Learners from a local autism charity have received a confidence boost and a better understanding of maths through government-funded programme, Multiply.
Multiply is a national initiative aiming to boost the UK’s numeracy skills particularly in practical settings such as household finances and budgeting. Its mission is to transform people’s work and home lives by increasing their confidence in applied maths.
Locally, the programme is delivered by training provider ACT who has been helping charity Autistic Minds to support its users.
Autistic Minds, which is based in Pontypridd, empowers autistic adults by improving access to support, education, employment and social opportunities so they can reach their full potential and build a more independent life for themselves.
The charity was initially interested in pursuing the Multiply course to help train their staff and volunteers, boosting their skills and confidence.
While every autistic learner journey is different, some people can struggle with dyscalculia – a learning difficulty which directly affects a person’s comprehension of arithmetic and other mathematical processes.
With ACT, learners were able to build skills and confidence through practical sessions such as woodwork, rather than traditional classroom-based work.
Talking about the ways in which schools could better support different learners with their maths, a spokesperson at Autistic Minds said: “[People should] make reasonable adjustments around the way people learn by using different resources and more tactile learning techniques. The teaching [should] fit the people rather than the other way around.”
Speaking of ACT tutors, they added: “[They were] extremely supportive and engaging with everyone in the workplace, they almost felt like part of the team.”
If you would like to gain a better understanding of numbers or boost your confidence with things like finance or Excel spreadsheets, you can find out more about ACT’s Multiply programme here.
