Autism-Europe is one of the partners involved in the Equality and Social Inclusion Positive Parenting (ESIPP) project, which focuses on offering education and training for parents of children on the autism spectrum. Running from September 2015 to August 2018, the project is funded by the European Commission’s Erasmus + Program.
In its first stage, the project will develop an evidence-based model for delivering parental education on autism adapted to the specific context of Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Cyprus. The objective is to adapt the educational tools for different EU countries in order to provide parental education and training to families living with autism in areas where it has been previously unavailable or hard to access. After the evaluation of these tools, the model curriculum, tools and materials will all be shared with stakeholders and can be used across Europe. At this stage policy recommendations will also be presented to key decision-makers.
The project brings together academics, professionals and parents from various – autism organisations across Europe. Those involved come from various backgrounds – both national and cultural – and have a wide set of skills. The project coordinator, the University of Northampton will work closely with all the other partners Autism Concern and Target Autism (UK), the University of Zagreb and the Centar za Autizam (Croatia), the European University Cyprus and the Autism Assessment Support Practice (Cyprus) and the Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism and Autism-Europe.