Alive & Kicking

Alive Kicking for mental disorders is a program based on the humanitarian values of E.PSY.ME aided by the knowledge provided by Sports Psychology and its beneficial impact on people’s lives. Professionals that take part in this project come from various academic disciplines and have all come together under one shared goal: to make an impact in the lives of young people with mental disorders. The group sets up sports clinics for young people with High-Functioning Autism and intellectual disability in a sporting environment. Work was implemented on the areas of affirmation and self-talk, arousal, anxiety and stress, confidence, consistency, focus and concentration, goal setting, motivation, team building, and cohesion. The above areas were thoroughly and professionally tailored to the needs of each specific individual. The project is an experimental approach serving the purpose of a manual production, a guide if you like, that can guide organisations, municipalities, special schools etc to creating sports clinic to increase and keep the internal motivation of people with Developmental disabilities (D/D) and/or Intellectual disabilities (I/D). The moving force of the people.Overview: Description of all activities.•First transnational meeting in Madrid: Establish the project plans in detail, with individual roles and responsibilities with project goals and deliverables•Recording sports infrastructure, target group vectors at a municipal level,•Secured target group population in order to ensure a sufficient number of candidates to participate in the project. •Investigation of existing record of tools (weighted Questionnaires) for SDT in the target group.Devise and develop a questionnaire weighted in SDT + Cohesion theory in case of no previous record. Pilot study,Language customization in the languages of the transnational partnersDevelopment of methodological tools for weighting•The qualified gymnasts will thoroughly inform in a two-hour seminar the psychologists taking part in the project about the six sports offered to the participants.•recognition of tendencies in sports activities•Analysis and discussion about the sport of choice•Grouping of the target group, depending on the results of the questionnaires administered Allocation- configuration and building of groups•Experiential exercises to create a climate of team confidence and coherence + working conditionsAdministering Questionnaires to weight the impact of previous activitiesGoal setting activities and techniques in exercise and sport settings,Development of confidence through group interaction activities,Promotion of self-worth and satisfaction,•Devising and Implementation of training programs based on SDT and Cohesion Hypothesis Creating a positive sporting climate (intrinsic motivation)Avoiding drop out•Exchange practices in order to achieve a broader spectrum of knowledge in regards to the target population manipulation to achieve intrinsic motivation and drop out elimination•Putting in practice in sports facilities through training and expert monitoring the innovative practices, techniques, training programs and team goals developed through questionnaire results to achieve stability and avoid drop out•Reweighing all the activities (questionnaires, indicators of SDT + Cohesion)•Writing a conclusive summary of the whole project describing the whys and the don’ts of every action separately to illuminate the different importance of each and every stage. Conclusive result chart and comparative review Report•A manual report of the total project and a vast recording of innovative practices for permanent involvement in the amateur sport of target group