The INCL'AUTISM project gathered 4 partners from Portugal, Italy and France, with the aim of promoting social inclusion through the work of young adults and adults with Autism Sphere Disorder (ASD). It is estimated that between 10% and 24% of adults with this condition are employed. These professionals are often employed in so-called protected sectors. The share of occupational integration in the ordinary environment is much lower, even though several experiences have shown that it is of great interest to both individuals and businesses. People with ASD present, even with intellectual deficits, great abilities to integrate into an ordinary work environment, while the lack of understanding of their relational difficulties threatens their ability to integrate. The major challenge of the INCL'AUTISM project is to inform and train local managers, the reference employees in the company, who, daily, organize the integration of people with specific needs. Innovative project, since the professional integration of people ASD is still in its infancy, INCL'AUTISM is based on the notion of employee reception within the company, of the on-boarding type, and continues with daily support, a work organization adapted to its specific needs as close as possible to the workplace, ensuring both the integration and the continuation of a career path without interruption. Innovative project since it proposes to define and recognize and develop the skills of these employee-referents, enriching their curriculum vitae, their employability, and their professional development. Through the INCL'AUTISM project, we want to train the employees of companies in the communication and adaptation at work of people ASD , and to value the employees referencing the company reception (local managers, co-workers, etc.) through the creation of a repository of transferable skills during professional development. We will develop in 4 languages, English, Portuguese, Italian and French: > a MOOC training in two modules, supplemented by teaching tutorials to facilitate its use > a skills reference guidebook for support staff in businesses for people with specific needs > a communication kit including a short film The INCL'AUTISM project is built by bringing together all the actors in its construction: people with disabilities and their families, user associations, business, and training professionals. To this end, we have brought together 4 European partners with complementary competences: > on autism with an Italian partner MASSENZIO ETICA E AUTISMO (MEA), > on business world: with a company club FACE Grand Toulouse, member of the Foundation for Action to Combat Exclusion > in formation, bringing together 2 complementary partners: in Portugal PREVIFORM, in France the Regional Institute of Health and Social Training of the Red Cross in Occitanie. By bringing together, alongside training institutions, representatives of the main actors concerned: people with autism-related disorders, associations of families involved for many years in social integration and representatives of companies and the entrepreneurial world sensitive to its social responsibility, INCL'AUTISM gives itself the means to provide an adapted and operational response. Through the INCL'AUTISM project, all the partners aim to act on exclusion factors, to promote openness to difference, the first step towards further advances in the field of disability.
Social inclusion means integration in the workplace, and integration in the workplace means informing and training future employers and colleagues of people with autism. The major challenge of the Incl'Autism project is to support companies in an inclusive approach, by creating lasting links between companies, associations of users and families, and training institutions, within the framework of CSR/RSO. Throughout the project, we have maintained and developed close links between associations of families and users, business clubs, but also employment and integration agencies and territorial institutions. The main objective is to inform and train the local managers, the employees who refer to the company, who, on a daily basis, organize the integration of people with specific needs.
The occupational integration of people from neurodiversity, including people with autism, remains marginal in all European countries. And yet the vocational training and integration of autistic adults is a major challenge in their lives. Much progress has been made to accompany them in their training, from school to university, even if the difficulties remain important. However, once they have completed their university, vocational or apprenticeship training, access to and retention in employment remains difficult. However, people with autism have strengths to promote access to employment and recruitment: high level of concentration, high ability to perform repetitive and varied tasks, reliability and loyalty, low absenteeism, excellent memory and specialized skills. A person with autism, who has poor command of social codes or language, can be an ideal resource in a professional context. The Incl'Autism project is intended to provide support for support organizations, associations and referral agencies for integration and disability in companies.