Aut Aut

The Aut Aut project is composed by a partnership of 7 schools scattered throughout the European countries (Italy, Greece, Romania, Belgium, Ireland, Turkey and United Kingdom). Some of the schools included in the project are specific Special Needs Schools, some others are mainstream
schools applying the so-called proceeds of “Tntegrated classes”. The project aims at developing an European network of teachers working with autistic students and dealing with autism-related questions. More specifically, departing from the idea of creating a learning community the project aims to develop knowledge and reciprocal support among teachers working with students with autism. This Learning Community of teachers interested in autism will:
realise a website with a view to exchanging information and presenting some of their findings to a wide readership, as well as organise public and private meetings in order to discuss cases, exchange best practices, break isolation and promote knowledge. The Learning Community will also exploit Internet resources for communication exchange via a web-based learning platform and a social bookmarking tool, organise visits for school personnel on project-relate issues, and its members will recount and learn from one another’s experiences via web based lessons.

Schools included in the project

Some of the schools included in the project only have students with autism or students with special needs and are specific Special Needs Schools. Some of the schools are mainstream schools with Special Needs Classrooms, some others are schools applying so-called "integrated classes": i.e. certain children with special needs who are inserted into an ordinary class and who follow a specific programme. We value greatly this diversity.
The Special Needs Schools in this project are:
- the Greek school
- the Belgian school
- the Romanian school
- the British school
While the schools applying an integrated methodology are:
- the Italian school
- the Irish School
- the Turkish school (Special classes into a mainstream school)
REGARDING THE ITALIAN COORDINATING SCHOOL: CENTRO EDUCATIVO ITALO SVIZZERO (CEIS): Being a city located exactly on the Gothic line (where the German and British army clashed in combat) Rimini was in ruins at the end of the World War II. By November 1943, the city had suffered 396 bombings, with 90% of its buildings destroyed. Nothing worked in Rimini, including the public transportation, telephone network, water system, electricity, nor was there a single street free of rubble and waste. A number of children roamed the streets alone, looking for food and shelter. The Mayor of the town, Arturo Clari, asked for help everywhere : he wrote letters and invited aid from humanitarian organisations. Sent by the S.A.H. (Schweizerisches Arbeiter-
Hilfswerk or Swiss Workers’ Aid), Margherita Zöbeli arrived from Switzerland and, almost immediately, CEIS was founded, initially as a social centre, an orphanage and a school for the needy, then just as a school.
For today’s CEIS children, school means being part of a student-centred community based upon solidarity and cooperation. Students are encouraged to actively participate in lessons, group work and discussions, learning through first-hand experience. Creativity too is encouraged, with particular emphasis being placed upon "global education", viz. helping the child to grow in body, mind and feelings. From the very beginning, it was a school with a different perspective: the academic programme was to run parallel with the main goal of promoting self-confidence, respect and community work among the children. Ceis didn’t develop a methodology of its own, but drew instead from progressive pedagogical methods, particularly those of the active pedagogy of Freinet, Cousinet, Fröebel, Laporta, Borghi and De Bartolomeis. Ceis was built using wooden barracks, which still stand today on the premises, in a beautiful garden within reach of public transport and close to the city centre. Children and staff call Ceis "il Villaggio" (the Village), as it truly has the aspect of a small-scale village, with many gravel paths running as tiny lanes, and a main meeting place for the whole community, called the "piazzetta"
(or ‘small square’). CEIS has always been known for its policy of accepting disadvantaged children. Today, physically and mentally handicapped children are integrated into mainstream classes in both the nursery and primary schools, whilst more severely handicapped children are educated also using a special "Socialisation Centre"(SEN resource rooms). The Ceis community greatly values each contribution to a common well-being. Everybody knows and trusts each other: the teachers, the carpenter, the gardener, the cooks, cleaners and office staff. The same interest is expressed for the numerous and various guests who come for a visit, or for a period of voluntary work. Ceis has many international links with various organisations, including FICE (Federation Internationale Communautés Educatives), Friends’ Central School, Philadelphia, U.S.A., Simin Han School, Tuzla, Bosnia Herzegovina, Escuela Especial La Amistad, Matagalpa, Nicaragua.

