Meurthe-et-Moselle. Yvonne-Imbert Kindergarten in Jarny: Seven autistic children integrate at their own pace

Aria is immersed in her book Search and Find . On the left, there are the six elements she must locate in the drawing that takes up the rest of the page. Her large purple felt-tip pen held in the air, the little girl sweeps up the smallest detail. Nearby, Anne-Laure, an occupational therapist, keeps watch. "She is often in her own world. Through this exercise, I bring her back to reality." While the young lady is at the Yvonne-Imbert kindergarten, she is following a different path there, that of the UEMA. In other words, the Autism Kindergarten Teaching Unit. The system has existed in Jarny since the start of the 2020 school year. "The UEMA is co-managed by the National Education system and the AEIM [Inclusive and Militant Education Association] . The ARS had launched a call for projects and the Jarny town hall and its mayor at the time, Jacky Zanardo, had positioned themselves," begins Coralie Vincent-Claudel, director of the Communications department at the AEIM. The Yvonne-Imbert school ticked all the right boxes to host this inclusive project. "We needed to create two classrooms clearly identified by everyone, as well as a sensory space where children could release their emotions when they were overwhelming," reveals Isabelle Pierré, assistant for educational life and youth affairs.

Upon entering the UEMA classroom, we discover several small cocoons. Each child works in a space delimited by storage furniture, accompanied by their teacher, an early childhood educator, an educational and social support worker, and, for the therapeutic team, an occupational therapist, a speech therapist, and a psychologist. On a small wall, the schoolchildren see their day's schedule using small pictures. "They don't all do the same thing, because we adapt it to each one according to their needs," sighs Yasmine Allali, "their teacher," who chose this demanding position "to be one of those who will give them a chance." Through this early support for the autistic child, the objective is to help them work on communication, relationships with others, motor and sensory development, autonomy in daily activities, such as dressing, and, of course, to integrate the program designed by the National Education system.

Regularly throughout the week, these seven children with special needs join their classmates in regular classes. "At first, it might be thirty minutes a week. And then, we gradually increase the time. In the senior class, they spend most of their time there," explains the teacher. Health professionals are then less present. The goal is then to integrate into a traditional CP class. During the times when the children are together, questions sometimes arise in their classmates' minds. "It can happen that an autistic child starts screaming. We then explain to the others that they might be upset or tired, and that they do the same thing when they are in that situation. But, most of the time, it's as if there's no difference between them. In the playground, they all play games together. It's beautiful to see." Until the age of 4 or 5, children don't discern the difference. The other is just a friend.