Description

The "Father Antonio Loreti" Preschool is a government-recognized inclusive school that welcomes children ages 3 to 6, with particular attention to the inclusion of children with sensory and communicative disabilities. The school fosters a bilingual and multisensory environment.

Who It's For

• Children ages 3 to 6
• Deaf, hearing-impaired children and children with communicative disabilities
• Hearing children in an inclusive bilingual setting
• Families

Activities

• Bilingual Italian/Italian Sign Language (LIS) teaching
• Expressive, creative, and psychomotor workshops
• Multisensory activities
• Continuity projects with primary school
• Active family involvement
• Educational outings and community-based projects

Methods

• Bilingual and multisensory education
• Project-based and workshop-style teaching
• Small groups and individualized attention
• Multidisciplinary team (teachers, educators, speech therapists)

Contacts

Contact person: Simona Picciolo

Contact: scuolainfanzia@istitutosorditorino.org

Description

The Services for Deaf People area of the Turin Institute for the Deaf offers an integrated set of interventions aimed at ensuring the social, educational, and occupational inclusion of deaf, deafblind, and hearing-impaired people. The services are aimed at people of all ages and are tailored to individual needs.

Within this framework, the Institute provides an extensive and structured individual educational service delivered in schools, at home, and in the local community for deaf minors and young people, including those with associated conditions.

The service is carried out under agreement or accreditation with organizations managing social welfare functions, inter-municipal consortia, municipalities, mountain communities, local health authorities (ASL/ATS), schools, and universities in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions.

The educational intervention is carried out by qualified educators specialized as Communication and Autonomy Assistants, in keeping with the methodological guidelines agreed upon with the family and in collaboration with other social welfare and healthcare workers. The work is based on an integrated approach following the ICF classification.


The community-based educational service is also aimed at:

- Deaf adults with specific needs related to social life, independent living, and employment
- Minors and adults with genetic syndromes associated with sensory disabilities (such as CHARGE syndrome, Waardenburg syndrome, Usher syndrome)

Who It's For

• Deaf people (from birth or with acquired deafness)
• Deafblind people
• Families of deaf people
• Schools and training organizations
• Companies and employers
• Local social and health services

Activities

• Italian Sign Language (LIS) and tactile LIS interpreting services
• Communication mediation in school, workplace, and healthcare settings
• Personalized educational and academic support
• Autonomy and independent living pathways
• Empowerment and socialization workshops
• Counseling and guidance for families
• Vocational training and job placement
• Awareness projects in schools and the community

Methods

• Bilingual approach (Italian/LIS)
• Individualized educational plans
• Networked work with local services
• Use of assistive technologies

Contacts

Contact person: Luisa Accardo

Contact: educativa@istitutosorditorino.org

Contact for services in Lombardy: milano@istitutosorditorino.org

Description

The Turin Institute for the Deaf provides an extensive and structured individual educational service in schools, at home, and in the local community for blind and visually impaired minors and young people, including those with associated conditions. The service is provided under agreement or accreditation with organizations managing social welfare functions, inter-municipal consortia, municipalities, mountain communities, local health authorities (ASL/ATS), schools, and universities in the Piedmont and Lombardy regions.

The educational intervention is carried out by qualified educators specialized as Communication and Autonomy Assistants, in full respect of the methodological guidelines expressed by the family, networked with other social welfare and healthcare workers, and according to the integrated approach proposed by the ICF classification.

Various methods may be used, including: teaching Braille, use of assistive technologies and text-to-speech tools, creation of tactile books, autonomy pathways, and basal stimulation for complex disabilities associated with visual impairment.

Training and mentoring pathways are also available for schools that welcome students with visual disabilities. Teacher training courses are accredited by the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR).

The Institute is a member of ENVITER, the European network of professionals working in the field of visual disability (https://www.enviter.eu/), and is therefore involved in numerous European projects in the sector for research and ongoing training of educators, teachers, and families.

