Aaltje van Zweden-van Buuren and her husband, conductor Jaap van Zweden, have a son with autism. That had and continues to have a major impact on the family. In 1997 they founded the Papageno Foundation to help children and young people with autism.
Papageno is now a household name in The Netherlands and has developed into a versatile organization that focuses on children and young people with autism with all kinds ofvarious initiatives and activities, to help them find their own place in society and develop into the greatest possible independence:
Papageno Music Therapy in which approximately 20 certified music therapists provide therapy aimed at developing and increasing social skills in children's homes.
Papageno Houses: development homes where young people with autism live for several years and are guided to move on to a more independent living space. The outside world comes in through development-oriented daytime activities, especially in the catering industry and focused on music and other art forms. In addition to professional supervisors, the young people are supported by volunteers from the local areas around Papageno Houses.
Thanks to a major contribution from the National Postcode Lottery, the Papageno Dito Platform is being developed which brings young people with autism into contact with like-minded people (with and without autism) based on mutual interests.
Papageno focuses on researching and continuously improving our approach and developing new forms of support for children and young people with autism. An exampleExamples are of this is facilitating early diagnosisrecognition, so that adequate help can be provided as quickly as possible or inclusive (sensory) playgrounds for children wit
h autism and all other children.