Early-onset, severe autism spectrum disorder, family course
Applications to courses arranged in 2025 may be submitted later in the spring.
The course is suitable for children who have been diagnosed with an early-onset, severe autism spectrum disorder.
Learn more about rehabilitation service providers
Courses for informal caregivers are open to applicants from all over Finland, i.e. you can select a suitable service provider anywhere in Finland. The service provider search will be updated later in the spring. A more specific date will be announced later. Please note, the service is in Finnish and Swedish only.
The child may also suffer from
- Intellectual disability
- challenging behaviour and behavioural or emotional symptoms associated with an autism spectrum disorder or the symptoms accompanying such a disorder
- difficulties related to attentional control and sensory processing and dysexecutive problems
- some other neurodevelopmental disorder.
Rehabilitation is arranged for the following target groups:
- children over 4, but under school age, and their families
- children in primary school and their families.
Purpose of the course
The aim of the course is to provide comprehensive information and guidance for the child and the family and to help them live a full and meaningful life despite the child’s condition. Rehabilitation is also a way of strengthening the family’s resources and life management skills as well as a means of providing support for the family and its support networks. It also provides opportunities to meet other families who are in a similar situation.
Content of the course and implementation
The rehabilitation is implemented as group rehabilitation taking the child’s and the family’s individual goal and need for rehabilitation into consideration.
The course includes group discussions and working in small groups, a variety of activities as well as individual interviews, meetings and discussions with rehabilitation experts.
The rehabilitation is arranged partly as telerehabilitation and partly as group rehabilitation periods on the service provider’s premises. If necessary, the service provider will lend you the device needed for you to be able to participate in telerehabilitation.
The telerehabilitation part of the course is implemented over a period of about 8 weeks. The telerehabilitation consists of
- an individual videoconferencing session
- online rehabilitation at a time suitable to you
- guidance for participation in online rehabilition
- 2 group videoconferencing sessions.
A videoconferencing session lasts 45 minutes on average. A group videoconferencing session lasts 60-90 min on average.
The rehabilitation arranged on the service provider’s premises lasts 5 days. You can stay overnight at the place of the rehabilitation or travel there from home each day.
The service provider contacts the family before and after the rehabilitation.
Course personnel
The course is implemented by the following experts:
- specialist in pediatric neurology, pediatric psychiatry, adolescent psychiatry or specialist in children's’ diseases
- special-needs teacher in primary or early childhood education
- social worker, Bachelor of Social Sciences or rehabilitation instructor
- occupational therapist
- speech therapist.
Depending on the child’s individual needs, other rehabilitation professionals and assisting personnel may also take part.