AUCTORES
Auctores npa for the advancement of education and assistance for autistic people in their environment
Auctores, the plural for the Latin word auctor, meaning, those who plan, the founders, builders, the developers of a foundation, which in our predecessors advised which way things should be done. Standing for the truth, as speakers witnesses and guardians.
Auctores is not just a word that includes the au from autism. It stands for a mission.
A passion that is fed by an emotional involvement with the target-group, people with autism, but because of the lack of understanding and naivety are passed by.
We want to be the founders of the, above, not because we can do better than others, our predecessors have done a considerance around of work and have forced a path, but we want to be the founders, in obtaining individual welfare rights for children with autism.
We want to be builders, founders who can use a constructive shoulder in projects that help people with autism and its client system to be integrated into society. We can be sub-contractors in existing initiatives that are in operation in our region that need extra manpower.
We stand as guarantee for the truth, truth that operates from out a science bases. We shall be critical from a constructive perspective, once more directed to people with autism at all levels, we will help eventually professionals and interested parties who are looking for answers.
We will inspire people who are motivated via education and understanding to be come competent in their approach to the problem of autism. We will be the representatives for people who do not have the capabilities or luck to fight their case. With motivation bordering on improvement we shall defend their rights, because people with autism are in the first place, people with the same rights as everybody else.
Guardians we have to be, with professionally, reaching for the aims of our target group whom we present and assisting them in their lifelong quest. It is like being a mother and a father from a realistic perspective.
As a symbol we have chosen an hourglass that with the approach to people with autism brings clarity in its command of time. An hourglass when it is occasionally turned can be a perpetual mobile, from activity, throughout time.
npa Auctores
Services to people with autism and related disturbances in their environment.
The stimulation and support for the professionalization of the assistance, for people with autism and their related disturbances.
The setting up of an information center about autism and related disturbances.
Starting points
It is not our wish to compete with other organizations that are already involved with autistic people and their related disturbances. We will only, from out a critical involvement with the target group, take a broader and supplementary position perhaps with regard to other aspects, but always with consolation and to the advantage of the target group.
The association starts with a pluralistic and humanistic view, without distinguishing between race, religious beliefs and political choice. Her decisions will be guided by professional and intelligent arguments with regard to the target group, which we represent.
The association abstains from every form of fundamentalism no matter what its background may be.
One of the associations priorities is to stimulate educational initiatives for children with autism and related disturbances. And that the quality of the education is unconditional and results from the one side, a good concerned management and on the other side, a didactic and educational knowledge in relation to the target group.
The npa Auctores sees its task as building up an information center where:
| Everybody both, professionally or personally related can obtain information over the target group |
| Can attend educational sessions |
| Attending inter-professionals meetings |
The association sees as one of its tasks as stimulating and supporting research initiatives related to the target group.
Starting points
A child with autism has the same rights to development chances as any other child. It has as the right of an educational Quality, the same as any other child.
The achieving of these rights for educational quality is a basic aim of the nap Auctores, we strive to look at a child with autism not only as a child with an handicap but also as a child. The handicap "autistic" really means that these children need more help than other children but that the help must be of a specific quality.
We consider autism as a pervasive development disorder, a disorder which penetrates into all aspects of being a human being and that for lifelong, the disorder has such an affect on the development of the child that a specific approach is absolutely necessary.
The "autistic" exist as a cliché and it is therefore difficult to present a uniform (in presentation) picture of a person with autism. There are, however, definite distinguishing characteristic that are outlined in the following triad
| Qualitative restrictions in social interaction |
| Qualitative restrictions in communication both verbally and non verbally |
| Qualitative restrictions in imagination |
With these qualitative restrictions we mean, that the difficulties that people experience are not related to mental retardation.
A child with autism and possible mental retardation has a double handicap, which raises double care questions.
We see with the treatment of a child with autism, that although there is a wide difference an symptoms an unequivocal approach needs to be followed.
 | Clarity and clarification |
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| Maximum predictability |
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| Individual attention |
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| Continuity |
The approachability requirements for autism are so different than that of other handicaps, that no matter how good the educational system, they are placed in, their development chances are not only limited, and their futures heavily mortgaged, but it shall work hand in hand with being autistic.
We cannot avoid the conclusion that a child with autism has an unbalanced educational profile, therefore another approach, certainly within the existing educational system is required.
After the family, school is the most important environment with regard to upbringing. The children are for the most part of the week at school, this brings a tremendous responsibility for the school. Upbringing is, therefore, divided but parents should also be seen as people who have an important part to play in the educational upbringing of their child. Involved and involvement of the parents in the educational system is an essential starting point in our educational objectives.
