The AIM of the SPAUT project is on one hand to join forces with table tennis coaches and physical education teachers (with knowledge on table tennis), training and certifying them as “coaches with knowledge and perception of Autism” and on the other hand to involve people with Autism in the table tennis sport, encouraging participation and physical activity.
The project aims also to promote social inclusion, equal opportunities in sport and access to table tennis for people with Autism in mainstream activities.
It will do so by empowering local communities and sports stakeholders by raising awareness and training activities, and the establishment of a community of practice at local level. People with Autism will be trained by the certified coaches in each country in order to develop a good knowledge in the sport, become competitive and participate in table tennis sport events that will be organized. As extra help, they will have access to a Virtual Reality app where they will be able to learn the table tennis rules and practice on their homes (before reaching the courts).
The AIM of the SPAUT project is,
on one hand to join forces with table tennis coaches and physical education teachers (with knowledge on table tennis), training and certifying them as “coaches with knowledge and perception of Autism” and on the other hand to involve people with Autism in the table tennis sport, encouraging participation and physical activity. The project aims also to promote social inclusion, equal opportunities in sport and access to table tennis for people with Autism in mainstream activities. It will do so by empowering local communities and sports stakeholders by raising awareness and training activities, and the establishment of a community of practice at local level. People with Autism will be trained by the certified coaches in each country in order to develop a good knowledge in the sport, become competitive and participate in table tennis sport events that will be organized. As extra help, they will have access to a Virtual Reality app where they will be able to learn the table tennis rules and practice on their homes (before reaching the courts).
According to Autism-Europe (www.autismeurope.org), over the past 30 years in Europe, the number of reported cases of autism has increased rapidly in all countries where prevalence studies have been conducted. The main reasons are the increased awareness of autism and changes to diagnostic criteria.
It is expected that the project will raise awareness for experts in sport and Autism domain all over Europe. The offering of the training material for the “coaches with knowledge and perception of Autism”, the certification scheme and the VR scenarios as open Educational Resource (OER) in the public domain will also contribute to a greater impact. The project will be a pioneer result of strategic cooperation between Sport and Autism experts, adult learning providers, certification experts and a technical partner with expertise in VR applications.
Project Objectives:
To break down barriers and bring people together from 5 European countries with common goals.
To improve motor and social skills of people with Autism.
To develop and hone talent among autistic persons so that they can eventually play in Para Olympics and other tournaments.
To train physical education teachers or table tennis coaches to train individuals with autism in table tennis
To increase the spirit of volunteerism among young athletes and young people in general regarding their contribution to training autistic persons in table tennis.
Project's Website: http://www.spaut.eu/
