Since March 2019, Autism-Europe is part of the project NAATE, an Erasmus+ initiative aiming at fostering skills of youth workers to deliver non-formal activities for young people on the autism spectrum. On 19 October 2019, AE and the Spanish association Mi Hijo Y Yo traveled to Cyprus to discuss the progress of the project at its second transnational meeting.
NAATE project delivered three transnational pilot training events for youth workers who work in the field of non-formal education for autistic teenagers. It involved six youth workers from two organisations (from Spain to Cyprus and vice-versa), with a summer camp that took place in Spain, who will now use their newly acquired competences to enhance their practice in non-formal learning. Over 100 children are expected to directly benefit from the technical competences acquired by the youth workers in their training exchanges, as well as more generally families and communities across the EU member states that the NAATE project works in.
NAATE will also create an e-learning platform for professionals, and publish a book of good practice. This book of good practice in non-formal learning is a comprehensive guide for professionals and other groups, to enhance their practice for autistic learners and their families and will feature positive examples from across Europe.
The NAATE project aims at improving the quality of non-formal education in the partner regions by using innovative practices and experiences from various settings. The project focuses on addressing the needs of autistic people, such as fostering the development of their social competences. Among professionals and organisations that support autistic people, this project promotes a better knowledge about the situation of young people with autism and efficient inclusion methodologies.