A good co-operation and a shared commitment, to this divided responsibility, is therefore indispensable. A professional approach, both to the contents and the form of education are a guarantee of quality. Professionally stands for, good educated personnel, a passionate and a good balanced management.
People with autism receive their information via different canals that all people use, that is the senses. The problem for the biggest majority of autistic children, that they cannot use, interrelated or combine the information they receive. For them it is isolated information which they connect wrongly or they see no connection at all.
A basic problem with autistic children is the difficulty they have with information from outside and what is more important, from their direct surroundings.
The problem with this is that, if the stimulation is a- selective presented the children will reduce their quality of life by using the information in a stereotype, but safe way they will, therefore, not begin on any new strange relationships.
A typical class for typical children presents the children with more possibilities to learn about their senses, through information from their teachers.
A similar environment for a child with autism would likely provoke a unbridled, uncontrolled, chaotic explosion of anger, resulting in a frustrating confrontation or it would be so overwhelming for the child that the child would close-up further and retreat into a barely reachable autistic world.
The environment of a autistic child consists of people, objects and events but only in specific, orchestrated surroundings, which are well balanced, can such a child take a voyage of discovery in what for him/her, is another world.
When autistic children are equated in the same way as children with a mental disability or a learning disability, people concentrate on the development of that child from this position. A child with autism does not fall into either category because they do not even understand the social context to be able to manifest in the attention they receive. Even if they can do this, they do not fall into a socially acceptable pattern, so they will suffer because they are not approachable, rather than being understood, let alone being encouraged "They are Autistic" is the only solution and answer, the safety of doing nothing, the emptiness.
Our basic aims for the education of autistic children are:
- The stimulation and the development of communication
- Learning autistic children how to go on with clarity and predictability with the necessary room and time to be able to maximize their adequate functions
- Development of their learning, functioning and social skills, so that they can live and work depending on the prognosis of their functional level.
- Informing the present and future client system over the value of a turn-a-round integration
This gives us a reason to formulate basic principals, specifically related to quality education for autistic children.
We mean by this, that the available environment for an autistic child must be clearly defined so that the child is able to function in this way in the surroundings, therefore, obtaining an functional balance, which in turn helps the child to name use of educational help that is offered. The surroundings (people, objects and events) thanks to clarity, then have a function. Clarification will never be an aim, but a way to maximize the educational opportunities to reduce the characteristically behavior. Clarity and predictability can be used in taking into account the development of the child in evolving to a higher level of clarity.
Moreover the education is directed to where it is needed, to stimulate the senses. This has an important consequence in that the emphasis will never be put on one part of the approach. Visual stimulation will mostly be presented alongside audio stimulation. This is to encourage the integration of the different stimulants being received, so that autistic children are able to put things into place, in order for them to understand the world.
A second basically principal, is that people with autistic children will be approached, in respect to the problems that go side by side with autism. Secondly they will be approached about their observations on a mental level. This is in contrast to children with a mental handicap or a learning disability who are in the first instance approached about their learning problems. We cannot do anything else but let the homogeneity of the group in which the autistic children are, begin with a specific approach which is needed because of autism.
The autigroup can never be an aim in itself but well as a means to the approach of autistic children. Children with autism, depending on their prognosis will not be helped by remaining in a sectarian group, because then we are going beyond our basic aims. If it is possible our aim should be, for them to move up to a normal group, the reality, teaches us that for some children this aim is to high and that they can get the help they need by staying in the educational surroundings of an autigroup.
The summarizing of all the aims, is within this context not the right way, but we must, however point out a few important basic aims, were education for autistic children must satisfy a minimal standard.
It is important to know that visual and/or tactical support (for blind and partially blind) is always based on educational aims and therefore, the following basic education aims can be distinguished.
A child with autism can time structuralize in a independent manner, accept chances in planning and can organize itself, in reaching the activity required.
A child with autism can develop an verbal or non-verbal communication in order to express their personal needs.
A child with autism can develop psychomotor skills in order to carry activities in their daily life, and so helping them to have control of their activities, such as, recreation, work and (school) tasks. Clarity shall be the stimulation where the child the possibilities and restrictions of material and teaching aids can discover and learn constructively how to use them. From out the same clarification and support, a child can grow to learn about strategy control, with the regard to social aspects, learning to share with others, thus learning to go on with them in a socially acceptable way. As a result of this a child can develop, in its bonded situation position and learn to utilize them in its life, house and work climate.
An autistic child, thanks to the same clarification and supportive approach can obtain an insight into its own surroundings. As a result, the frequency of unacceptable behavior, auto-mutilation and panic attacks shall be noticeably reduced. A child can make use of important moments to be autistic.
