project – Блог на Македонското научно здружение за аутизам

Supporting Children with Autism through Physical Education – Erasmus Plus Project

trajkovski / October 19, 2024October 20, 2024 / Projects

Почитувани колешки и колеги,

Од 1 до 3 октомври во Каунас, Литванија се одржа првиот состанок во рамките на новиот Еразмус плус проект на МНЗА под наслов: „Поддршка на децата со аутизам преку физичко образование“ (201-1-LT01-KA220-SCH-000246848).

Клучни прашања на состанокот беа:

Презентација на проектот;

Партнери / презентации на координаторот;

Користење на Google диск, внатрешна комуникација, партнерски договор;

Надзор на проектот, план за итни случаи;

Управување со проекти, извештаи за напредок, евалуација, табели

Проектни трошоци, готовински тек-реални трошоци, одржливост

Расподелба на резултати од проектот;

Презентација на резултатите од проектот и поделба на задачите кон партнерите.

Партнери во проектот се:

Kauno Prano Daunio ugdymo centras (Литванија)
UNIVERSITY OF CUKUROVA (Туркије)
Македонско научно здружение за аутизам (Македонија)
MULTI-ACT STD (Туркије)
Valmieras novada pasvaldibas Valmieras Gaujas krasta vidusskola attistibas centrs (Летонија)
Rēzeknes pamatskola – attīstības centrs (Летонија).

Од МНЗА претставници на состанокот беа Весна Филиповска и м-р Фики Гаспар, членови на ИО. Нека ни е со среќа новиот проект!

Претседател на МНЗА

Можно е да е слика од 7 луѓе, луѓе студираат и текст

Project ISEC – ADE

trajkovski / June 10, 2022 / Projects

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Dear readers,

Accessible digital education for learners with autism and intellectual disabilities: Innovating solutions and enhancing educators’ competences The project ISEC–ADE (Accessible digital education for learners with autism and intellectual disabilities: Innovating solutions and enhancing educators’ competences), was commenced by an international consortium of partners with support by the Erasmus plus program of the European Union, in response to the widening education gap and exacerbating inequalities for learners with ASC and ID across Europe, where access to learning opportunities offered by digital technology for learners with ASC and IDis very limited. The education system is increasingly part of the digital transformation and can exploit its benefits and opportunities. However, it also needs to effectively manage the risks of the digital transformation, including the risk of an digital divide where certain people can benefit more than others. According to the EASPD (2020) the experience amid the coronavirus pandemic, demonstrated continued segregation of people with disabilities in education settings. This segregation is experienced particularly by learners with “invisible disabilities” such as autism spectrum conditions (ASC) and intellectual disabilities (ID). ISEC–ADE includes 6 partners representing academia, autism experts, education professionals and families from Bulgaria–Center for special educational support “D–r Peter Beron”, Cyprus–ShipCon, Greece–Cyclisis & D.A.D.A.A, Macedonia – Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism and Autism Institute. For the ISEC–ADE consortium, it is imperative that the educational needs of learners with ASC and ID are adequately addressed during the digital transformation in education, whatever their type of schooling, implementing the rights of persons with disabilities to an inclusive, accessible and high quality education at all levels (UNCRPD). Therefore, the main objective of the project is to reduce the digital divide in education for learners with autism by providing open access digital learning infrastructure (web app) accessible to learners with autism and a platform for sharing open educational recourses. This will address the major challenges faced by school systems due to the lack of digital tools and educational content for learners ASC and ID. However, educators need a set of digital competences specific to their profession in order to be able to seize the potential of digital technologies for enhancing and innovating education, as well as teaching competences specific to ASC and ID. With regard to this need, further support to education community will be provided with methodological guidelines for implementation of the digital tool for accessible and quality learning opportunities, as well as opportunities for professional development of educators, as they work to provide an equitable educational experience for learners with autism and intellectual disabilities.

MSSA team

INVITATION to participate on international Autism_PCP conference

trajkovski / August 5, 2021August 5, 2021 / Conferences

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Respected colleagues,

It is a great honor and pleasure for me on behalf of the Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism to invite you to the international conference entitled “People with Autism in the Spotlight – Support through Person Centered Planning”, which will be held on August 25th 2021, on the platform ZOOM starting exactly at noon CET.

This conference is a final event of the 3-year project “A holistic approach to person-centered planning for Autism” (AUTISM_PCP), from the Erasmus + program of the European Commission, with reference number 2018-1-EL01-KA204-047788.

The specific goal of the event is to promote the person-centered planning methodology adapted for people (including children) with autism, which has been developed as a key result of the work of the Autism PCP international consortium in the past three years. Although the main implications relate to social services, the benefits of applying individual-oriented planning in education are particularly significant, especially in the educational transitions of students with autism.

MSSA in the last 17 pandemic months continuously raise bots on educating professionals and parents of children and people with autism spectrum disorder, and will continue to do so in the coming period. This international conference, which will be attended by lecturers from the United States, Australia, Cyprus, Greece and Macedonia, is only one part of that overall educational activity, which will continue in the future.

