Ireland is also an Official Program Provider of the Ernie Els #GameON Autism Golf program, which utilizes the sport as therapy for individuals with autism to learn and practice foundational motor skills while also practicing social and communication skills. Ireland, along with England, and the U.S. participated in our multi-site golf study. This allowed our team to track the progress of 46 youth throughout a six-week golf program. The results showed improvement in communication, social, motor, and regulatory skills for all participants. This past year, the manuscript for the multi-site golf study was approved for publication, and we presented the study at an international conference in New Zealand.
In addition to our impact through the game of golf, we have also served as a resource by helping a family of a young child with autism connect with local providers in their area to create an intervention plan for their child.
Finally, our team collaborated with five additional countries to produce “Voices of Autism – Together as ONE (See Below).”
“Voices of Autism – Together as ONE,” a musical composition by our Executive Director, Dr. Marlene Sotelo, is an international collaborative video that resulted from a project involving people with autism and guest artists from six countries: Brazil, the United States, Chile, Ireland, Italy, and Spain.
The project was led by the “Auritmo Team,” composed of five musicians, educators, and music therapists from the United States (Dr. Marlene Sotelo, Michelle Hintz, Erica Lyles), Chile (Juan Francisco Cortez), and Brazil (Rodrigo Gudin Paiva).
This powerful piece aims to raise awareness about autism and celebrate the unique experiences and voices of individuals on the spectrum.