VZW DE RANKEN SINT-JANSHOF
Up till two years ago the school building was located in the middle of the historical heart of the city of Malines. The school had three locations, all rather close to one an other. The main building was just across from the church of Sint-Jan : a gothic church where the famous painting by Rubens, ‘The Adoration of the 3 Kings’ is still to be found.
Throughout history the school has mainly offered education for kids with special needs. Our pupils are girls and boys, from the age of 12 through to 18 who can follow several levels of education.
The school exists now with three training levels. Also then it had three locations. In the main building the pupils of training level 3 got their education. These pupils are considered to be integrated back into the normal work environment. The choice of training from which they could choose changed with time. Today the offered studies are Logistic Aid in hospitals, Shop-assistant, Painter, Welder and Woodworker. All these courses are open to both boys and girls. Besides vocational training, they also offer general subjects.
The second location was for the pupils who are supposed to go and work in a protected environment. Here they learn different skills expected of people who will have to work in such workplaces.
The last group of pupils are those who are prepared for life in a day care centre and who will need special care. The teachers try to offer this group the structure they will encounter once they leave the school environment.
Two years ago we left the city and moved to a brand new building at the outskirts where these three groups of pupils have space to be educated. It is a building that has all the specific needs for people with special needs, including wheelchairs.
Until today the school considers the development and training of social skills to be a very important aspect of education. Positive reinforcement, work training (for level 2 and level 3 students) and many school projects try to give them a complete educational training.
Recently there is a higher influx of pupils with autistic needs. We have noticed that more and more children come to our school because we seem to offer them the structure they did not find in mainstream schools. Our staff now encounter this as a new teaching challenge. We offer extra training and have developed our school ethos in cooperation with professionals and parents. Instead of offering separate education in a separate classroom, we try to teach them as much as possible within the school structure, which means we also offer them job training. There is a team following up this group of pupils and there are sub-groups in the several training levels. Parents are also offered a way of cooperation by attending meetings and receiving new insights. The
school is therefore known as a school with a smile for children with these pervasive development difficulties.
The school is well known in the area and is visited by many educational institutions and many teachers who apply for a training period in our school. We have been involved in a Comenius project and have successfully cooperated with a school in Greece, the U.K. and Lithuania.

EIDIKO DIMOTIKO SXOLEIO IN.A.A.
Special primary school of IN.A.A
The institution 'Psychological center of northern Greece' was founded in 1964 and accepts kids from all over northern Greece and is located 4 km outside Thessaloniki. Our school is a small one that is situated inside the institution and educates the children that either live in the institution or come for daycare. These children suffer from mental retardation, autism, behavioral problems and mostly belong to low socioeconomic classes and families lacking the ability to take care of them. Three years ago the institution changed it’s name to 'Institute for developmental reestablishment' (IN.A.A. We currently have 32 students, ages ranging from 6 to 15 years old. Our staff consists of 7 teachers, 1 psychologist, 1 social worker, 1 physical therapist, 1 speech therapist, 1 ergo therapist.
In the past, we have participated in 2 comenius projects (“special friends”-“Ola kala Supporting each other”) and 1 E-twinning project (“I'm great the way I learn”)and we are currently taking part in a E-twinning project along with 8 other European partners: "My special wondertree".

RÉALT N MARA SENIOR SCHOOL
Realt Na Mara was established in October 1954 following the closure of the old Convent School. The old school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy who came to Dundalk in 1847. This school for girls was built in 1853 and demolished in 1970. Following the opening of Realt na Mara, boys and
girls were enrolled. Realt na Mara Junior school comprises from Infants to the Fourth Class and Realt na Mara Senior school comprises the Fifth and Sixth Classes. All the staff is devoted to the implementation of the new primary school curriculum. Pupils have the opportunity to experience interactive learning through the use of ICT. All classrooms are equipped with state-of-the-art interactive whiteboards and laptop facilities. In 1999 the school was invited by the Department of Education and Science to engage in a challenging new development, the first in County Louth: the setting up of a Centre for Autism within the mainstream school. After some reflection, the Mercy Sisters decided to embrace the challenge whole-heartedly and the Autism Class is now a vibrant
hive of activity. In November 2005, Minister Dermot Ahern officially launched the Centre.
With the arrival of the new SEN Resource Room, pupils are now supported for their individual learning needs, keeping the school motto in mind :"To be the best we can". The Autism centre enjoys an active partnership with the Louth Disability Team for Services to Children with Autism

CENTRUL ÅžCOLAR PENTRU EDUCAÅ¢IE INCLUZIVÄ‚
Our school is located in Cluj-Napoca, being one of the oldest special schools in Transylvania. Founded in 1929 as a school for children with intellectual disabilities, the school has grown in expertise, offering today educational services appropriate to primary and secondary school level to children with severe and moderate intellectual disability, learning difficulties, movement problems and autism spectrum disorders. With our team of support teachers, we also reach the educational needs of children with learning difficulties included in mainstream schools.
Most of our pupils live in Cluj-Napoca, but some of the pupils come from socially disadvantaged family environments. Out of 156 students, 22% come from Foster Homes or Children Placement Centres. This is a main challenge in our educational plan as well as the diversity issue.
About 20% of our pupils belong to the Roma minority and besides Romanian students we also educate children belonging to the Hungarian minority. The 1999 was the year when our school came out as the first educational institution in Transylvania offering educational services to students with autism spectrum disorders. We consider that we have successfully met this important challenge: we proudly point out that 25% of our current school population consist of students with autism spectrum disorders. We strongly believe in the benefit of cooperation with educational institutions from other countries. We also aim for promoting and sharing new teaching methodologies, raising interest for other cultures and educational experiences and forming sustainable partnerships for improving the services of our school. We sustain current improvement in teacher expertise, as our aim is to cover diverse educational needs of our students. To increase teamwork and cooperation, seen also in European context is one of our main objectives for international partnerships.
A diverse school population requires diverse educational services, which we intend to adapt and develop using good practice from partner schools.

