NEWS
Overcoming the Challenges of Autism during the COVID-19 Pandemic
In the period from 6 to 13 August, the association “Blue Firefly” was part of the project “Overcoming the Challenges of Autism During the COVID-19 Pandemic” co-ordinated by our collaborators Understand Autism from Lodz, Poland.
The aim of the project was to increase the skills and knowledge about autism spectrum disorders and to cope with the challenges of this condition during uncertain situations such as COVID-19. Representatives from Poland, Macedonia, Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia took part in this project.
Our association, “Blue Firefly” was in the role of а participant, but also in the role of sharing knowledge and experiences, whereby the President of the association, Associate Professor Jasmina Troshanska, held a training on the basic characteristics of autism, coping with the senses, behavior and communication challenges in children with autism, as well as the development of social skills through organizing workshops for understanding the condition of children and people with autism, creating visual support and creating of social stories.
The workshops were supported by our host Anna Stojanoska who was part of the workshop for coping with senses and Katarzyna Pabich who held a session on the use of virtual reality in working with children with autism. Within the training, we had also the opportunity to experience a sound massage from which all participants were delighted. Monica Bocian was responsible for the course of the program.
The participants expressed great interest in the training exchanged experiences and made contacts for future collaborations.
During the informal meetings information were exchanged about culture, tradition, and beauties of each of the participating countries.
