People with a pervasive developmental disorder share, in varying degrees, the following characteristics:

• Qualitative alteration in social interaction, (difficulty establishing relationships with others, a person with PDD does not share pleasures, interests…)
• Qualitative alteration in communication (difficulty in or total absence of speech development…stereotyped and repetitive usage of language…)
• Repetitive and stereotyped behavior (getting attached to certain non functional habits or rituals…)

40 children and young people between the ages of 4 and 25. They will be accompanied by a multidisciplinary team made up of:

• Educators
• Speech therapists
• Physical therapists
• Psychologists
• Social workers
• Occupational therapists (when needed)

A- Objectives related to people with PDD:

• Develop their communication and social interaction skills.
• Promote the development of socio-emotional skills such as the regulation of emotions and the management of feelings of anxiety.
• Promote the development of cognitive skills and functional learning as related to their needs and abilities.

B- Objectives related to the family:

• Acknowledge and reinforce the family members’ competence to support the child and to preserve their unity.
• Promote the involvement of members of the family in accompanying and following the learning process of their disabled child
• Nourish any thoughts that family members might have; inform and accompany them when making decisions related to their child’s progress.

 

It is divided into two big parts:

• Daily living skills:

 

• Time and place of welcoming, exchange, animation, socializing and accompanying.
• how to be autonomous
• Pre-school, school and professional learning
• Physical activities (swimming…)
  Field Trips : Educationa / Leisure

• Sheltered Workshops:

 

• Painting and handicrafts
• Pottery
• Horticulture
• Cooking
• Music and singing
• Sewing
• Sports
• Computers

 

• These workshops aim at:

 

• Promoting the child’s occulo-manual coordination skills
• Developing his or her personality
• Stimulating his or her imagination
• the child express himself or herself freely
• Developing his or her creativity and sense of esthetics
• Preparing him or her for future professional integration