An autism expert from Canada met with high school teachers and parents last night.

Joyce Mounsteven of Canada's Geneva Centre of Autism was brought to the Island by the Bermuda Autism Support and Education (BASE) society.

Dr. Mounsteven joined with BASE Autism Consultant, Susannah Cole to conduct a two-day workshop.

On Monday they ran a presentation to twenty primary school staff and yesterday they presented the same workshop to twenty high school educators.

Last night they held an informal parents meeting at Mount Saint Agnes Academy Auditorium for the parents of children with autism, special needs and learning disabilities.

The goal was to give parents an avenue to express their concerns about their children's current education and suggest improvements they wanted to see in the future. Dr. Mounsteven and the professionals at BASE believe in the "inclusion" model of autism care. They support the idea that children with autism can benefit by learning alongside their peers in the public education system.

Dr. Mounsteven said: "The inclusion model is where children with disabilities attend typical schools within regular classrooms and receive the support they need to be successful.

"It gives children with special needs the opportunity to learn in natural, stimulating environments. They learn normal communication and social skills among typical children.

"Inclusion makes it possible for friendships to occur with typical peers, and leads to greater acceptance within the community," added Dr. Mounsteven.

For more information visit www.bermudaautism.org.