On March 3rd and 4th, ESIPP partners delivered the final funded trainings through the the Equity and Social Inclusion through Positive Parenting project (ESIPP), co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, for a group of 35 parents of children with autism in Nicosia.
In cooperation with the European University of Cyprus (also partners on this project), ESIPP trainers from The Center of Development and Support for Children and Teenagers – AASP (Autism Assessment Support Practice) Nefi Charalambous Darden, Stalo Gerolemo, Louiza Loizou, Ermioni Hadjidimitri, Lefkothea Fedonos and Maria Zarari delivered the whole ESIPP Parent Education Programme. Each of the six modules of the training aims to upgrade parents’ knowledge already acquired through previous modules and promote positive parenting strategies.
During the two-day training session, parents listened attentively and participated actively in the workshops. A final “Question and Answer” session led participants to share information and experience among themselves, facilitating networking opportunities and creating a “support group”. According to ESIPP trainer Charalambous Darden, this last sessions “had probably the best audience we had from all the training sessions we had done” and all parents gave a positive feedback:
- “Thank you so much. As new parents we honestly received great information to help our child”
- “I wish this training was 5 years ago when we first diagnosed my son”
- “Everything was so helpful for us. We started using some of the information as of day 1 of the training”
- “You are an amazing team”
Since the launch of the project in September 2015, six different training sessions have been delivered across Cyprus, including in the cities of Nicosia and Limassol. Led by the European University of Cyprus and AASP, more than 120 parents benefited from the ESIPP project and learnt positives approaches to autism. The project will be making its name in Cyprus thanks to a multiplier event which will be held in Limassol in March 2018, with more than 100 parents, professionals, academics, decision-makers and other stakeholders expected to attend.