Clarification and support are definitive commitments that can be made in the client system in which people with autism live. Education must be directed at both the client and the client system.
A child with autism enjoys the necessary protection to ensure that a stressful situation does not occur. Stress can lead to auto-mutilation, disturbing behavior and a withdrawal into a stereotype autistic behavior, resulting in a slowing down of the education process and maybe permanent damage to the child both physically, sensorial and psychologically.
This protection needs to be provided with insight into the dangers within a child with autism.
- Psychological and social pressures (over applying, over estimating, under estimating of the possibilities.
- Physical pressure, re aggression from and to others.
| Sensorial pressure caused by not enough stimulus control and stimulus selection from the environment, also a disturbed physical experience from the autistic child itself. |
The basic positions are based on the principles of integration in house, work and living environment. It is, therefore, necessary to inform the client system fully.
Autism is usually connected with others handicaps, mental disabilities, deafness-blindness. Were autism is combined with these other problems, it is the autistic situation, with regard to education, that needs to be determined and not the other handicaps. An autistic, mentally disabled child finds the most benefit, not from the traditional mentally disabled education, but from an educational system that is specifically focused at the autistic child.
L. Wing
Autism is an handicap that people do not readily accept. The very specific characteristics of communication and social development of autistic children are not spontaneously and intuitively understood. Continual specialized requirements for their whole lives, are not a luxury, but a necessity for autistic people.
Theo Peeters (1997) Autism from theoretically understanding to educational intervention.
Starting points
Though the aims of the npa are to stimulate a full quality education system, the organizing and setting up of an information center for the target group will be an indispensable link in our aims.
It is a mission to influence the fields of activity and to make it clear that autism cannot be approached from out the experiences of other target groups. The personal approach and also the approachability of autistic people throughout their lives requires specialization. It is a life long process of learning, not only directed at knowledge but also in the skills of application, which are equally important.
A lasting educational quality can only be achieved by on the one side ensuring an up to date informational quality and on the other side, that the students and social workers of tomorrow, can always find a place for their questions.
A quality service system for autistic people can only be achieved with good basic training. As well as a through basic training, it is necessary for people who are in function for the target group, to be able to carry out their work, the possibility to continually expand their knowledge.
The npa Auctores will professionals who work with or are interested in working with autistic people, be given every opportunity to do so. Through this chances are created for people not only to specialize but also the opportunity to exchange idea’s and information.
Parents and people directly involved in the client system of autistic people also need information and training. It is a noticeably tendency that parents are more emancipated verbally and that their need for information plays an important part in looking after the interests of their children. Parents are always looking for more training, so that they can help their autistic children to be able to function better in their home environment, because autistic children still retain all the characteristics of autism, after school and in the holidays.
To conclude, an information center must be able also to direct itself to people with autism, which is also an important factor. They are also looking for information, out necessity and for clarification. Information for autistic people will help them to maintain a way of life in a society that is becoming more and more complex.
Basic principals
It is not our aim to be a competitor with existing initiatives. What we want is to involve in the region that has our attention, as a meeting place, where next to information from reference books, audio and video material network exists, a place where people have the room to organize and facilitate training sessions, with regard to autism.
The offer of training cannot and may not be limited to a specific method of approach or philosophical background, the information center will begin with an open vision, our eyes being sighted only the well being of autistic people.
From out this point of view, we can only at first, look into existing initiatives and look to see to which extent we can be complimentary for them in their region and what for significance this shall have.
Starting points
Professionalization is the third pillar of the npa Auctores. It is really a continual red line that runs through our exercise in obtaining quality, rather than an aim itself.
Professionalization seems perhaps a naive and noble aim at first, but quality, from out respect for everybody and their need can only be reached from a professional position.
The professionalisation will not only have to be expressed in the way the npa must be run, but also in a stimulating position with regard to everything that has to do with, autistic people, the client system and their specific needs.
A professional approach in our educational aims, is a guarantee not only of the education content but also the form of education. Professionalization stands also for well educated personnel that have been carefully selected, a stimulating work climate and a passionate well balanced management.
The strive for professionalism, means also that the npa with all its possibilities will dedicate itself to the stimulation of research into the causes and treatment of autism.
With this vision in mind the npa as a non profit making organization will also be looking for relations within the profit making world that can via their contributions, offer extra stimulation in the expansion of assistance needed for autistic people. We are not only thinking about a financial injection but also making use of existing know-how in the profit making sector.
Basic principals
The npa Auctores from its ethnic and pluralistic stand point, will not make any decisions that are against the interests of its target group, neither out opportunism nor out competitive an/or commercial considerations.
The npa exists only for the sole of the target group and not the target group for the sole of the npa.