Students presenting autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) need an educational environment which is able to compensate for their disabilities and that can help them to develop their full potential. Today, specialised education is the most effective tool available for treating these serious problems.

The diversity of children and adolescents with ASD means that, in order to adapt satisfactorily to the special education needs of these students, a number of different alternatives must be available. Holding this vision, GAUTENA has developed its education service as part of an integrated network of educational support resources.

¿HOW CAN YOU ACCESS THIS SERVICE?

Our special education services are co-ordinated with the Basque Government Department of Education, Universities and Research. Therefore, it is their area educational innovation and advisory teams, called BERRITZEGUNEAK that decide, in collaboration with both the family and ourselves, which support resources are required by each student, and authorise the recommended alternative.

¿WHAT DO WE AIM TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS SERVICE?

To ensure that all students with ASD living in Gipuzkoa receive an education programme suited to their specific needs. Many students with ASD benefit from diverse adaptations of the ordinary education system, while others require a more drastic, group-based alternative established by GAUTENA almost 25 years ago, named ‘stable classrooms’. As their name indicates, these classrooms provide stability in regards both the environment and the specialist staff working in them, as well as stable co-ordination with other necessary resources. They are targeted at those students for whom the ordinary curriculum cannot be adapted, or who can only share a small part of it, thus rendering it inadequate for their future adult lives.

¿HOW DOES THE SERVICE WORK?

All our stable classrooms are open and located in ordinary schools, thereby striving to ensure that children with ASD receive their education in the least restrictive environment, and close as possible to their homes.

Every student has an individual support programme revised annually by all the professionals involved in the case and the student’s family. The programme covers both the more academic aspects of the curriculum, such as mathematics, reading and writing and social science, natural science and technology, as well as other aspects equally vital for developing each student’s capacities: communication, self-care skills, self-management, social skills…We take the chronological age of the student in consideration at all times, and adjust the contents accordingly. Thus, for example, with young people we begin to work on those aspects related to their passage into adulthood, such as autonomy, finding a job, emotional-sexual relations and housework…

There are generally between three and six students in each stable classroom, along with a teacher, an educator and two carers who come in to help out at certain times of the day. All of these people are specialised in the field of education for ASD and are in turn supported by our medical-psychological team, as well as by the educational coordinator responsible for GAUTENA’s education service.

All ages are important, but we place special emphasis on two in particular: the early years, which have an enormous influence on the future; and the youth, when we need to provide students with gateways to different jobs or day centres, specialist employment centres or supported employment. In Gipuzkoa, our students can receive specialised education up until the age of 20.