To enable autistic children to benefit from quality education. La Ciotat, a coastal town near Marseille, has opened a specialist class. A welcoming place where everyone learns at their own pace and according to their needs. Light on this exemplary initiative.
For a year now, the Louis-Pécout kindergarten in Fardeloup has been welcoming seven young schoolchildren who suffer from a form of autism. They are all between 3 and 6 years old, but the establishment prefers children aged 3 to 4 so that they can spend their three years in this UEMA (Unit of teaching in autistic kindergarten). Objective ? Maximize their potential. This section was created thanks to the mobilization of the ARPEJH (Regional Association for the Placement and Education of Young Disabled People) and the support of the municipality of La Ciotat.
This device comes from 4th National Autism Plan. And if it is born in 2021, it is to give parents the choice of an education. Indeed, in France, most schoolchildren with some form of autism are forced to participate in so-called “classic” classes or to be accompanied by a school counselor (AVS). A lack of concern that is a problem, especially since an estimated 8,000 children are born with autism each year, or about one person in 100.
At the kindergarten in La Ciotat, autistic children do not have one teacher. They are also supervised by a psychologist, a specialized educator, a psychomotrician (specializing in attention disorders, instability or psychosomatic disorders) and a speech therapist. A personal support by which they can promote their awakening, develop their senses, etc.
A device that has an exemplary function and deserves to be used in other locations.