The journey through the school desks of the educational campaign “La SMAgliante Ada” concludes with a tour of the elementary and middle schools of Veneto, Lombardy and Tuscany”, which in these three years has seen Ada, the dog protagonist of the adventures of the comic book trilogy, tell her peers from all over Italy about the daily experience of living with SMA, spinal muscular atrophy.
Over 350 students, between elementary and middle school, involved in an educational path that addressed the issues of disability and social inclusion, through the original language of comics. Many initiatives have been put in place: come on workshop, ai national contests dedicated to the topics of bullying and sportup to the experience of Wheelchairs Footballwheelchair football, which this summer saw kids with SMA compete in a football mini-tournament hosted by FC Juventus at the Wins – World international school of Turin.
«With Ada we had the opportunity to be alongside many children and teachers by making them experience a positive vision of disability» he says Anita Pallara, president of SMA Familieswho continues «Talking about spinal muscular atrophy requires the ability to transfer delicately and competently what it means to live with this neuromuscular pathology. And it is precisely thanks to the universal language of comics that we have been able to address important themes that concern the lives of each of us, with the enthusiasm and frankness of those who have a great desire to learn about the world, like Ada and her friends. An exciting journey!».
Complex topics, addressed by combining multidisciplinary skills of psychologists, educators, clinicians and researchers, alongside a creative team, capable of translating in a simple and innovative way the importance of scientific research and targeted care to guarantee every child and child the chance to fully live her life plans, together with her peers.
The use of creativity and comics made it possible to spontaneously include “SMA among the most obvious and immediate characteristics of the protagonist, but not the only one that is important” he explains Simona Spinoglio, educator and psychologist of the SMA Families Association. «By making the disease nameable and narratable even lightly and by including disability among the possible peculiarities that one can witness, we managed to create a dialogue with the kids open to discussion, in-depth analysis and exploration».
Over 16 thousand copies of the three comic book volumes distributed free of charge in Italian schools e the translation of the first volume into 12 languages (English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Macedonian, Arabic, Chinese, Taiwanese, Russian, Serbian and Hungarian), which are joined 3 important awards: the OMaR Award for communication on rare diseases and tumors; the Life Science Excellence Awards as best communication project of the year; the CEO for Life Awards, awarded for having established new standards of excellence aimed at a better and more sustainable future.
The educational campaign “The dazzling Ada” was born in 2020 from the vision and commitment of the SMA Families Association, with the collaboration of the NeMO Clinical Centers and the unconditional educational contribution of Roche Italia. All schools interested in adopting the volumes can download the comic trilogy in digital version on www.lasmaglianteada.it. Not only that, in view of the Christmas period, until 10 December it will be possible to request paper volumes by writing to [email protected].
Photo by Roche Italia