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Description
Autism Spectrum Disorder is currently one of the most commonly diagnosed development disorders. According to Skarżysko-Kamienna County Education Development Center data, over the last five years the number of rulings granting special learning due to Autism Spectrum Disorder has almost doubled. People with ASD can face exclusion due to unusual behavior and social difficulties, and those close to them are often treated as incompetent and incapable carers. Specialist facilities in our area have limited capacity for action and personnel training. We see a liking for outdated concepts for treating ASD which have been disproved on the basis of modern scientific discourse. This project will address the lack of access to modern, effective therapy methods for people with ASD and the insufficient level of knowledge and awareness of the subject among the public. We have planned an online parent support group (45 self-help meetings and five meetings with experts), one-on-one therapy for children and young people with ASD, and a Consultation Point. We will devise an individual support path, helped, as far as necessary, by a crisis support team working in a domestic or school setting. For teachers, guardians, and other persons who come into contact with people with ASD, we will organize six lectures given by authorities on development disorders. The measures will mean that a minimum of 15 people in therapy and 100 parents in the support group will function better in society and experience less social exclusion. Knowledge of ASD issues will improve in the local community. Young people with ASD from Skarżysko-Kamienna and the surrounding area, and their parents, teachers, and other people concerned with ASD will participate in the measures.
Summary of project results
The project addressed the problem of insufficient support for people on the autism spectrum in Skarżysko-Kamienna. The diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is increasing in Poland. Data from the District Centre for Educational Development in Skarżysko-Kamienna show that in the last 5 years the number of decisions on the need for special education due to autism spectrum disorders has almost doubled. However, people on the spectrum are sometimes ostracized because of their special needs and social difficulties, and their relatives are often treated as educationally incompetent. Local specialist services have limited capacity and staff training, and still use outdated therapeutic approaches that have been debunked by modern scientific discourse. People on the autism spectrum do not have access to modern, effective therapies and face a lack of social awareness of autism on a daily basis.
The project was aimed primarily at parents and children on the autism spectrum from Skarżysko-Kamienna. There were open lectures about Applied Behaviour Analysis, behaviour therapy, different developmental stages of children on the spectrum. Parents participated in an online support group, and experts in areas such as communication, food selectivity and parent-therapist collaboration were invited to meetings. Individual support pathways were developed for children on the autism spectrum and they received individual behavioural therapy (24 participants), with ongoing monitoring of progress. Parents planning their child''s diagnosis or carers working therapeutically on their own benefited from individual consultations (23 people in total).
Young people on the autism spectrum from Skarżysko-Kamienna and the surrounding area and their parents took part in the activities. The children received individual therapeutic support, which improved their communication skills, emotional management and social functioning, as well as developing independence and reducing challenging behaviour. Parents of children on the autism spectrum increased their awareness of effective therapy methods and developed their parenting skills. An important outcome of the project, the so-called added value, was that the project promoter set up the first kindergarten in the city to work with children on the autism spectrum using uniform behavioural methods.