Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Sant Boi covers lobby signage to coincide with World Autism Awareness Day
The initiative is part of the awareness-raising campaign "This is how we feel", through which Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu invites users and professionals to put themselves in the shoes of neurodivergent people, a joint initiative with five associations in the region
It is the first step in a project to provide signage with pictograms in all areas of the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Sant Boi to increase the autonomy of people with autism and improve accessibility
The Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Sant Boi opened its doors today with part of the signage covered and the lobby full of volunteers and activists. Coinciding with World Autism Awareness Day, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu has launched the "This is how we feel" campaign to raise awareness of the difficulty that some neurodivergent people (with an autism spectrum disorder) have interpreting signs that are not adapted to everyone, and the need for them to be modified. However, in front of each covered sign, there were volunteers to guide people who needed help.
Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu is thus launching a project to use pictograms for all signage in the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Sant Boi, and this will be extended to other facilities in the institution, to make all signs accessible to people with and without autism spectrum disorder, and promote their autonomy. The aim is to normalise the use of other languages and contribute to making information accessible to everyone.
Although not all neurodivergent people necessarily have great difficulty with language, the wide range of profiles within the autism spectrum means that there are people of different ages with diverse motor, cognitive and linguistic abilities and it therefore becomes essential to facilitate access for people with ASD to all services.
The campaign was possible thanks to the involvement of local organisations that work for autism: Associació ISTEA, Associació TEAdir Sant Boi, AFDA Catalunya, Asociación Héroes Sin Capa and ViuTEA Associació. All of them participated with information stands and activities available to the public who came to the hospital today. Representatives of Sant Boi Town Council were also present at a table where they explained the job placement programme for people with autism. In the Sant Joan de Déu Numància building, in Barcelona, Associació New Life, Futuro Autista and Fundació Friends have also participated with information and awareness-raising tables. In both Sant Boi and Barcelona, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu professionals specialising in autism have offered information about ASD to visitors.
ASD in adults
Adults with ASD often find that the resources available are unsuitable for building the personal pathways they need to live independently, so they frequently miss out on opportunities.
For some years now Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu has been working on the project PlaTEA. Improving care for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This is a project for intervention and support for adults with ASD that aims to define a model of person-centred care, capable of supporting processes of greater personal autonomy and strengthening social ties, understanding and addressing the needs they experience in different areas and stages of life, increasing the skills of professionals and volunteers in the social and health care network, while incorporating the person's views in its design.
The PlaTEA project consists of information pills co-created with adults with ASD, videos and support tools for the exercise of autonomy and training for professionals in the social field and volunteers.
What is a pictogram?
A pictogram is a drawing that communicates a message or describes objects without referring to their linguistic form. If the drawing resembles what it is meant to convey, it is called a pictogram.
Different symbol systems meet the needs of people of different ages with varying motor, cognitive and linguistic abilities. (source Viu Autisme)
