Air Force. World Autism Awareness Day

Sunday, April 2 in Rome the "fencing for autism" event, the first edition of an integrated fencing competition

The team competition will be held from 10 to 16 at the Urbe Airport, in the "Hangar 44" of the Air Force

Sport as a tool for social inclusion and an ideal bridge between fragile subjects, their families and all those around them: this is the meaning of the "Fencing for Autism" event, which will be held on Sunday 2 April, World Autism Day awareness on autism, at the Urbe airport in Rome. This is the first edition of an integrated fencing competition, organized in collaboration with the National Fencing Federation, in which mixed teams of autistic children and their peers will compete in various sword competitions on the platforms set up in an exceptional location, the large "Hangar 44" of the Italian Air Force.

The initiative - called "AUTISMORE, aware and concrete" - was presented in Rome, at the Spazio Europa Experience David Sassoli, by the promoters of the event, Prof. Luigi Mazzone, full professor and director of the Child Neuropsychiatry Unit of the Tor Vergata of Rome, for years engaged in the study of autistic disorder as well as founder of the Accademia Scherma Lia, the leading company in Italy for the inclusion of autistic children precisely through fencing, and Gianluca Nicoletti, father of Tommy, an autistic boy, and also a journalist he has been engaged for years in a work of awareness and dissemination of knowledge and good practices in favor of people with neuro divergence, founder of the non-profit organization "Cervelli Ribelli".

"Fencing is a socio-relational sport because you have the opponent half a meter away and, consequently, you implement a series of meta-cognitive skills which, in part, are those deficient in autism", said Prof. Mazzone in his opening speech of the introductory conference. "As soon as I proposed this initiative, the availability was maximum, both on the part of the Federation and the Paralympic sector, and on the part of the Air Force".

“Creating initiatives where children can carry out dignified and inclusive activities is the goal of families of people with neurodivergence. And our mission is to give voice and visibility to what we do, because being visible means existing,” said Gianluca Nicoletti in his speech. “There are areas, such as that of new technologies, where the abilities of autistic minds are an added value, or others such as the artistic one, for example where creativity, eccentricity, the ability to imagine original realities make the difference. We want to create the conditions so that the world where these young boys and girls will have to live tomorrow is more welcoming than it is today".

The General of the Air Squad Giandomenico Taricco, Commander of the Rome Air Force Command (on which the Rome site also depends), then took the floor briefly, to testify the satisfaction of the Armed Forces for being a partner of this initiative, to which it has adhered with pleasure, both because fencing is one of the reference sports for the Air Force Sports Centre, and because the Rome Urbe airport has hosted youth fencing groups for years. "We need to pay attention to the issue of autism and invest so that these kids can find a different dimension of life and are not marginalized", concluded General Taricco.

Among those present at the event also the President of the Italian Fencing Federation, Paolo Azzi, who thanked the Air Force for the hospitality, hoping that this event will be the starting point of an activity that wants to become concrete and develop into a continuity optics; direct testimony also came from the Olympic epee medalists in Rio de Janeiro Marco Fichera and Paolo Pizzo, currently representing athletes at the CONI National Board and Petty Officer of the Air Force; space also for two special guests, the sports journalist Marco Mazzocchi and the actor Marco Giallini.

Conceived in collaboration with Mosaico Studio, AUTISMORE is a project that intends to raise awareness on the subject, as well as in sport precisely, also through art and technology. In fact, Sunday will be an opportunity to present two other initiatives: the "Aut in Art" artistic laboratory for autistic children, conceived by the artist-neuropsychiatrist Mariella Stellato, in which boys and girls being treated in the child neuropsychiatry of the Tor Vergata Polyclinic have the opportunity to create personal pictorial works – which will be exhibited at the Air Force Hangar – and enhance their artistic talent; and then "Cyber ​​Rebel", a project linked to the employment inclusion of autistic people thanks to which a group of young people from various regions of Italy with a particular aptitude for the use of IT tools will be able to confront Cyber ​​Security experts and have the opportunity to test yourself in a job selection process. Cyber ​​Rebel is one of the projects related to the work inclusion of autistic children developed at the HubLab Cervelli Ribelli, a meeting place for artists and professionals invited to discuss and share their wealth of experience and know-how to create art laboratories, design, ceramics and where the possibility of using the tools of computer art as "emotional prostheses" can help to discover, represent and enhance inner worlds forbidden to the neurotypical mind.

April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD), established in 2007 by the UN General Assembly. The anniversary draws everyone's attention to the rights of people on the autistic spectrum. Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by qualitative impairment in the areas of social interaction and communication, and by repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour, interests and activities. The symptoms and their severity can manifest themselves differently from person to person, consequently the specific needs and the need for support are variable and can change over time. In Italy, according to data from the National Observatory for the monitoring of autism spectrum disorders, one child out of 77 (ages 7-9 years) has an autism spectrum disorder with a higher prevalence in males, who are affected 4,4 times more than females. These data underline the need for health, educational and social policies aimed at increasing services and improving the organization of resources to support families.

Air Force. World Autism Awareness Day