If you want to take part, it is mandatory to sign up and fill in the Google Form at the following link: https://forms.gle/AgeUC2zq1UXR5XKN7

You can apply by August 20th of this year at the latest. Participation is without paying a registration fee. The conference will be certified, and to get a certificate you need to be present on the ZOOM platform from the very beginning to the end of it.

We will be very glad if you also take part in this important international conference.

05.08.2021 With respect,

Skopje President of MSSA

I LEARN AND GET BEYOND MY LIMITS

trajkovski / January 3, 2021 / Projects

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Summary

The Subject of the Project:
To provide the skills which individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities will need after disasters and emergencies by producing innovative educational materials.

Target Audience of the Project:
Individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities. They are usually trained using visual materials with special education methods such as one-on-one and face-to-face. For this reason, parents and caregivers of these individuals have also been identified as target audiences to provide special education opportunities.

The Objectives of the Project to be achieved are as follows:
– To ensure that individuals with autism and intellectual disability can communicate with the right people after disasters and emergencies,
– To ensure that they display the correct behaviour shapes to stay safe,
– To integrate these individuals into the disaster and emergency management system,
– To increase the professional knowledge and skills of the project partners and related participants.

The final goals as a policy are:
It is aimed to affect the policies and programs that can be developed in order to overcome the deficiencies in disaster and emergency awareness training and rehabilitation of disabled individuals including autism and intellectual disability.

Content of the Project:
1- Dictionary of disaster and emergency basic terms adapted for individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities and prepared with special teaching methods,
2- Educational content consisting of video, animation and digital books that teach correct behaviours after disasters and emergencies,
3- Digital library for disasters and emergencies prepared specifically for these individuals,
4- The correct behaviours of the personnel working in disasters and emergencies in their approach to these individuals.

Project Partnership:
The project partnership was created by bringing together organizations with different expertise in disaster and emergency situations, autism and down syndrome, distance education, disability, design, education, risk management and innovation in line with the subjects and objectives.
1- Eskişehir AFAD, public body, experienced in disaster awareness training, response and evacuation in disasters and emergencies.
2- Osmangazi University, experienced in distance education, innovative design and user interface solutions.
3- YERSİS is an educational consultancy company that researches the issue of accessibility among individuals with special needs during disasters and emergencies.
4- Tohum Autism Foundation is a non-profit and in the public interest healthcare and education foundation in the field of autism.
5- Down Syndrome Association is a non-governmental organization that works to ensure that individuals with Down syndrome can establish an independent, productive and integrated life.
6- EDSA is an umbrella NGO that brings together 38 national organizations across Europe.
7- MSSA is an NGO established to realize, coordinate and carry out the interests and training of people with autism.
8- The Research Center on Disability and Marginality (CeDisMa) of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart works to develop knowledge for teachers, educators, trainers, coordinators, social workers in the field of special education.

Outputs of the Project:
1- Adapted Disaster and Emergency Basic Concepts Dictionary for Individuals with Autism and Intellectual Disability
2- Distance Education Portal
3- Digital Library

Project activities:
Preparation Process;
1. Working meetings with relevant organizations and associated partners (universities, NGOs on autism and intellectual disability, etc.)
2. Visits to special education and rehabilitation centres.
3. Literature review, research and data collection.

The implementation process;
1. Transnational Project Meetings.
– Project management, distribution of tasks among partners, time and financial management etc. administrative issues.
– Sharing experience, good practices and know-how for intellectual output production.
2. Output development process.

Dissemination Process;
– Project Workshop as a Multiplier Event; Both the evaluation of the quality of the project outputs and the promotion of the project results.
– Workshop’s online web platform.
– To hold project introduction meetings with related institutions, to attend workshops, fairs and to open stands.
– To organize training seminars at the local and transnational level within the scope of the multiplier event.
– To prepare promotional brochures about project activities and results in order to increase the visibility in printed, visual and social media.
– To send and distribute digital outputs to the relevant institutions in printed and digital formats.
– Preparing scientific articles about project activities and results.
– To ensure that the project outputs and results affect the policies and programs to be developed in this regard through the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/

Autism Friendly Spaces new MSSA Erasmus plus project

trajkovski / July 24, 2019 / Projects

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Dear readers,

With great pleasure we want to announce that we got the new #Erasmusplus project togethter with partners from Malta, Spain and Belgium. The title of the project is Autism Friendly Spaces.

The main aim of this project is to create a change in community by :

adjusting environments to be more accessible to people with autism
providing training and creating awareness in the community
helping the social aspect for youth with autism.

Online modules specifically for school educators will be created. A certificate will be
provided once the modules are complete. Providing professional guidance to modify school space into an accessible and safe space for students with autism.

Providing professional guidance and training to employees on autism and how to
provide an accessible space to people with autism.
Creating an Autism Friendly Award which will be given to shops/services who fulfill
the criteria.
Creating a website and an app with information and location about the awarded
services and shops which are participating in this project and the services that are being
offered.

