On the 23-26th of September, founder Catrine Gangstø and Peacepainting Instructor Johanne Thrana Tindstad travelled to Leiria in Portugal for meetings and workshops related to the InAutism - Fostering Adult Integration project. In this project, our goal is to develop new forms of communication for people with special needs. The Peacepainting method, which has been scientifically proven to improve openness to experience, extraversion and agreeability in participants, will be used as a tool to develop the intrinsic values of compassion, empathy, critical thinking and autonomy both for people with special needs and their caretakers. We are partnering with the Portuguese association APPDA Leiria and the Spanish association AA Vigo (Asociación Autismo Vigo) for the project.

During this session in Portugal, the project was carefully reviewed and everybody were able to clarify their role. We were also shown around the city and the surrounding area and got to know our partners.

We also conducted the first workshop with users with special needs and caregivers.

The next stage in the project will take place in Leiria, Portugal November 14-20th. We will bring five people to attend the planning and conduct further workshops to support users with special needs in Portugal.