Role of design and opportunities for those between two worlds — From caregiver to designer. The value of design for Voluntary Organisations

This text describes my experience as a volunteer at Abilítiamo Autismo, a non-profit organization aimed at improving the quality of life for autistic adults. I begin by outlining the history of the organization, focusing on the problematic aspects that led to its creation and the proposed solutions. I then document the "Cascina Cristina" project, a residential center for the care of low to high-functioning autistic adults, describing its implementation. Finally, I reflect on communication design skills that were most useful in realizing the project. These skills include: creating artifacts and communication languages, and the abilities to coordinate and dialogate among multiple background, and synthesize.