Yulius Academy

Tackling Teenage is a project of the Yulius Academy.

Yulius Academy is the department of Research, Innovation and Education of Yulius, a mental health careinstitution in the South-West of the Netherlands.

Carrying out the experience and expertise of Yulius, the Academy aims to contribute in the progress and improvement of mental health in a national and global level, by investing in research and innovation in the area of Special Education, ASD, ADHD and by developing innovative research projects.

Furthermore, the strategy of the Academy is to maintain a broadly balanced portfolio of research and, at the same time, to shape its own portfolio/its research focus in order to:

• Ensure that investing in research and cooperation contribute to the national and international progress of research.
• Reflect the needs of patients and respond to international research trends.
• Optimise the assistance available in the mental healthcare sector for professionalise staff
• Improve quality of life for people with mental health problems.

Yulius

The Tackling Teenage Training and Research is developed within Yulius and the Yulius Academy. Yulius is an expert organization in the Netherlands that focuses on providing care in each phase of life to patients with complex psychological problems and students with psychological problems (special education).

Yulius is an expertise nonprofit organization in South-west of the Netherlands that focuses on the continuous improvement on mental healthYulius in each phase of the life of patients with complex psychological problems. Yulius has over 100 locations in the south-west of the Netherlands with schools, clinics, workplaces and houses for guided living. Within the organization a wide-ranging total of 2.200 people work in the area of care and education. Yearly, 19.000 clients are treated in care. Furthermore, almost 1.100 students are guided in Special Education and in high school Special Education.

Erasmus MC - Sophia Children's Hospital

Erasmus MC is the largest and most versatile of the eight university medical centers in the Netherlands. Erasmus MC wants to further extend its international reputation and become one of the twenty best medical instiutes in the world by 2013.

The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology is part of Erasmus University Medical Center-Sophia Children’s Hospital. The Department was established in 1969. Patient care, teaching and research are the main activities of the Department currently carried out by 200 persons, or 160 full-time equivalents. The Department studies the frequency, determinants and course of child psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, somatoform disorders, aggressive and antisocial behaviors, hyperactivity, and developmental problems. The Department uses epidemiological methods to study psychopathology in the general population, in at risk populations, and in clinical samples. Two internationally known longitudinal studies in which the Department is a key participant stand out because of its large scale and it’s in depth measurements: Generation R and TRAILS. Generation R is a multidisciplinary cohort study following nearly 10.000 children born in Rotterdam from pregnancy into young adulthood. TRAILS is a cohort study of 2.500 10-year-olds in the northern provinces.

For the international research to the TTT program, we collaborate with the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, the Center for Autisme in Copenhagen and the School of Psychology of Trinity College Dublin.

Which is our aim? (Mission)

The aim of the Tackling Teenage Project is to conduct a research that contributes to the progress of the psychosexual development of adolescents with ASD.

This project aims to increase our understanding and verify the effectiveness of guidance in developments that occur during adolescence. It is an investment on research and innovation and an effort to translate research into real world applications for the benefit of adolescents with ASD.

Why we focus on this subject? (Vision)

Adolescence is a period of constant change and the starting point of personal life. The experience of adolescence for youngsters with ASD is a challenge due to the limitations and specialities that characterise them.

Adapted guidance for adolescents with ASD has proved to be significant as it can improve knowledge around issues of socio-emotional developments and sexuality. The Tackling Teenage Project aims to raise awareness to issues of self knowledge, sexuality and personal relationships with the aim of increasing the possibilities of having a balanced personal life as an adolescent and, therefore, as an adult.