The AUTHERAPIES project had the overall goal of enhancing the skills of autistic people, their families, and professionals to make informed, autonomous, and participatory choices regarding evidence-based therapies (EBT). Among its specific objectives was the development of accessible, digital, and multilingual training tools, adapted to different levels of understanding, to foster inclusion and lifelong learning. One of the central aims was to encourage debate, reflection, and communication about the evidence behind therapies within educational, family, professional, and associative contexts—stimulating critical thinking and collaboration among stakeholders. The project also sought to strengthen the meaningful participation of autistic people in decisions about their own treatments and to integrate informed choice into educational, health, and social systems. Furthermore, it aimed to promote a cultural and regulatory shift that protects the rights and well-being of autistic individuals and their families from unvalidated therapies, in line with the Erasmus+ priorities of inclusion, digitalisation, and quality learning.
AUTHERAPIES was proposed in response to the need to improve the quality, consistency, and ethics of interventions for autistic people across Europe. Even today, significant inequalities persist in access to reliable information, alongside a proliferation of non-evidence-based or potentially harmful therapies. Families and autistic individuals often lack the resources to critically assess available options and to participate in decisions affecting their treatment. In this context, the project sought to address the lack of accessible and understandable tools that integrate scientific evidence and promote self-determination. It also aimed to train professionals and families in the skills needed to distinguish between evidence-based therapies (EBT) and pseudoscientific approaches. Finally, it was driven by the commitment to promote inclusion (participation in decision-making), equity (equal rights and empowerment), and digital transformation (use of web and digital materials), in line with the priorities of the Erasmus+ programme and grounded in a human-rights-based approach.