Coimbra holds the first launching event of ChildIN
Category : News
On March 4, 2020, the ChildIN project held its first launching event in Coimbra (Portugal) in order to raise awareness on autism among childminders and training providers. Organised by project partners Academia Comenius and APPDA Coimbra, this event was an opportunity to present the ChildIN training materials, as well as discuss with representatives of the Portuguese autism community the challenges faced by autistic children and their families, and how it is possible to improve their quality of life through education.
The event counts with the participation of Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers, special education teachers, psychologists, researchers, academics, and a representative of the “Social Security Institute” (in Portuguese “Instituto da Segurança Social”).
Some of the topics addressed at the round table by the participants were:
the importance of providing training on autism for professionals to support the inclusion of autistic people and their families; the options available in Portugal to the family of a new child diagnosed child; the way the non-teaching staff of schools deals with children on the autism spectrum; the importance of having childminders trained on autism spectrum disorders; the openness of educational centers to taking into account the needs and specificities of children with special educational needs; or what can be done to disseminate more successfully the ChildIN project across schools.
Participants also suggested incorporating other topics into the ChildIN training, such as human rights and the rights of people on the autism spectrum; sessions addressed to the non-teaching personnel working in schools; or early diagnosis and early intervention.
This event was held prior to the first round of pilot training sessions of ChildIN in Portugal. After the end of the second pilot training, planned November 2020, all Portuguese trainees will be invited to the ChildIN closing event and end-of-training certificate ceremony, where they will receive a certificate designed by the project consortium.
