25th anniversary of The Autism Project marked by training here, around the world

In Celebration of Their 25 Anniversary, The Autism Project Donates 25 Hours of Training and Consultation to People Around the World 

The Autism Project (TAP) was built on the belief that all professionals, parents, and caregivers require specialized education, training, and assistance in order to best support the autistic people in their lives. Twenty-five years after its incorporation, TAP celebrated their anniversary through the creation of the “25 Hours for 25 Years” initiative. The TAP team was able to donate training and consultation to organizations who otherwise may not have access to their services in Rhode Island and across the globe. 

“25 Hours for 25 Years” began with an email from Elizabeth Henwood of the Swaziland Network for Early Childhood Development (SNECD). She and her network of teachers work tirelessly to support the growth and development of children in the small African country of Eswatini. Elizabeth recognized that her organization did not have specific information about autism and reached out for training.

Beginning in 2021, and ending in 2022, TAP donated 10 hours of training to the women of SNECD. The training provided TAP staff with the opportunity to view autism from a different cultural perspective, and to learn from the “ladies” of Eswatini. The training was especially unique as many sessions took place during a political uprising in the country.

Ariana DeAngelis, Training Manager of TAP, offered to reschedule once things were safer in their city of Manzini, but they pressed on, joining the zoom trainings from the safety of their homes rather than in the city center. The women of SNEDC performed a “love” dance at the end of one training, as a way of expressing gratitude. After the final training, Elizabeth wrote, “Wow Wow. It was such a beautiful session…thank you so much. The ladies keep asking for the recording…It was brilliant. We loved it.” 

The work with SNECD inspired TAP to celebrate their anniversary by giving back. In the state of Rhode Island, TAP donated an “Introduction to Autism” class to the staff at Crossroads Rhode Island. They also performed consultative services to staff at the Rhode Island Hospital’s Outpatient Dialysis Center, working with an autistic patient on dialysis as they prepared him and his family for transplant.

Finally, the TAP team began work with the teachers at the Adult Corrections Institute (ACI) to support incarcerated people with autism. Executive Director Joanne Quinn stated, “So often, autism training and support is directed solely at children. We wanted to use this initiative to help support autistic people across the lifespan and across settings.

A homeless autistic person, or an incarcerated autistic person, shouldn’t go without services specific to their diagnosis. This is just the first step towards that goal.” 

Globally, in addition to the work with SNECD, TAP donated “Introduction to Child Development and Autism” to families and professionals in the Dominican Republic and Chile. This training was taught in Spanish and recruitment was done through staff at The Federal Hill House in Providence. In addition, “Autism Thinking”, “Visual Supports in Practice” and “Supporting Self-Regulation” were donated to the staff at Chief Kitsap Academy on the Suquamish Reservation in Washing State and “Introduction to Autism” and “Visual Supports in Practice” were donated to parents and professionals in the country of Kenya.

DeAngelis reflected on the growth of the program. “At the conclusion of each of these partnerships, I am always pulled aside and thanked for our donation. In truth, we have gained so much more through this initiative than we could ever hope to give. We have new perspectives on autism, new understanding of cultural impacts, and have made some incredible partners. And our impact is growing! I received an email from students and staff at Brigham Young University in Utah. The email said ‘I was talking with Elizabeth [Henwood] of the [SNECD]. She suggested that I contact you. I would love to talk with you about the possibility of training our new teachers in Lugazi’. Lugazi, Uganda is 2,611 miles from Manzini, Eswatini. And yet, these powerful connections were made! We are so grateful to all of our partners for joining us in this initiative and thrilled to see what these partnerships will bring in year 26 of The Autism Project.”

For more information, visit The Autism Project, based in Johnston, Rhode Island – https://theautismproject.org/