Katautism
About Katautism
The project was born as a pilot in 2021/2022 involving 100 children from one region of which 5 were autistic, in 2022 KATAUTISM won the Sport and Health competition and became a national project involving 573 children from 7 Italian regions of which 31 were autistic. Both projects demonstrated significant behavioural, relational and motor adaptations. The project’s main objective is the specific training of judo coaches so that they can adapt martial arts to the needs of these children. The latest scientific research shows that martial arts are one of the most recommended sports for autistic children.
Based on this project, it is proposed to structure a specific path of specialisations for judo coaches. The first phase will consist of taking the course at the Olympic Centre in Ostia, where all officials from each European country will have to take part. The course will include a theoretical part on the technical field of judo, a theoretical part on aspects of autism, a practical part in the academy to see the application of the exercises in schools and a practical part with autistic children led by autism tutors who will help the students understand the difficulties and how to deal with them. Each European country will have to recruit trainers who have experience with autistic children, psychologists/psychotherapists with experience with autistic children.
This project has the following main objectives:
- To analyse the impact of inclusive judo sports activities on the behaviour of children with ASD in relation to the level of autism.
- To analyse the impact of inclusive judo sports activities on the social engagement of children with ASD.
- To analyse the impact of inclusive judo sports activities on gross motor skills.
- To analyse the improvement in the quality of life of children with ASD and their families.
- To train sports coaches in the methodology used to teach judo in order to consolidate practice by children with ASD.
- To disseminate the results of the research and the teaching-learning methods applied to the population with ASD.
Funding Programme: Erasmus+ Sport – Collaborative Partnership
Period – 01/2025 to 12/2027
Partners listed:
Coordinator – Federazione Italiana Judo Lotta Karate Arti Marz – Italy
Partner – Universitat Ramon Llull Fundacio – Spain
Partner – European Judo Union – Austria
Partner – Universita Degli Studi di Roma Foro Italico – Italy
Partner – Sport Evolution Alliance – Portugal
Total Budget of the Project: 400.000,00€
Total Budget of SEA: 72.400,00€