ScAutism… social empowerment and integration
Chiara Visintin, Chiara De Stefani, Cristina Menazza
The experience of ScAutism described in this article is an ideal example for all those projects which teachers and operators embark on with autistic youths. Projects which emphasise the essential role of experimentation and of integration, which in turn act as intrinsic reinforcements to the efforts of these youths. After learning social abilities in a protected environment, following the cognitive-behavioural model, 3 youths with diagnoses on the high-functioning autism spectrum joined a local scout group. Thanks to the preparation of the scouts and their leaders and above all to the social skills acquired previously, using and implementing ad hoc psychoeducational techniques in natural settings, the youths with autism were welcomed and were able to participate in all the activities. The most important result, however, was how successful inclusion was: from the viewpoint of the youths with autism active participation and an unprompted request to repeat the experience because «I feel confortable there, I have friends there»; and from the viewpoint of the scouts personal growth in terms of openness and inclusion.
Keywords
Autism, Psychoeducation, Social skills, Integration, Life contexts.