Independent into working life: "Atva is really needed"

The Agency for Transition to Autonomous Living (Atva) was launched in September 2018. It wasn't actually supposed to be called that. Because the National Youth Organisation (SNJ) had set up a department for transition to an "active life" a year earlier, Atva was renamed without further ado.

However, in the 2018 law, which also created the eight specialised psycho-pedagogical competence centres, the Atva is actually referred to as a body for transitioning to an "active life". "It is the autonomy that a young person with special support needs needs for the labour market, " says its Director Paul Feitler, who answered the Journal 's questions together with Directorate Coordinator Michèle Schmitz. This is their first interview in almost six years.

Lëtzebuerger Journal: Who are the agency's services aimed at?

Paul Feitler: Our target audience is young people who are being looked after by a specialised educational competence centre and who need additional support. This means that we are not there for all young people with special needs, as we would not be able to cope with that. Most of the young adults we currently support are looked after by the Centre of Excellence for Intellectual Development (CDI) (intellectual development impairment, ed.), closely followed by the Centre for Children and Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders (CTSA) and the Centre for Learning Development Grand Duchess Maria Teresa (learning/attention disorders or weaknesses, ed.).

However, we are also a "service resource" that anyone can contact. These can also be professionals from the socio-educational field or employers. But above all, they are parents.

Parents looking for advice?

PF: We have many conversations with parents who we have to tell that we cannot offer their child individual support by law, but we can give them advice along the way.

What I attach great importance to, especially when parents call, is that they should be listened to. Some things can perhaps be clarified over the phone, but in principle we make an appointment, take the time to talk and listen to what the difficulties are or what the core of the enquiry is. We then consider together what direction we can take.

We will continue to develop this aspect in the future. We are currently a team of twelve people, two of whom work in administration and the two of us in management. So there aren't that many of us working specifically with the young adults. Assuming that we are responsible for the whole country, we cannot offer individual counselling to everyone. The general counselling aspect is therefore at least as important and will become even more important in the future.