About us
Given the unique needs of autistic pupils and with rising numbers of children and young people being diagnosed on the autism spectrum, there is a pressing need to increase the awareness, knowledge and skills of the school work force and to improve the capacity of settings to meet the needs of children with autism.
Transforming Educational Practice in Autism: enhancing the skills, knowledge and understanding of teachers in the UK, Italy and Greece, also known as ‘Transform Autism Education,’ is a three year research and development project funded by the European Commission, through their Erasmus Plus programme, Key Action 2, Strategic Partnerships.
Aims of the project
Our overarching objectives with the ‘Transform Autism Education’ project are to gather a community of researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the UK, Italy and Greece to research current educational practices in autism in those respective contexts and to create professional development programmes in Greece and Italy.
The project promotes equity and inclusion in autism education by enhancing the skills, knowledge and understanding of teachers and other school staff who work with children aged between 5 and 10. It does this by modelling itself on a successful Autism Education Trust (AET) project looking at educational provision and outcomes for people on the autism spectrum. This was a national partnership between Universities, local authorities, voluntary sector organisations, and schools in England.
The Transform Autism Education project builds on the AET project and it is led by Dr Karen Guldberg, Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) at University of Birmingham, UK. The partners consist of two Universities, a non-profit organisation, a school district and a creative agency. They include the University of Birmingham Autism Centre for Education and Research, Aikaterini Laskaridou Foundation; Autism Education Trust; Genium Creatives, Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Ufficio Scolastico Regionale per la Lombardia.
Contact us
Dr Karen Guldberg (Principal Investigator)
Email: k.k.guldberg@bham.ac.uk
Rebecca Wood
Email: r.wood.2@bham.ac.uk (Project Manager)