JUMPSTART 2.0

An abundant blessing for a very successful, well-attended, and a high-rating autism awareness seminar, “JUMPSTART 2.0,” hosted by the Autism Society Philippines - Bacoor Chapter, in cooperation with St. Dominic College of Asia School of Arts, Sciences and Education; the Global Educators Guild; and Special Education majors last 2 August 2014 at the Studio Theater of of the college. It was attended by 82 participants from different sectors, students, teachers, parents, caregivers, and professionals.

Jumpstart 2.0 participants 

This event was graced with three equally informative topics, and one DIY Task Boxes Workshop for the participants. The first topic for the morning session, “Understanding Autism,” was facilitated by Ms. Chie Marquez, autism advocate and currently the president of ASP Bacoor; the second topic, “Disability: A Human Rights Perspective,” by Mr. Ranil Sorongon, a member of the Philippine Coalition on the UN CRPD. He was part of the team who designed the training modules on Disability and Human Rights of the coalition as a result of his training sponsored by the International Disability Alliance (IDA) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The afternoon sessions, “Managing Challenging Behavior of Children with Autism” and “DIY Task Boxes for Children with Autism and Related Disorders,” were facilitated by Ms. Kismette Cepe-Riguerra, a special education teacher based in the UAE and an active professional member of ASP who helps in organizing local and national events that advocates for the welfare of children with special needs and their families.

Thank you to our SDCA Director of Student Affair and Services Mr. Jon Sta. Ana for the timely support and approval of our venue for this seminar; to all our attendees -- our beloved Dean of SASE Dr. Pedrajas and her class; SDCA Faculty and staff; the SDCA Caregiver class of Ms. Amor Alapide; parents; SPED teachers; the SDCA Global Educators Guild President Rio Juegos Ramas; Julie Anne Zamuco; and my BEEDSE3A and BEEDSE2A SPED major students for their services and to the ASP Bacoor President Chie Marquez, Gerard Joseph Atienza, Kinney Dune Baleña Minez, to our speakers Ranil Sorongon and Kismette Jasmin Cepe-Riguerra and our ASP President Jan Peña for making this day a true autism awareness day! God bless us St. Dominic College of Asia and Autism Society Philippines for this partnership!

Here are more insights about the seminar from the SDCA Students:

“I really enjoyed listening to the speakers; they have very wide perspectives when it comes in autism. I hope there will be another seminar like this because it was really an eye opener to the people who don’t have any idea about autism.”

“The seminar was very informative and a useful information for everybody. This kind of seminar is not only for us Special Education major but for everyone. It is important for everyone to be informed. I hope these people will never get tired to conduct seminars like this.”

“They gave us a lot of ideas. The seminar was a successful one. Our hard works were paid off. Seeing those delegates enjoy and learn new knowledge and techniques made us so happy.”

“I got an idea of how they make or come up with those materials to use for the special children. It’s easy and not too heavy in the pocket. You can just use something that you can see and be resourceful to it. Be creative in doing your Instructional materials. Thanks to the DIY seminar workshop of Teacher Kismette.”

“Happy ako kasi dito ginanap ang seminar sa St. Dominic. Napaka-hospitable nilang lahat. We look forward to more seminars regarding autism in the near future here at SDCA.”

“I've learned a lot from the topics and everything that had been discussed and shared really inspire me to be a competent health care provider.”

“My comment regarding in this seminar is related to my thesis topic/title, so I found my solutions for my thesis problem. I would like to thank you for the great speakers in relation to my thesis studies.”

“Thank you for organizing this seminar and taking time / effort and providing speakers for the event. Kudos to all of you!”

“I've learned so much from this seminar. As a parent, it equipped me more on how to handle my son. I hope we could have more seminars like this.”

“I have learned a lot about autism, how to handle them in school, home, and anywhere. As a teacher, it is interesting yet needs patience and perseverance.”

About the contributor. Prof. Maria Teresita “Terry” B. Carlos is the SPED Coordinator and SASE-Faculty of the St. Dominic College of Asia in Bacoor, Cavite.

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