The IES El Chapatal in Santa Cruz de Tenerife hosted the closing of the 1st Canary Symposium on Autism and Education. The initiative, which began in Gran Canaria on Wednesday, gathered over eight hundred educators and professionals from both islands. The event focused on providing practical tools and strategies to improve educational responses for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Under the theme Understanding to Accompany: Strategies for an Inclusive Educational Response, the symposium addressed the specific needs of students with ASD. The Tenerife session included participation from the Director General of Personnel and Teacher Training, Mónica Ramírez, and the Director General of Curriculum, Inclusion, and Innovation, David Pablos, as well as the Councilor for Education of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, Charín González.
Mónica Ramírez highlighted the practical nature of the training, responding to teachers' demand for better understanding of these students and for useful methods in daily practice. Topics covered included communication, anticipation, and environmental structuring, with an emphasis on preventing dysregulation.
The Canarian education system currently supports 6,437 students with ASD. The symposium aimed to combine specialized knowledge on autism with the daily realities of educational centers, addressing the understanding of behaviors, communication, regulation, family-school relationships, sensory integration, and the importance of early intervention.
The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, led by Poli Suárez, frames this symposium within its efforts to strengthen diversity support. This academic year has seen a significant increase in professionals dedicated to supporting students with special educational needs (SEN) and auxiliary staff, with over 1,907 auxiliaries now available.
Furthermore, the network of Enclave classrooms and Special Education centers has been expanded, and guidance and specialized teams have been reinforced. The Inclusion Project for students with ASD is currently implemented in 56 public centers across the seven islands, up from 34 in the 2022/23 academic year, aiming to improve student support and autonomy.
