We are pleased to announce the availability of three Guides entitled ‘Autism & University – Best Practices.’ The Guides are a voluntary initiative to translate the original ‘Autism & Uni – Best Practice Guides’ from English, undertaken by the Network ‘Autism-Friendly University Environments for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),’ of which the University of Thessaly is a founding member, represented by the Rector, Professor Charalambos Billinis.
The Guides continue the work of the ‘Autism & Uni – Best Practice Guides’ project, under the scientific supervision of Professor Marc Fabri from Leeds Beckett University, United Kingdom. In addition to Greek, the Guides have been translated into Dutch, Finnish, Polish, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
The first Guide is addressed to the Administration of higher education institutions, the second to University Teaching Staff, and the third to professionals supporting autistic students inside and outside the University.
In Greece, all students, including those on the autism spectrum, are eligible to participate in the national examinations for admission to Higher Education Institutions. In November 2022, a new law was introduced (Government Gazette B 6069/28-11-2022), according to which students on the autism spectrum with a disability of at least 67% may be admitted to Higher Education Institutions, based on their preference, without participating in national examinations, and be included in the special category of students with serious illnesses, representing 5% above the designated number of entrants.
This new law created the need to develop material in Greek to inform academic and administrative staff, students, and their families about autism and the needs of individuals on the autism spectrum, providing guidance on how they can best be supported at university. The ‘Autism & University – Best Practices’ Guides are suitable for this purpose, as their initial development was based on research and evidence-based practices. Furthermore, the Guides address important issues in a clear, concise, and straightforward language, making their content easily understandable by academic and administrative staff, as well as students.
The translation and scientific editing of the ‘Autism & Uni – Best Practice Guides’ into Greek (‘Autism & University – Best Practices’) was carried out by the founding members of the Network ‘Autism-Friendly University Environments for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD),’ namely:
- University of Thessaly: Despina Papoudi
- University of Macedonia: Christina Syriopoulou
- Technical University of Crete: Malamatenia Zacharioudaki & Evangelia Krasadaki
- Harokopio University: Katerina Antonopoulou & Aglaia Stamboltzi
- Hellenic Association for Asperger Syndrome (El.s.s.A): Maria Iliopoulou
Financial support for the graphic design and editing was provided by Professor Marc Fabri (Leeds Beckett University), to whom we express our gratitude for his time and ongoing support.
You can access the Guides by following the link here (» Best Practice Guides - The Autism&Uni project).
