Physical therapy as a tool for developing social-emotional, non-verbal communication and relationship skills of youngsters with OSD

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a life-long neurodevelopmental deficiency that is usually diagnosed in early childhood. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); It is a complex behavioral disorder that is associated with limited, irregular, repetitive behaviors and inadequacy in communication and social skills. Researches have shown that every 59/1 child has ASD. ASD rate is increasing day by day. ASD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder not only in Europe but all over the world. Because the problem is global, we selected our project partners from different countries considering different practice examples of each country on ADS. Project partners from Netherlands, Turkey and Italy. Within the strategic framework of Europe and candidate countries (ET 2020), the EU eliminates barriers that hinder the access of individuals with disabilities to education and learning systems; It supports the adequate training of professionals working at all stages of education. Our project will support this strategy.The overall purpose of our project is to increase the institutional capacities of institutions working with young people with autism spectrum disorders in order to improve their youth's Motor coordination, Social-emotional, non-verbal communication, and the ability to maintain relations. Depending on our general purpose, our special objectives;-To teach trainers the barriers of play, socialization and communication skills of autistic youngs and how to overcome these barriers with physical therapy.-To disseminate good practices in partner countries among partner organizations. -To develop online platform where all related people can benefit.Our project appeals to a very wide target audience, these are educators interested in the education of individuals with autism, individuals with high school age autism and their families, youth, non-governmental organizations and the public. Physical therapy specialists, special education specialists, child development specialists, psychologists, program development specialists, assessment and evaluation specialists will participate in the project.Project activities: 6 mobilities will be carried out throughout the project. Other activities are:Poster -brochure design and printing, application and evaluation of pretest and posttests, newsletter preparation, online platform preparation, making good applications a spot film, evaluation meetings, developing creative group games that increase communication skills and training of educators on games, parents handbook, Application modules of physical therapy, where application videos will be included, Physical therapy applications, Mobile handbook applications for trainers, Expert workshop and dissemination studies for the integration of physical therapy techniques into existing ASD Training modules.Results to be achieved in the project: Trainers will learn about the problems that prevent young people with ASD from developing their communication, socializing and playing skills. They will acquire the skills of dealing with young people with ASD with the method of physical therapy. They will develop their own institutional capacities by learning best practices in partner countries.Games will be developed to increase the communication skills of individuals with ASD. An practice-oriented online platform will be created in the project. This platform will include handbook and application modules for parents and educators. With the integration of physical therapy techniques into training modules, more efficient implementation of the existing ADS training modules of all countries will be ensured during the project workshop. The impact of our project on institutions ; an increase in the quality of education of institutions, awareness among different cultures, increased interest in the education of individuals with autism, modernization of education provided at EU standards, and international cooperation. In addition, our project will address items such as the development of innovative methods in the field of education, social inclusion, social solidarity, supporting the personal development of students, and enhancing teachers' competencies to facilitate the adaptation of individuals with autism to social life.