In this Episode #12 of Autism Spa Podcasts, we speak with Feliciea Jibson, Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder of PAGS, an Online Profiling and Progress Monitoring Tool for Neuro-Diverse Learners.
You can watch the full episode here.
In this podcast we discuss / discussed / learned / found out:
· How neurodiverse learners, their parents and teachers have unique experiences that can often cause conflict.
· How the behavioural challenges of a learner may be the result of inappropriate target setting and unrealistic expectations; consequently, parents may experience frustration and teachers may have increasing difficulty in understanding how they can support the learner and build positive relationships with parents (Jibson, Allen & Ansari , 2021).
· The role of PAGS (Profile, Assessment and Goal Setting) as an online digital platform that boosts children’s learning and psycho-social development designed for the caregivers of neurodiverse children aged 5 to 15. Neurodiversity includes autism, ADHD and dyslexia and related conditions such as dyscalculia, dyspraxia, global developmental delay. Caregivers includes parents, teachers, professionals (Clinical Psychologist, Educational Psychologist, Educational Consultant, Speech and Language Therapist, Dyslexia assessor)
· How PAGS® provides transparency from the point of assessment to goal setting and progress recording by giving parents and teachers equal access to the child’s profile. This means that through PAGS®, parents and teachers have the same understanding of an ND child’s abilities and areas requiring support and development. This alone creates a significant shift in parent-teacher relationships thus building a positive support network for the learner (Jibson, Allen & Ansari , 2021).
PAGS helps parents and teachers to be proactive rather than reactive.
· The 5 simple steps that makes PAGS a unique digital tool i.e:
1. Parents, teachers and/or therapists (i.e., caretakers) fill out detailed questionnaires about a child’s behaviour/competences. PAGS uses these answers to produce a picture of the child’s profile in key developmental areas (communication, social interaction, cognition, etc.). The questionnaires were developed by PAGS founder, Feliciea, who is an expert in autism and special education needs, in collaboration with a large group of professionals, pooling a wealth of knowledge and experience.
2. Based on the child’s unique profile, PAGS will guide caretakers in selecting appropriate/relevant “learning goals”.
3. Based on the learning goals that are selected, PAGS will produce a tailored list of recommended exercises, strategies, tools, apps, etc. to use with the child.
4. PAGS will regularly prompt caretakers to update their answers to the questionnaire, in order to track the child’s progress and produce useful reports (among others, for health reimbursement schemes).
5. Finally, throughout the entire process, PAGS allows caretakers to communicate with each other and leave notes about the child’s behaviour/progress. This way, no information is lost along the way, and parents are supported in their discussions with experts.
· The impact that this approach to assessment has on the learner; standardised tests allow teachers to evaluate skills that learners have in comparison to their peers. However, this can be detrimental as they highlight the deficits of a neuro-diverse learner when compared to their typically developing peers.
PAGS®, on the other hand, highlights learner’s abilities as an individual and celebrates their progress by comparing them to their own baselines. It encourages parents and professionals to focus on learner’s positive attributes and achievements accepting their strengths and limitations while paving a way forward for further support and development, enabling them to reach their full potential in the process (Jibson, Allen & Ansari , 2021).
· In the UK, the updated Autism strategy for children, young people and adults 2021 to 2026 is proposing to address this, amongst other anomalies (link to article in notes): “People are having to wait longer for autism assessments and diagnosis, and the restrictions have been a barrier to access for important services like day centres and community mental health services, which help keep people well. In addition, we know that wider pressures on the labour market may make it even harder for autistic people to get into and stay in work”.
Feliciea Jibson, Chief Science Officer & Co-Founder of PAGS Chief Science Officer at PAGS, dedicated to children’s academic performance and psycho-social development. PAGS is the ultimate profiling and monitoring tool to boost children’s learning and psycho-social development. PAGS assesses, tracks, and provides strategies for neuro-diverse learners. Neuro-diverse learners are children that are born with brains that are “wired” differently, and that make them think, learn and process information differently than others. These differences often are a source of difficulties in different domains of their life: cognition and learning, communication, social awareness, self-regulation. Before opening Felser Limited in 2018 Feliciea spent 4 years as a Head of Department for learners of 16 to 25 years old with severe learning difficulties and complex needs. Feliciea is a qualified Teacher with many years of experience in teaching autistic children in schools, residential settings, working directly with parents, carers and families.
You may contact Feliciea Jibson at:
E: info@pagsprofile.com and visit www.pagsprofile.com for more information. PAGS SRL is registered in Belgium: Allee de la Recherche 10,1070 Anderlecht, Belgium
At Autism Spa, we engage experts, luminaries & champions that are working on initiatives that are meant to transform the lives of our special needs families. If you want to speak to our audience, profile your products or services or share your transformational experience, then we want to hear from you at info@AutismSpa.com.
To sponsor an upcoming episode, suggest a speaker/topic or to partner with Autism Spa, please contact us at info@AutismSpa.com www.AutismSpa.com.
This has been a production of the Afshar Group, a public affairs advisory firm. www.AfsharGroup.com
Thanks for watching!
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026 (accessed on 16.08.2021)
(Jibson F., Allen S. & Ansari N. (2021). The thinking behind the development of PAGS®. Manuscript in preparation).
