wElCOME TO tHE wILLOW tREE auTISM Project

The Idea for the Willow Tree Autism Project was first dreamed up by our family members as a place where all children could come to play, make friends and learn about themselves and others.

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Our team have qualifications in Psychology, Social Studies and Social Care, Autism Studies, Therapeutic Childcare and Counselling and Psychotherapy and have combined that knowledge to design what we believe to be a unique learning experience and journey across the senses.

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We also believe that to learn about autism you must include the expertise of someone with first- hand knowledge, which is why we consult with our family expert, a very impressive young man with autism who has taught us how to adapt our thinking and our environment to meet him where he is. We no longer believe autism awareness is a priority in Ireland because of our experience as a family, we believe understanding should be the next priority and this encompasses all that we stand for.

Your wILLOW tREE team

susan LASTE

Lead Advocate

Susan is an autism advocate with over 14 years’ experience working with children with autism and she is qualified in Autism Studies from UCC. She has over 18 years’ experience of fostering children with the HSE and Tusla with some of these children having many complex medical needs and behavioural issues.

Susan worked with the manager of The Showgrounds Shopping Centre to bring the first Autism Designated Car Parking Spaces to Clonmel in 2018. Having also recognised the difficulties that many families face particularly during the Covid Pandemic, she advocated to get safe play times in the local parks by approaching local councillors to advocate for such times.

This was successful in June 2020 with the implementation of designated playground times for children with disabilities and additional needs. This went on to be rolled out by all county council play parks in the Tipperary area. Susan has also been a volunteer with My Canine Companion Autism and Therapy Service for children for over 10 years and has helped fundraise and support the use of therapy and autism assistance dogs in Clonmel and the surrounding towns.

aLISON LASTE

director

Alison is currently working towards commencing her doctorate in clinical psychology and is graduate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland. She has previously obtained a masters in Psychological Science, a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies and Social Care, a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Alison has worked directly with families for the past 15 years with experience in residential care homes, high support centres, special care units, community services and mental health services. Her roles included management, training, supervision, and auditing.

Alison has experience of delivering high quality, evidenced based approaches to behaviour management, stress intervention, sensory and emotional regulation, harm reduction and broad skills development.

john LASTE

Director

John is the man with the vision on our team since he first conceived the idea of providing a service for families experiencing a severe lack of services for their children, big and small. John developed a keen interest in autism and sensory integration due to, with his wife Susan, caring for children with additional needs. John has a bachelor’s degree in Social Studies and Social Care. He was previously a tutor in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and was trained in therapeutic childcare at the Costwold Community. He has over 35 years of professional experience in the allied health and social care field including in residential care centres, management, monitoring and inspection of residential and fostering services.

rebecca LASTE

Musical Coordinator

Rebecca obtained a BA (Hons) Music degree from Waterford Institute of Technology in 2020, where she specialised in Vocal Performance and Research in her final year. Through the programme, she studied Music Pedagogy, specifically the teaching style of Zoltán Kodály, whose method of Music Education focuses heavily on the child's ability to learn alongside their own personal, emotional, and social development.

This method, which Rebecca will be facilitating through The Willow Tree Autism Project, has been proven to improve perceptual functioning, concept formation, motor skills and better performance in other academic areas such as reading and maths.

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