Who It's For

• Blind and visually impaired people of all ages
• People with multiple sensory disabilities
• Families
• Local schools and services

Activities

• Vision education and rehabilitation
• Orientation and mobility training
• Specialized school support
• Personal autonomy pathways
• Transcription of texts into Braille and accessible formats
• Consulting on teaching methods for visual impairment
• Sensory and recreational workshops

Methods

• Individualized, multidisciplinary plans
• Assistive technologies and specialized aids
• Collaboration with local health and school services

Contacts

Contact persons: Barbara Deusebio and Cristina Gallino

Contact: sediv@istitutosorditorino.org

Description

Learning Signs – When LIS Meets Special Educational Needs

The Services for People with Communication Disabilities area is aimed at people who experience difficulties with verbal and non-verbal communication, offering personalized pathways aimed at improving communication and relational skills.

Within this context, the Turin Institute for the Deaf offers the innovative "Learning Signs" project, which involves using Italian Sign Language (LIS) as a tool to support the communicative development of minors and adults with special educational needs.

Sign Language, commonly associated with deaf people, is in fact a universal communicative resource. Studies on language acquisition show that sign languages are independent of the auditory-vocal modality and are fully part of natural human multimodality. Visual-gestural communication is therefore a fundamental component of linguistic and cognitive development, not limited to the deaf community alone.

The projects carried out have involved people with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, dyspraxia, intellectual disability, and other communication and language disorders.

Functions of Sign Language for Special Educational Needs
Within these pathways, LIS serves several educational and communicative functions:

Substitutive function
In some cases, spoken language is absent or severely impaired. LIS can serve a substitutive function thanks to its iconicity, ease of execution, and the natural presence of gesture in early forms of communication.

Supportive function for verbal language
Multimodal communication (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) fosters language development. In this sense, LIS acts as a "bridge" that supports and reinforces the acquisition of spoken language, providing complementary visual input.

Social function
Communication difficulties can lead to frustration, isolation, or dysfunctional behaviors. LIS reduces these barriers, offering an immediate channel of expression and facilitating interaction among peers, even without adult mediation.

Inclusive function
The use of LIS stimulates visual-gestural expression in all children and fosters the development of cognitive skills such as attention, discrimination, and visual memory, building on early motor skills ahead of spoken language development.

Who It's For

• People with language and communication disorders
• People with autism spectrum disorders
• People with intellectual and communicative disabilities
• Families and caregivers

Activities

• Assessment of communication skills
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) interventions
• Expressive and relational workshops
• Individualized educational support
• Training for families and professionals
• Consulting for schools and services

Methods

• Multidisciplinary approach
• Use of AAC tools (boards, VOCA devices, software)
• Personalized interventions
• Networked work with health and school services

Contacts

Contact person: Luisa Accardo

Contact: educativa@istitutosorditorino.org

Description

The School Support Desk is a specialized service created thanks to funding from the Piedmont Region's call for proposals on LIS bilingualism.

The service offers specialized consulting to principals, teachers, and school staff to promote the inclusion of students with sensory and communicative disabilities, with particular attention to deaf students and bilingual educational pathways.

The desk's goal is to serve as a concrete, scientifically grounded, and easily accessible point of reference for all schools in the Piedmont Region (and beyond) that welcome students with specific communication needs, promoting genuinely inclusive schooling.

The service acts as a bridge between the Institute's pedagogical tradition and the everyday challenges of inclusive schooling, offering targeted support to teachers, principals, and educational staff through personalized interventions and networking activities.

Who It's For

• School principals
• Classroom and support teachers
• Educators and communication assistants
• Families of students
• Local services (health authorities, child neuropsychiatry, social services)

Activities

• Consulting on drafting Individualized Education Plans (IEP) and Personalized Learning Plans
• Training on inclusive teaching strategies
• Support for the use of aids and assistive technologies
• Mediation between school, family, and services
• Classroom observation and supervision
• Awareness projects on sensory disabilities
• Suggestions and consulting on visual and methodological teaching strategies to promote learning and participation
• Sharing of resources, materials, best practices, and digital tools for inclusive teaching

Methods

• Collaborative, networked approach
• Personalized case-by-case interventions
• In-service training for school staff
• Promotion of bilingual education (Italian / LIS)
• Use of digital tools and technologies for inclusion

Contacts

Contact person: Luisa Accardo

How to access the service
School staff interested in receiving consulting, materials, or a meeting with the experts can write to: sportelloscuole@istitutosorditorino.it

The service is free of charge.