Testimonial of Ms Pampoukidoy

I first came to know about the therapeutic play K.A.L.E.S.M.A. during my volunteer work at the centre of Autism and Parent Support of Marijke Steeman-Kokkalidou. I learned there that playing is the basic code of communication with children! Being involved in play, the children discover the world, themselves and others. They open up their fantasy, they learn how to cooperate and they get to know their boudaries. I had the chance to play with two autistic children of high school age. I observed that unlike adult therapies, the children are not asked to explain what is bothering them, but instead they use playing based on their abilities and their own rythm, in order to express symbolicly their worries, their wishes and their fears. So playing is considered a process of natural and effortless learning, a more direct means of liberating tension, while it helps the communication of the adult with the inside world of the child.

Olia Pampoykidoy
Psychologist –music therapist
olympiapampoukidou [at] gmail.com