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Description
National level assistance for people with autism is insufficient. Thus, the project establishes a model of connecting stakeholders at the local and national level and enhances the competences of teachers, training providers and policy makers to introduce skills for work and life of people with autism in the 21st century in the field of education, training and employment. Through institutional cooperation, the project contributes to establishing a safe, creative, open, interactive, innovative and stimulating environment for people with autism, modernizes teaching approaches and contributes to improving their employment opportunities. Main result is establishment of an effective model of support for employees in education and training, employees of the Employment Service of Slovenia and employers (stakeholders) to improve the conditions for learning and employability of persons with autism at all levels of education and employment.
Summary of project results
The project focused on the field of autism, especially on better understanding of children, adolescents and students with autism in the educational process. Since the ultimate goal of education is a person qualified for work who gets a job after completing the education, the project focused also on an adapted way of employing people with autism.
The main goal was to set up an effective model of support for employees in education and in the field of the national employment agency, as well as employers. With this model, the project wanted to improve institutional cooperation at all levels of education and employment, which would affect better conditions for learning and employability of persons with autism.
Within the project, an online application was developed which obtains data on the prevalence of autism in Slovenia according to the gender, age and region of residence of a person with autism. A personal and online contact was established with clinics and an analysis of the research on the prevalence of autism in Slovenia according to the gender, age and region was performed on several events. Based on the findings, a support model intended for employers and job seekers with autism was prepared.
Also, an analysis was made to present the state of education employees'' needs for additional skills and knowledge for successfully teaching people with autism. A model of help and support for educational staff was prepared and tested in practice by holding 35 different lectures and including 3,070 participants. In addition, support to employees in the field in 14 kindergartens and schools was provided. 10 people were educated to provide training for educational staff on the use of new teaching models and methods.
A manual was developed, entitled Support for persons with autism. The maunal is available in Slovenian language. It is intended for educational staff across the entire vertical, from toddlers to students at university. It also includes a chapter for employers.
On the practical level, the project also intervened in the field of employment. A young person with autism was selected and prepared for a new job. Through lectures, workshops and counselling, a selected employer was prepared for pilot employment of a person with autism, which lasted for 13 months. The workplace was adapted specifically for this person with autism, and a mentor was assigned to him to introduce work, provide support and ensure the plan of support services was properly implemented. A person with autism gained new knowledge and work skills and progressed in terms of work efficiency.
Main activities implemented and results achieved are:
1. Development of two new models - a model of support for educational staff and a model of support for employers in the employment of persons with autism. 56 persons (employees and external colleagues) were included in the research and development of new models of teaching and employment of persons with autism.
2. Exchange of knowledge and good practices in the field of promoting skills and competences - the exchange of knowledge between the Norwegian and the Slovenian project partners; Slovenian partners transferred their old and newly acquired knowledge to educational staff and employers. For this purpose, two study visits were conducted, an online training took place in which 12 Slovenian experts trained as multipliers in the field of autism to transfer new knowledge to educational staff and employers.
3. A model of support for educational staff and a model of support for employers were prepared. Both models had a significant impact on the knowledge and competences of the participants included in different lectures.
Main target groups were educational staff and employers, but also national administrative bodies/national public authorities (representatives of different ministries), infrastructure and (public) service providers, general public, mostly parents of children with autism.
Summary of bilateral results
The Norwegian project partner made a significant contribution to the transfer of knowledge and good practices. During the study visit to Norway, the participants from Slovenia had the opportunity to see new practices, especially in the field of counseling educational staff, as well as in the field of adapting workplaces for people with autism, which is not yet a regular occurrence in Slovenian companies. The transfer of knowledge through online training and a final full-day training, which was carried out by the Norwegian project partners in Slovenia was an important contribution not only for the Slovenian project partners, but also for many participants of the training.Main results at the bilateral level were:- two study visits realised, several training sessions for multipliers and educational staff conducted;- a total of 3,070 participants included in the trainings, of which the Norwegian colleagues improved knowledge and understanding in the field of autism and support for children, adolescents and students with autism; - the Norwegian colleagues'' influence on creation of the model of support for educational staff and the manual for the support of persons with autism. The new knowledge left a lasting impression on the work with people with autism in Slovenia, including with qualified Slovenian multipliers trained by the Norwegian colleagues. Their success in the entire project was irreplaceable, they were an excellent project partner with a lot of expertise in the field of autism.Through partnership and mutual cooperation, lasting professional and personal ties were forged and a professional network for future connections was developed. At the end of the project, the Slovenian the Norwegian project partners expressed their interest in further cooperation and integration when the opportunity arises.