Children with autism

Support measures for teachers

Petra Ipsits-Lindnder, President of the "Autismus Burgenland" association, Sylvia Gradinger-Drawitsch, Deputy President of the "Autismus Burgenland" association, Provincial Councillor Daniela Winkler, Gerade Konrath from the Department of Elementary Education and Doris Handler from the Younion trade union presented the package of measures.

(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

There are more and more children with autistic disorders in kindergartens. Cooperation with an association, a university course and supervision are intended to help the staff. In addition, a telephone and video interpreter will be installed again to ensure trouble-free communication with foreign-language parents. 

Provincial Councillor Daniela Winkler conducts many conversations during her visits to nursery schools and hears what is important to the teachers. Accordingly, a package of measures was developed and has now been presented, which is intended to relieve the burden on the one hand and provide support on the other. Four points have been developed. Starting this fall, we will be working together with the Autismus Burgenland association.

There are currently 60 children diagnosed with autism in Burgenland. And these children are very different. Many have a tendency to run away when something interests them. Others are very sensitive to noise. The association's experts can provide individual advice and support.

Every autistic child is different and every child needs to be dealt with differently.

(Bild: Hannelore Danzl)

Starting in the fall, there will also be a course specially developed with the University of Teacher Education to teach the basics of special needs education. The main topic: professionalization in an inclusive setting. In other words, how teachers deal with autistic children in practice. As support for the teachers, there is now also the opportunity to take advantage of supervision in the kindergartens. "Supervision is a great tool for reflecting on your work," explains Gerda Konrath from the elementary education department. Where there are difficulties, they can be worked through in discussions.

Last but not least, the "We understand each other" project was also reinstalled. "We no longer only have children in our kindergartens who speak German," explains Provincial Councillor Daniela Winkler. "There are often comprehension problems between teachers and parents." To counteract this, there is now a telephone and video interpreting service on weekdays from 7 am to 7 pm. 61 languages are on the program so that misunderstandings can be cleared up quickly.