Share
Published on: 02/04/2021Updated on: 02/04/2021
It's estimated that 1 in 86 children in Europe is autistic today (compared to 1 in 89 in 2018) out of a total of 5 million diagnosed individuals, including 700,000 in France. Obtaining a diagnosis is just one step in the obstacle course most parents face, who then encounter difficulties in supporting their child with their disability from the first symptoms in early childhood. Indeed, in France, 60% of autistic children are not enrolled in school. This World Autism Awareness Day is an opportunity to spotlight ChildIN, a European project led by IPERIA, promoting social inclusion for all autistic children in Europe. What specific skills are needed to support these individuals? How can we train childcare providers and childminders to care for them at home? What are the results of initial pilots?
What is Autism?
Autism is a complex, permanent disability. It's more commonly referred to as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It encompasses a set of pervasive and lasting neurodevelopmental disorders affecting brain development and manifesting from early childhood. It's a condition that presents differently in individuals, with difficulties observed in two main areas:- social interactions and communication
- restricted or repetitive behaviors, activities, and interests
Training to Support Autistic Children at Home in Europe: A First!
Beyond hope comes action - this is the meaning of the European ChildIN project, supported by the Erasmus+ program and led by IPERIA since November 2018, which is now nearing completion. For over 2 years, it has mobilized 6 partners within the EU to design, propose, and test training aimed at facilitating the acquisition of specific skills for supporting autistic children at home. Through a joint effort with Belgium, Poland, and Portugal, this training was created. About twenty childcare providers benefited from it in the Nièvre department in 2020 (the Departmental Council of Nièvre is one of the project partners) and pilots continued in other countries afterward. The objective is twofold: to help professionals manage these different children, but also to support families who don't know where to turn.
ChildIN directly addresses France's priorities as it pursues equity and inclusion for children with special needs. The project also meets the requirements of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child (ICRC) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as it contributes to improving childcare providers' and childminders' skills in supporting autistic children at home. It also aims to enhance the recognition of childcare providers and childminder professions, which are not yet recognized or certified in all EU countries.
In this regard, five deliverables, which will be presented at the project's final Conference on April 21, have been produced:
- A competency framework for childcare providers and childminders supporting autistic children at home
- A resource database providing information on the needs and support of autistic children
- A set of training materials (in-person and online), tested and validated by childcare providers and childminders
- A guide on using the tools and materials provided by the project to encourage and facilitate use by other vocational training actors in the EU
- A roadmap, based on project experience and aimed at policy makers, to improve the quality of training offerings for childcare providers and childminders and, therefore, improve the quality of home-based support for autistic children in the EU.
