COSTA ALMERIA NEWS: Huercal-Overa road safety initiative to assist people on autism spectrum

A NEW initiative in Huercal-Overa is aimed at assisting people with autism on road safety matters.
Pictograms are being painted on display at pedestrian crossings to facilitate understanding for people on the autism spectrum and to promote the self-sufficiency and safety of this section of society.
The pictograms are being put principally on pedestrian crossings giving access to schools, and at sports and municipal facilities.
The initiative comes under a collaboration agreement between the council and the TEAVIAL autism and road safety non-profit association and TEAVIAL collaborator ASTEA-Autismo.
Huercal-Overa is the first local authority in the province to sign the agreement.
Huercal-Overa Mayor Francisca Lourdes Fernandez Ortega underlined the value of the work carried out by ASTEA-Autismo in the municipality “to improve the quality of the lives of people on the autism spectrum and their families.
Commenting after the signing of the agreement, where she was accompanied by ASTEA-Autismo president Monica Lopez and Social Well-being councillor Maria del Mar Meca, the Mayor said the project will “facilitate road safety knowledge” among people with autism.
As well as the pictograms there will also be resources like educational guides, which will be available to schools; the association will also be able to hold workshops in the municipal schools related to the guides, which are aimed at facilitating inclusion in the school community.
The local authority explained that the pictograms follow three years’ work on the part of TEAVIAL in collaboration with the University of Seville, “which reflects that the use of pictograms is very useful for the day-to-day lives of people suffering from cognitive deficit.”