SNN Presents: Supporting your child with special needs through the teen years

This talk will highlight the changes that occur for typical and neurodiverse children during the teen years, some of the challenges your teenage child with special needs or disabilities might encounter, and possible solutions you might consider. It will also share ideas on how to maximise your child’s development during the teen years.

Key topics:

• Developmental changes: neurological and physical
• Challenges that parents can encounter during the teen years     
• Mental health challenges for neurotypical teens
• Challenges during the teens years as a result of physical maturity (puberty)
• Learning issues and opportunities
• Friendship and social challenges
• Planning for positive outcomes during the teen years – the importance of social skills, strengths recognition and expansion, independence training and vocational planning

Speaker

Angela Watkins is a psychologist and counsellor working with teens and adults in Hong Kong. She is also the parent to a child (now adult) with autism.

Angela holds a Master of Arts in Education (Child Psychology) and a Master of Counselling degree (Monash University). Angela has been a lecturer of clinical psychology and developmental psychology in universities in Hong Kong as well as New Zealand. Angela is a clinical trainer of counsellors in Hong Kong on behalf of Monash University. She is well known for her work with children and teens.

In regard to teens with special educational needs, Angela’s work includes group and individual sessions in the areas of  social skills development, understanding friendships, overcome learning issues and identifying individual strengths and vocational opportunities.

In 2018, Angela helped establish Voc-abilities, Hong Kong’s only dedicated choir for teens and adults with disabilities. The choir is still going strong, despite the challenges of Covid in the past 2 years.