Sometimes there’s no path to follow, so the SentirTEA collective is blazing a trail to help children with autism integrate at school and in daily life
This story of dedication began in November 2022 at San Bartolomé Primary School. Saula Rodríguez and other parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) approached the school and the Department of Education to request measures that would make it easier for their children to participate fully in lessons and playground activities. From this initiative, SentirTEA was born. Today, the collective has around sixty member families, supporting children of various ages and levels of social engagement.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong condition with both genetic and environmental origins. Those born with this neurodiversity often face difficulties with communication, social interaction, sensory processing, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviours, among other challenges.
‘A child with ASD has educational needs of all kinds, which become even more complex in adolescence and adulthood. The path isn’t easy, and we feel the Education Department and some teachers could do more – some educators prefer to refer children to specialised centres. We do receive some help, though, and the support offered by Adislán has been tremendous,’ explains Rodríguez. Diagnosed herself as an adult, she explains how this perspective has helped her ‘understand a great deal more about the education and needs of my own daughter.’
Now that the collective is up and running, it has secured institutional support and funding, as well as wider public awareness. ‘We’ve implemented early and late pick-up schemes,’ Saula tells us, ‘and we’ve launched the Dynamic Playgrounds initiative with the idea of creating inclusive spaces during breaks so that children with ASD aren’t isolated. We encourage other pupils to talk and play and interact, and also teach strategies to aid integration and foster respect for the different paces and rhythms of people with ASD.’
‘The Dynamic Playgrounds scheme has already been implemented in six schools in Lanzarote,’ she continues, ‘and this academic year, it’s being rolled out in another six, with requests from even more schools.
www.asociacion-sentirtea.es // info@asociacion-sentirtea.es