KOPRUBASI ATATURK ILKOGRETIM OKULU
Koprubasi Ataturk Ilkogretim Okulu was established in 1959. Our school is located in Koprubasi, a town in the city of Manisa, west Turkey. It has 262 students and the age range of our school is from 7-14. Our schools’ students come from different social situations and rural areas and they have less opportunities than man other children. There are 2 special classes in our school. We are the only school in our region which has special classes. There are 10 special students with special needs in these classes. Expert teachers give intense training to these special students in order to enable them to have basic life competences. The methodology and curriculum is completely different in these classes. We have special therapies and try useful approaches to help these students adapt socially. We are in contact with Regional Rehabilitation Centres which first prepare reports about students with special needs. According to these legal reports, we plan daily, monthly and yearly activities of our special classes.

THE CORLEY CENTRE
Corley Centre Corley Centre comprises of a school and Coventry Autism Support Service (CASS). The Centre was brought together under one leadership team in September 2005 and the school was redesigned as Corley Centre in September 2006. The school caters for 72 students aged 11 - 16 with complex social and communication difficulties and associated learning difficulties. The school includes extended day and residential facilities which are available four nights a week. A small number of students continue to be based at the school after the age of 16 in order to meet their individual needs through the Post 16 unit, which has 12 places. The school is specifically resourced and staffed to meet the needs of pupils with complex social and communication difficulties, including autistic spectrum disorders. The school\'s catchment area covers the whole of the City of Coventry. Coventry Autism Support Service provides advice and support for all pupils throughout Coventry who have an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) from diagnosis. This service is for pre school children and those in compulsory education. CASS operates as part of Corley Centre and in conjunction with other Local Authority support services.

Objectives of the partnership

THE PROBLEMS upon which the project is built are essentially:
- the lack of information about teaching methodologies with autistic students, here intended in a very broad sense (from tools to instruments to applied / operative methods of teaching, the duration of techniques, proposed methods, involved staff, structuring settings, practical hints and tips, etc.)
- and the somewhat isolated environments, due mainly to autism not being a mainstream issue within which certain teachers are operating.
THE PARTNERSHIP AIMS AT DEVELOPING A LEARNING COMMUNITY OF TEACHERS WORKING WITH AUTISTIC STUDENTS. For the Learning community, we intend the setting up of a group of people gearing towards an organized knowledge, a group which tends towards excellence, and inwhich all share the information they have (free of any hierarchical order).
Most especially, we underscore 2 characteristics of the learning community: it tends towards the generation of knowledge and its updating remains continuous. So, in building up a Learning community the project envisages offering a form of professional upgrading, reciprocal advantages and shared learning by the creation of a teacher network based on a blended (face to face and virtual), peer-to-peer method.

MORE SPECIFICALLY:
* Our aim is to create a European network of teachers of every order and level (of students from between 0 and 18) who work with students with autism, whether at a low (e.g. mental retardation) or at a high level of functioning (e.g. high-functioning Asperger syndrome).
* The aim of the network is to create a concrete community for learning and reciprocal support which is capable of winningly upgrading itself by employing creativity, innovation and new open source technologies.
* In the two years of activity the network will be open to receive new teachers or people interested in the subject treated as "spectators" of project activities (during seminars, using the website etc.) or represented via the project coordinator (for instance all the school teachers can present questions, solutions or concerns during teh foreseen round tables). In this way each school community (teachers, students families, stakeholders etc.) will be represented, informed and actively involved.

AT THE PRACTICAL LEVEL THIS NETWORK/COMMUNITY WILL AIM TO :
* exchange technical information (teaching techniques, events in the field, publications, materials, experiences, good practices)
* render winning peer-to-peer advice and support (what to do in certain cases, access advice, launch reciprocal motivational dynamics, offer and receive support in critical situations, develop and strengthen positive results, compare case-studies, etc.)
* go into depth on specific scientific questions and enhance local innovations (create work groups which include experts, share successes made, repeat experiences, etc.)
* give life to future projects, reflect upon sustainable networks shared with a view to maintaining the train of ideas which arise from project collaboration, having emerged in two years of common activity

THESE AIMS ARE TO BUILD UP :
* a common Internet site which may also be viewed by external visitors (the abovementioned network of “spectator-teachers”)
* an E-space, using the Moodle web-based learning platform, tailored exclusively to project network teachers and geared towards a private exchange of information with Virtual Meetings on good practices, presentations of cases and experiences from each single school
* a shared, ready-completed bibliography as well as an exchange, also via social book marking services, of learning materials which are accessible via Internet
* work groups which support the reciprocal exchange suggested during transnational meetings
* Transnational meetings and conventions partially open to the public for the scientific study of specific arguments and the strengthening of local innovation
* Activation of the kind of collaboration which is capable of giving rise to future projects and/or their equivalents
* Keeping track of all that emerges from the Moodle project diary.