The paper approaches the problematic of the adults with severe intellectual disability who are institutionalized for a long time in residential centres. The subjects included in our study are aged between 20 and 42 years old and have been institutionalized from early ages. The long-term institutionalization effects are reflected in language development, social abilities, mental sanity, progressive personality transformation. The most known phenomenon associated with the effects of institutionalization is "hospitalism phenomenon" manifested through passiveness, apathy, lack of interest. As the subjects we are studying show this panoply of characteristics, specific to children abandoned in state institutions, we've set ourselves to make the effects of drama therapy sessions and storytelling relevant for the social competencies of adults with severe intellectual disability, institutionalized in residential centres. For this, we used Innsbruck Social Competence Questionary for Adults with learning difficulties or mental disabilities (I-S-K-I-E). The therapy sessions have been constructed following the base structure: the warm-up, main event and closure. The results revealed an increase in social and communication skills (in the field of language acquisition) and a decrease in disturbed behavior. Creative work sessions offered alternative ways of communication for the nonverbal adults and opportunities to work in group. Through art, an adult with severe intellectual disability can explore the physical and social environment, address past and current emotional issues, can create a role and reach a state of satisfaction from imaginary events.

The paper addresses the issue of resilience in children at risk considering that children may be more terrified when they are witness to high arousal, panic and adult shock response to traumatic events (especially when it is about significant people in their life) than when are themselves threatened. The purpose of the research is to see how play and drama sessions can influence the level of resilience in children at risk who manifest school refusal, inability to focus on school tasks, aggressive behaviors, decrease of the school performances. To assess the level of resilience we used the drawings of the children included in the study and questions with heuristic value developed by Malchiodi, Steele & Kuban (2008). Play and drama sessions were built on the basic structure: the warm-up, main event and closure. The results revealed an increase in self-confidence and a reduction in disruptive behaviors. Creative work sessions offered alternative ways of communication and opportunities to work in group. Through art and play, a child in a special needs situation can explore the physical and social environment, address past and current emotional issues, can create a role and reach a state of satisfaction from imaginary events.

Countries seek to implement sustainable policies for supporting professionals working with students with an autism spectrum disorder. These policies can advance more slowly in developing states like Romania and Greece. As such, this study aimed to investigate the reported knowledge and training needs of professionals working with ASD students to inform policymakers. Using a cross-sectional design, 475 Romanian and 211 Greek specialists completed an online questionnaire on the following dimensions: diagnosis and assessment of ASD, management of behavioural problems in ASD students, communication skills, technology, teaching, and e-learning platforms. The results showed that Greek professionals have higher levels of ASD knowledge compared to Romanian respondents (MGreece = 15.2, SDGreece = 4.22; MRomania = 13.7, SDRomania = 3.88; U = 39703, p < 0.001). There is also a significant need for training on all the investigated dimensions in both countries, with greater training needs in Romania than in Greece (MGreece = 26, SDGreece = 2.98; MRomania = 27.2, SDRomania = 1.84; U = 35556, p < 0.001). Both countries reported the lowest level of knowledge in innovative teaching technologies and high training needs using an e-learning platform. The results emphasise important gaps in the educational programmes for ASD professionals.

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