It is the week of autism. The theme is ‘room for autism’ and they get that here at Scauting. And it is an extra special week for the organization: candles may be blown out, the organization that is active in Drenthe celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
What started as an idea at the kitchen table, grew into a leading organization that supports normally to highly gifted people with autism in daily life. In addition to supporting living, working and learning, they also offer daytime activities, so that clients can also go during the day if they do not have a day of interpretation.
Since the founding on 1 April 2015 by Wolter Piek and André Oostenveld, Scauting has developed into an organization that is active in Friesland, Drenthe and the Vechtdal, with no fewer than 160 employees and more than 1100 clients.
Piek and Oostenveld have set up Scauting from a clear vision: they saw that many normal to highly gifted people with autism got stuck in work or study. “I noticed that there was a lot of support for our son with Down syndrome. But in the field of autism, that turned out to have our oldest son, there was very little support.” tells peak. They wanted to change that with Scauting. The core of their approach? The Opa approach: genuine personal attention.
Scauting works both one on one with clients and in groups. For example, the outpatient home guidance comes to the client’s home, but they also have a daytime activities where they work in groups.
In the beginning it was mainly men they supported, but gradually more and more women were added. “Once every two weeks we have a women’s group, in which they discuss certain themes that women with autism encounter.” tells Oostenveld, “That always has a very enlightening effect because you can support each other in this way.”
With more than 1100 clients about different locations, Scauting has already been able to help many people with a form of autism. Many are added, but there are also clients who are sufficiently self -reliant to continue independently. “What I like is that nowadays we also guide many young people going to school or offering structure,” says Piek. According to him, there are also a lot of home sitters, “It is wonderful if we can also guide those young people with education, so that they too are able to get diplomas and certificates.”
Oostenveld mentions an example of this. For example, they had a client who had not been going to school for three years and was at home. After three quarter years, a presentation had to be given to aldermen. The client who did not dare to send or call e-mail in the beginning has given that presentation. “When I see how such a person can develop, then I am really proud of the employees who get it done, I couldn’t.”