MILAN – Inclusive football, football for everyone, even children with autism, Down’s syndrome or hyperactivity can now, thanks to a program studied ad hoc by the educators of Associazione l’abilità Onlus, our partners since 2018, and by Inter Campus coaches, play football. It’s an activity that allows them to be socially included through a sport that many boys and girls, even those without a disability, practice on a daily basis and with whom they can develop a relationship as playmates and friends.

The methodology is a synthesis: on the one hand, augmentative and alternative communication helps children to communicate, understand, express their own emotions and feelings and provides rules—indispensable tools to acquire the competencies required to play and have fun; on the other hand, the Inter Campus method is carried out through a series of instructions in succession: the individual presentation of what each child’s day will hold in circle time via a poster with images, taking position in the waiting squares, the practical demonstration carried out by the coaches accompanied by the verbal one and then, finally, it is the turn of the children who, one at a time, experience the various playful activities, from the courses to target shooting, expressing themselves and their emotions.

Emotions that they then report at the end of the activities, through a summary of what the game meant to them. A profound moment where self-esteem can be fostered and where the awareness of one’s own abilities can be a springboard for self-confidence.