President of MSSA

Second #AutismPCP project meeting in Bucharest

trajkovski / May 8, 2019 / News

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Dear colleagues,

Second Autism PCP project meeting was held on 2^nd and 3^rd May, in Bucharest, Romania. Participating Organisations were D.A.D.A.A, Maendeleo for Children Aps, Scoala Gimnaziala Smaranda Gheorghiu, Cyclisis, ShipCon Limassol Limited and Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism.

The subject of this transnational meeting was finalizing Intellectual Output 1a with focus on transitions. All participating organizations reported the national context regarding best practices on autism as well as common strategies identified via the questionnaire. Future tasks distribution and time table were discussed.

Next project meeting will be held in September, in Rome, Italy.

Vice-president of MSSA

#AutismPCP kick-off meeting realized in Patras

trajkovski / December 15, 2018 / Projects

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Dear colleagues,

I want to inform you that we realized the first meeting of #AutismPCP priject from December 11th to December 12th in Patras, Greece. Twelve participants from 6 partners countries (Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romaina, Italy and Macedonia) attended there. Participating Organisations were:

D.A.D.A.A (Association of Parents, Legal Guardians & Friends of Children & Adults in Autism spectrum disorders and Aspergers’)
MAENDELEO FOR CHILDREN APS
Scoala Gimnaziala Smaranda Gheorghiu
CYCLISIS
SHIPCON LIMASSOL LIMITED
PARVI NATIONALEN CENTAR PO DYSLEXIA
Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism.

Partners have presented their organizations. Than presentation of project design, work plan, time table, distribution of tasks and responsibilities, were discussed. Also dissemination plan, further dissemination activities/specific tasks, website, social media, leaflet, logo, were subject of this meeting. Autism Life Planning Tools and Intellectual Output with focus on O1 were topics as well.

Next transnational meeting will held in Romania in May 2019.

President of MSSA

IMPACT of Parent Education on Families in South-EAST Europe

trajkovski / October 29, 2018 / Conferences

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Saturday, May 12, 2018: 11:30 AM-1:30 PM

Hall Grote Zaal (de Doelen ICC Rotterdam)

D. R. Preece¹, J. Stošić², E. Theodorou³, J. Troshanska⁴, K. Mavrou³, L. Symeou³, J. Frey Škrinjar²and V. Trajkovski⁵, (1) Faculty of Education and Humanities, University of Northampton, Northampton , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, (2) Department of Inclusive Education and Rehabilitation, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, (3) School of Humanities, Social and Education Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus, (4) Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism, Skopje, Macedonia, The former Yugoslav Republic of, (5)Faculty of Philosophy, University of Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Macedonia, The former Yugoslav Republic of

Background: Autism challenges traditional parenting styles, and can make parents feel deskilled and disempowered, especially if little information or support is available to them. Providing accurate information about autism to parents, and teaching them to adapt their parenting using good autism practice has been shown to be effective in improving personal, educational and social outcomes for individuals with autism and their families (Bearss et al 2015, Farmer and Reupert 2013). However, such support is extremely limited or non-existent within some south-east European countries.

Objectives: A three-year European Union-funded project has been established involving family members, professionals and academics. Its objectives are to develop a core parent autism education curriculum and locally appropriate parent education materials and methods; to provide parent education in three diverse south-eastern European countries (Croatia, Cyprus and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) where diagnosis and service provision are emergent; to develop local parent education teams within these countries to ensure sustainability; and to evaluate the impact of the parent education events upon families attending.

Methods: After reviewing the literature and surveying parental priorities in the three countries, a 12-hour parent education programme and locally differentiated training materials were developed. In total, five cohorts of approximately 20 parents each will receive parent education within each of the three countries. A combined process and outcome mixed methods evaluation methodology (Royse et al 2009) is being used to evaluate the project. Data are gathered via pre-attendance, post-attendance and follow-up (3-month) parent questionnaires – incorporating the CarerQoL quality of life scale (Hoefman et al 2014) – from all participants, semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of parents, trainer focus groups and reflective diaries, and document analysis. We here report on quantitative (n = 108) and qualitative data (n = 20) from parent cohorts 1 and 2.

Results: Quantitative data identify that >90% of respondents have improved their understanding of autism, >80% report improved child communication and >75% report improvements in overall family life, their ability to predict their child’s behaviour and their ability to respond to concerns and comments from the broader family. Carer QoL data indicate increased parental happiness following attendance (p=.001). Key themes from qualitative data are the positive impact of attending the parent education programme, increased awareness regarding sensory and communication issues and improvements in everyday life. Parents also reported that attendance provided opportunities to meet other parents and reduced social isolation.

Conclusions: Data from parent cohorts 1 and 2 identify that parents who have attended the parent education programme have found it beneficial, and that it has had a positive impact on their family life. Key areas of impact have been improvements in communication and improved management of sensory and behavioural issues. This supports the continued and wider provision of parent education within these countries. Further data from cohorts 3 and 4 will have been collected and analysed by the time of INSAR 2018.

Source: INSAR