If it takes a village to educate a child, as an African proverb recites, what kind of caring and competent educational community do people, their families and those who work professionally in this field in Ticino need today? 

This is the starting point for the day of sharing and dialogue with the territory organised by the Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care (DEASS) and the Department of Education and Learning / University of Teacher Education (DFA/ASP) of SUPSI in collaboration with Fondazione ARES (Autismo Risorse E Sviluppo). 

The event is part of the World Autism Awareness Day and intends to co-construct a common horizon within which to design quality training courses that are able to support and prepare the various figures involved, enhancing their skills, knowledge and experience. A greater collective awareness on the evolution and transformation of training needs in the field of autism spectrum disorder is indeed fundamental to undertake a significant growth for the whole society.

The day's programme includes numerous workshops that will be animated in different interactive ways. The experiences and reflections arising from this work will be shared at the end of the meeting and will serve as a starting point for orienting future territorial training offerings on the topic of autism.
 

Programme

9.00 - Official opening and institutional greetings  

9.30 - From special attention to normally special attention
Michele Mainardi, President of the Autism Advisory Commission

9.40 - Learning together: co-design as a source of social learning
Ennio Ripamonti, Psychosociologist and trainer, SUPSI lecturer, expert in community animation

10.25 - Coffee break

10.45 - Workshop Life cycles

12.15 - Lunch break

13:30 - Workshop Contexts 

15.00 - Coffee break

15.15 - Plenary feedback from the workshops and discussion

16.00 - Conclusion and future perspectives 
 

Workshop

Morning: Life cycles

Workshop 1 - Accompanying and supporting the developmental pathway in early childhood
Roberta Zariatti-Coppes
This workshop, animated through the Lego®Serious Play® methodology, will aim at reflecting together with the participants on the training needs of professionals and non-professional figures involved in the education and learning of children in the 0-6 age range.

Workshop 2 - Solid foundations for taking flight
Nicola Rudelli e Gionata Bernasconi
During the workshop, accompanied by images and visual aids, the participants will reflect on the training needs of professionals and others involved in education and learning in the primary school age group. 

Workshop 3 - Narrating adolescence: between changes, choices and reference points
Donatella Oggier Fusi e Sabrina Astorino
During the workshop, through the Storytelling Group method, participants will be given space to share their stories of significant moments and passages in the growth of their pupil, guest or child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. 

Workshop 4 - Transitions: building harmonious transitions together
Francesca Gerosa e Christian Fischer
By listening to the direct experiences of young adults with autism spectrum disorder, the participants will be able to identify which elements have made the transition from one phase of life to another easier for them and their families and for the professionals involved, and which have meant more effort. The WS will focus on the impact that these experiences have had on their growth and on training proposals that could facilitate a more harmonious transition.

Afternoon: The contexts

Workshop 5 - Free time: changing frames of growth and learning
Roberta Zariatti-Coppes
This workshop, inspired by the Lego®Serious Play® methodology, intends to explore together with the participants the tracks and training needs concerning the activities, contexts, and people linked to ‘free time’, a term by which we are used to define what is not related to school and work.

Workshop 6 - But who teaches whom?
Nicola Rudelli e Gionata Bernasconi
When we talk about learning, we cannot fail to draw attention to the figure of the trainer. Who would we like to meet in trainings and what questions would we like to find an answer to when we attend trainings that directly or indirectly have autism spectrum disorder as a theme? During the workshop, the participants will look into these questions in order to search together for possible answers.

Workshop 7 - When professionals and families meet, skills and knowledge complement each other
Donatella Oggier Fusi e Sabrina Astorino
During the workshop, through the Storytelling Group modality, participants will be given space to share and narrate moments of encounter and alliance experienced between professionals and family members of persons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. What skills and what contexts favour the educational pact between family and school? Between family and society?

Workshop 8 - Autism and the world of work: personal journey and context preparation
Francesca Gerosa e Christian Fischer
During the workshop, the testimonies of three adults with an autism spectrum disorder will be shared, who will talk about their entry and experience in the world of work. What were the challenges they had to face? What are the current difficulties? What kind of support did they receive? And how has their life changed since they got a job? The elements that emerge will be re-read in a formative framework. 
 

Participation

Participation is free and open to the public.
For organisational reasons, registration via the registration form is welcome by 15 March 2025.