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Description
Families of people with autism often experience social isolation and psychological crises. These are accompanied by a feeling of powerlessness and being an unnecessary burden on the society. In this project we want to show that persons with autism, their relatives or caregivers can work together for the environment, and thus feel part of the community. Our long-term experience has shown that working with the crisis coaching method, which aims to overcome passivity and helplessness, and to reduce stress, results also in developing pro-social attitudes. Within the project we will use crisis coaching in activities addressed to 24 carers of children and young people with autism, we will also conduct workshops for them on communication and volunteering. We will organise travel workshops on volunteering and environmental education for older children and teenagers with autism. A group of 48 people prepared in this way – children, young people with autism and their carers – will act as ‘eco-volunteers’ for the local community. In cooperation with non-governmental organisations, the participants will themselves develop a plan of activities concerning, among others, care for homeless animals, cleaning of green areas, or planting plants in public places. Volunteering will help strengthen family ties, and the joint activities of those involved in the project will show others how to actively spend time together. As part of the project, a social activity point will be created where a group of parents already engaged in our activities will share their experience, motivate to social activity and respond to the needs of the community.
Summary of project results
Our activities so far have shown that parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of people who have a great need to engage in their own environment and feel part of the local community. We have defined two obstacles to meeting this need. The first is the need to mentally strengthen parents of children with ASD, who are often in a deep crisis in which it is difficult to find their resources and become active and conscious citizens. The second obstacle was the lack of our own meeting point, base used to plan and implement some activities, conduct training, etc.
The project responded mainly to the needs of parents, but we did not ignore the needs of children, intending to increase the involvement of this group of recipients in volunteering activities. The percentage of disabled people involved in voluntary activities is dramatically low. According to the Central Statistical Office report, 6.5% of disabled people are involved in such activities ("Volunteering in organizations and other forms of unpaid work outside the household"). Meanwhile, older children and teenagers with autism have great potential and willingness to take selfless actions for the benefit of society. We also wanted to prepare them to act as volunteers, as well as provide them with ecological education during trips to attractive and interesting places of such education in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Main activities undertaken as part of the project:
- recruitment of a group of 24 participants - via the Internet and meetings in educational institutions,
- training parents of children and adolescents with ASD in the field of volunteering, communication, assertiveness, teamwork and action planning,
- support group meetings led by a crisis coach on topics related to coping with stress and changing one''s attitude to reality,
- implementation of volunteer work by parents and children with ASD - including: cleaning the park area at ul. Niemierzyńska, care for homeless animals, planting flowers in green areas in Szczecin,
- trips of parents and children to places of ecological education,
- running a social activity point for parents of children with developmental disorders, including: parents of children with ASD conducted open classes in choreotherapy or
mosaic-making workshops, we also organized a meeting about home education,
- project evaluation meetings
The products implemented as part of the project are:
- 7 training courses preparing to undertake volunteer activities for nature - 24 participants took part in them,
- 20 meetings using the crisis coaching method for 2 groups of 12 participants and 2 weekend meetings for all participants,
- 1 meeting point was launched for parents of children and adolescents with autism,
- 9 trips to ecological education places were organized, each attended by 20 to 48 participants (parents, children with ASD and their
siblings),
- a group of 48 project participants worked for a total of at least 2,592 hours as eco-volunteers for 9 months.
1. Strengthening civil society and civic activity in the group of parents, children and youth with ASD and empowering parents, children and youth with ASD as a group at risk of exclusion, and consequently overcoming their sense of passivity and helplessness.
2. Strengthening the civic involvement of project participants in activities for local nature and ecological balance through work as eco-volunteers.
3.Implementation of ecological education and education for the development of volunteering in the group of parents, children and youth with ASD through their participation in trips to places of ecological education and the participation of parents in training in this field.
4.Increasing the participation of parents of children and adolescents with ASD in making decisions regarding public policy as part of the functioning of a meeting point for parents of children and adolescents with ASD. As part of cooperation with the SOCIUS Association, 3 of the project participants gave an individual interview about their life situation. The interviews became the basis for formulating conclusions as part of the Diagnosis of the needs of disabled people, which was commissioned in 2022 by the Marshal of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
5. Changing the attitude of parents of children and adolescents with ASD towards their own life situation towards its acceptance through participation in support group meetings with a crisis coach.
6. Enabling parents of children and adolescents with autism to exchange experiences and obtain support during duties at the Foundation''s headquarters. Parents got involved in the activities of the social activity point and shared their knowledge and experience there.
7. Cooperation was established with social organizations, both operating directly in the field of nature and those undertaking activities for disabled people, for access to education or for broader social activities.