Our news

Training for quality nutrition and better inclusion

A clearly expressed need by professionals

A large majority of respondents in our survey — exactly 90.7% — believe that dedicated training on nutrition for people with ASD would be useful or even necessary. This clear figure highlights a real need on the ground, shared by healthcare professionals, nutrition specialists, and family members of people affected.

A European survey to better understand needs

This quantitative survey was conducted as part of the APIA project, in collaboration with several European partners:

Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón (Spain)
CADIS Huesca (Spain)
Fondazione per l’Autismo (Italy)
European think & do tank POUR LA SOLIDARITÉ – PLS (Belgium)

In total, 97 people contributed to this study, providing valuable insight into the challenges faced by professionals and families around the nutritional and dietary issues linked to autism.

A meeting in sardinia to move forward together

In this context, the 3rd transnational meeting of the APIA project was held on June 5–6 in Cagliari (Sardinia), warmly hosted by the Fondazione per l’Autismo. The aim of this meeting was to conclude the work phase on the content of the theoretical tool and to begin designing the framework for the methodological tool, through crucial collective working sessions for the success of the project.

This meeting also featured direct immersion in the practices of the host organisation. Partners were able to visit the facility and take part in a cooking workshop — as offered daily to people supported on site. This hands-on experience helped partners better understand the realities of individuals in care settings, educational expectations, learning possibilities, and the rhythms of people with ASD.

The event allowed the partners to:

consolidate project outputs
fine-tune upcoming steps, particularly the construction of a methodological guide
reaffirm the shared ambition: to improve nutritional support for people with ASD across Europe

A big thank you to Fondazione per l’Autismo for its hospitality and to all partners for the quality and richness of the exchanges.