EUROPEAN CAMPUS FOR YOUTH WITH TOURETTE SYNDROME
Place: Madrid
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Date: September 2025
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Hosting entity: Ampastta (Spain)
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Participating entities: APST (Portugal), TGD (Germany)
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Description: A European campus held in Madrid for young people with Tourette’s Syndrome. For four days, 28 young people with Tourette’s syndrome from Portugal, Spain and Germany met in Madrid and had the opportunity to put the results of the project into practice, work on their emotions, meet other young people with Tourette’s Syndrome and become “PROMOTERS OF CHANGE”.
ACTIVITIES
Day 1:
Welcome from the participants.
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On Thursday, the 28 young people arrived at the Scout Madrid Hoste, a space entirely reserved for the European Campus for Young People with Tourette’s Syndrome.
The Scout Madrid Hostel is a modern and cozy hostel located in the Moratalaz neighborhood of Madrid. Its facilities are specially designed for the stay of groups, which makes it an ideal space for the realization of a youth camp. The hostel has various common areas that favor coexistence, teamwork and collective activities. These include its meeting rooms and multipurpose spaces, ideal for workshops, dynamics and training sessions. The atmosphere is close and positive, with staff accustomed to working with groups and especially attentive to the needs of young people with obstacles and educators.
Another relevant aspect is its commitment to sustainability, as it integrates environmentally responsible practices, which fits very well with the environmental dimension of the youth campus.
During this day, the young people were able to begin to get to know each other and strengthen ties.
Día 2:
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09:00: Desayuno
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10:00: Presentación de la plataforma “Path4inclusion” a los participantes.
10:30: Actividad: “Comenzamos el viaje”
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Campo trabajado: Ocio y tiempo libre y Voluntariado
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Instructoras: Mariangela Pizzuto (Psicóloga Sanitaria y Neuropsicóloga) y Leticia Esquivias (Coordinación y Gestión) de Astrane. Astrane es un centro sanitario autorizado por la Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid, con más de 20 años de experiencia. Está formado por psicólogos y logopedas altamente cualificados que comparten una misma visión profesional.
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El objetivo general de la actividad fue iniciar el campus generando un espacio seguro y de confianza donde los participantes puedan conocerse, expresarse libremente y establecer, de forma colaborativa, las bases que definirán su convivencia durante los días del campus.
Con juegos para romper la tensión inicial, juegos creativos de presentación y actividades que fomentan la conexión en parejas y grupos pequeños para crear vínculos. Juegos y actividades cooperativas que involucran movimiento y facilitan la conexión y la confianza grupal. Centrados en la diversión, ayudan a liberar la tensión y los nervios del primer día.
Un espacio guiado de reflexión grupal donde cada persona puede compartir lo que necesita para sentirse cómoda, comprendida y segura.
Terminando con una dinámica de cierre positiva y una breve recogida de sensaciones iniciales.
5:30 p.m.: Visit to the amusement park.
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Leisure activity for the participants, where they can continue to strengthen ties and enjoy moments of fun.
Day 3:
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09:30: Breakfast
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10:30: Activity: Social skills workshop
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Instructor: Sabela Rodríguez
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Fields worked: Personal Relations and Labour Relations
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In this activity, different topics were discussed, starting with the different types of communication: Passive communication, aggressive communication, assertive communication.
A reflection was made on what type of communication we use and why. Each participant shares with the others what type of communication they feel most identified with and how we can work to achieve assertive communication, trying to give our opinion, setting limits and communicating in a way that allows us to defend our rights and opinions in a clear, direct and respectful way, without being aggressive or submitting. Without trying to impose or give in, always looking for a balance.
The dynamics focused on the areas of work, social and couple relationships of the Path for inclusion strategy. The participants commented on how they felt about the different situations that were presented to them in these areas when they faced people with a more aggressive type of communication, how they made them feel and how they themselves reacted to these situations.
Role playing dynamics and cross-presentations are carried out to break the ice.
16:30: Activity: Mindfulness Workshop
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Instructor: Amparo Gómez. Specialized in Mindfulness (MBSR). Master’s Degree in NLP from the IPH
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Convinced that mental training and inner work is the key to a full and balanced existence.
Dedicated to the search for the improvement of the quality of life of those affected by mental illnesses and their families, I collaborate with Ampastta (Madrid Association of Patients Affected by Tourette Syndrome). There I run stress reduction programs for families.
Areas worked: Leisure and free time and volunteering
A small mindfulness workshop in which we discover several important things through play:
- It is impossible to leave the mind blank, the brain is not designed for it.
- With little information you give it, the mind always “finishes the situation” and… Sometimes he gets it wrong
- This itself teaches us that “I am not my thoughts” and helps us to improve the language we use with ourselves.
- We can focus our attention not only by meditating, but also by playing. If you have a hard time focusing your mind, you can do it with games and also by being present in what you do (e.g., if I eat, like; if I scrub, I scrub; etc.).
- The last dynamic, the heart dance, is done with music and a few simple dance steps. Through it, we connect with the breath and that makes our heart serene, finding a moment of peace and relaxation.
Day 4:
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Campus closure
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Meeting of all the young people and representatives of associations, there is a sharing of the participants with the impressions and experiences that each one has lived in these days with a fairly positive balance. In this meeting they told us their desire to continue in contact, maintaining the group they have created, thinking of facilitating possible meetings between them and with the desire to be able to repeat the experience.
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-Leisure time and free time in the center of Madrid
KNOW THE OPINION OF THE PARTICIPANTS
