9264; www.gla.ac.ukdevelopmentalcpdNewCourses.html

October 13

PERSPECTIVES ON AUTISM

Teachers’ awareness day at Sunfield School, near Stourbridge, West Midlands. Fee: pound;50.

Contact: Rose Welling on 01562 883183; rosew@sunfield.worcs.sch.uk

From October 17

SIGNING TUTOR TRAINING

The Signalong Group charity offers an intensive programme for people with signing experience (SignalongMakatonBSL). Venues: Ayrshire, October 17-21; Kent, October 24-28; Lancashire, November 14-18. Fee: pound;975 (AyrshireLancashire); pound;875 (Kent).

Contact: Gill Kennard on 0870 7743757; gkennard@signalong.org.uk

October 17-21

ONLINE AUTISM CONFERENCE

Free international online conference organised by Autism Cymru. The 30-plus contributors include UK experts Professors Rita Jordan, Lorna Wing and Simon Baron-Cohen; Australia’s Professor Tony Attwood; and Professor Helen Tager-Flusberg and Dr Marian Sigman from the United States.

Contact: www.autism2005.org

October 19

A CURRICULUM FOR LEARNING

Teachers and speech and language therapists will find out about a curriculum for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties at this conference and launch of St Margaret’s school developmental curriculum and assessment.

Venue: The Children’s Trust, Tadworth, Surrey. Fee: pound;35.

Contact: Elaine Lush, 01737 365810; elush@thechildrenstrust.org.uk

October 21-22

THE NASEN AND TES SPECIAL NEEDS EXHIBITION

Annual teaching exhibition and professional development seminars organised by The TES and National Association for Special Educational Needs at The Business Design Centre, London N1. Seminars include: structured teaching for pupils with autistic spectrum disorders; using ICT to enable social inclusion in primary schools; deaf awareness; understanding and supporting children with dyspraxia.

Contact: 020 7782 3034; 01923 690646 (seminar bookings); www.teachingexhibitions.co.uk

AWARDS

EQUIPMENT GRANTS

The Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities annual award programme helps schools, hospitals and charities purchase play and educational equipment for children with special needs. The focus this year is on sensory impairments. Application closing date: September 30.

Contact: www.rmcc.org.uk

TELEVISION

BBC2

HANDS UP! THE IRON MAN

Four 15-minute programmes for ages 9-11, September 15, 22. British Sign Language translation of popular children’s classic with differentiated activities to support literary skills.

HANDS UP! THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA For ages 9-11, from September 29.

Ten-part BSL translation by Jean St Clair of The Magician’s Nephew from C S Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia.

SOMETHING SPECIAL

Series of 15-minute programmes for ages 4-7 from September 29. Presenter Justin Fletcher leads young children in songs and rhymes around familiar themes, such as the farm and food. Children, teachers and parents learn Makaton signing along the way.

SEE HEAR

Saturdays, midday. The magazine for deaf people, which has run since 1981, returns in mid-September. Full schedule at www.bbc.co.ukschoolsguide Channel 4

DISPATCHES: THE DYSLEXIA MYTH September 8, 9pm.

Even though a great deal of money has been spent, the number of children with serious reading problems has hardly changed.

Contributions to the diary should be sent to SNExtra@tes.co.uk