The ASD Nest Support Project at NYU Metro Center partners with public schools to establish inclusive cultures and advance the development and implementation of educational practices for autistic learners. Whether supporting autistic K-12 students in six-nine (69) NYC Department of Education Schools, or developing more than three hundred seventy (370) fully inclusive Nest classrooms, the impact of the ASD Nest Support Project can undoubtedly be observed in the training, professional development, and on-site consultation for teachers, therapists, and administrators, and workshops and resources for parents with children with autism spectrum disorders.
In recent weeks, the ASD Nest Support Project has expanded its list of partners to include a contingent from Aalborg, Denmark. Delegates from Denmark’s fourth largest town, Aalborg, traveled to the United States to consult with the ASD Nest Support Project at NYU Metro Center. Aalborg schools currently offer ASD Nest-inspired inclusion classes, known as Delta, through elementary school. As Aalborg, Denmark schools look to expand their Delta Program into secondary education, a delegation composed of school administrators, educators, and college professors flew to the United States to obtain specialized training from the ASD Nest Support Project.
The Aalborg delegation’s week of training with the ASD Nest Support Project focused on Nest’s philosophy which is centered around the Neurodiversity Model, developing inclusive education, adolescent development, and practices to support Autistic learners. This week of professional learning included field visits to tour two (2) ASD Nest Program sites, including the Millenium Arts Academy High School in the Bronx, and the Queens School of Inquiry Secondary School, to see the ASD Model in practice.
It was during one of these school visits to observe the ASD Model in practice that one delegate, Mathilde Nyvang Hostrup, head manager from the University College of Northern Denmark remarked on how well integrated the ASD Nest Support Project was in participating classrooms. Hostrup expressed “We noticed that ‘Nest’ was in the school culture in a natural way and not just in the physical classroom.” The delegate from the University College of Northern Denmark continued her complimentary word concerning the ASD Nest Support Project by remarking on the balance found in the ASD Nest Support. Hostrup stated how meaningful it was to “... see the collaboration between research, education, and practice.”
The ASD Nest Support Project at NYU Metro Center provides training, professional development and on-site consultation for teachers, therapists, and administrators, and workshops and a newsletter for ASD Nest parents. Other activities include research, presentations at national professional organizations, and articles and other publications on relevant topics. For the latest information on the ASD Nest Support Project, please visit their website: here.