VIRTUS project’s innovative approach on vocational education and training for autistic individuals
Autistic individuals face numerous obstacles when trying to navigate a world designed for neurotypical people. Because of the challenges autistic people face in communication and social interaction, they can often be misunderstood and mislabelled as unsuitable for employment, which can then lead to them being excluded and marginalised from society. To tackle these issues head-on, it is crucial to provide autistic individuals with high-quality vocational education programmes that are specifically tailored to them. Programmes that address social, pre-vocational and vocational skills are particularly in need as such training can prepare them for their transition to the labour market. This is where the VIRTUS project comes in!
Running from March 2022 – April 2023, this Erasmus+ funded project will develop an innovative training programme for autistic individuals to facilitate their access to meaningful employment. The programme will include the use of virtual reality (VR), which has been recognised as a useful training tool for autistic people.
So what’s happened during the first nine months of the VIRTUS project?
As a first step, we conducted a Needs Analysis on the employability of autistic individuals, wherequestionnaires and interviews were carried out. The data collected were included in a report, whose main results show that autistic individuals:
- have different working profiles – a fact that makes adaptations in the workspace important;
- require an organised work routine and support from supervisors and colleagues that ranges from frequent to rare;
- need particular attention to be given to their sensory profiles to make sure that their workspace is adapted to their needs.
In addition to this, research was conducted by partner organisations to provide a solid base for the development of the Vocational Education and Training Curriculum foreseen. Some interesting insights that came out of this exercise demonstrate that:
- there is an urgent need for training and autism awareness for employers and colleagues to be able to support autistic employees.
- Interventions that employ technology and relevant applications (such as Virtual Reality and Video Modelling) seem to be effective enough for most of the participants with autism.
- Interventions that entail interview preparation have consistently positive results, considering that a great number of autistic individuals face difficulties in managing their social and communication skills, especially in stressful situations.
- Vocational curricula need to entail three categories of skills to cover the needs of autistic prospective employees: social and interpersonal, pre-vocational, and vocational skills.
- Continuous support before and after recruitment is crucial to job satisfaction and maintenance.
What’s next?
ÙBased on the information gathered, project partners are now focusing on developing the VIRTUS Education and Training Program. This will be accompanied by virtual reality scenarios, which will allow autistic individuals to develop their professional skills by experiencing realistic simulations of real workplaces in carefully controlled virtual environments.
During their 2nd Transnational Project Meeting held in Athens in November, the consortium had the chance to test out the first virtual reality scenario developed by one of the partner organisations, and discussed possible changes that should be made to fit the sensory needs of autistic participants.
Visit the VIRTUS website to learn more about the project and stay tuned for their next steps. https://www.project-virtus.eu/