Given that Special Education in general and teaching children with Autistic Spectrum disorders more specifically, is a rather demanding and often exhausting work sector, the need for upgrading of skills of the educational staff as well as the modernisation of teaching methods and techniques and the acquaintance with other educational systems and practices becomes a priority. Moreover, establishment of a network with similar schools avoids exclusion of the members of the teaching staff, supports adoption of good practices and reduces possibility of burn -out phenomena. As the whole environment of people with disabilities ( family and school) are usually threatened by social exclusion, one effective way of combatting it could certainly be internalisation. The present 12-month project with the title " BUILDING BRIDGES" includes a combination of activities, such as jobshadowing at special schools in Poland and Cyprus, as well as attendance of a course on specific topics at a Special Education setting in England., by the participant multidisciplinary team of the school comprising of special teachers, administrative staff, social worker and school psychologist, PE/ music teachers. More specifically, there will be a 3-day jobshadowing activity in a special school in Poland and another 2-day jobshadowing activity in a special school in Cyprus (A. Varnavas) with the participation of 3 and 4 of the members of the multidisciplinary team for each jobshadowing activity, respectively.. In Poland, topics of special interest are: school administration, special curriculla, alternative communication methods, integration programs, therapies, challenging behaviours as they accept mainly pupils with developmental disorders as our school. In A. Varnavas special school topics of special interest include: curriculum with main reference to Language, criteria of group formation, teaching practices, role of professionals, school policy. Finally, the 3-day course in England will be attended by all 7 participants of the multidisciplinary team and will include all aforementioned topics as well as issues rising from previous visits regarding teaching children with disorders in the Autistic spectrum: • An overview of autism and some classroom strategies for managing a child with an ASD. • An overview of sensory needs in ASD and some classroom strategies to support these needs. • An overview of alternative communication methods for a child with ASD and coordination of therapeutic and teaching schedules as well as a visit of the educational setting. Selection of the participants will take place on the basis of specialty, experience, availability and motivation for work before, during and after the project. Moreover, the participants will be of different specialties, including the headteacher as administrative member, so that observation of the school settings with different aspects will be ensured and a more complete picture of the partners can be assimmilated and dissemination of the experience gained can be carried out in the end. The selection of the schools for jobshadowing was done on the basis of compatibility regarding the target population, cultural variability (special schools both from Western Europe and Eastern/ same- different language ) so that comparison of different approaches can be rendered efficable. The Special Educational setting in England was chosen for its excellence in the field of education of children and adolescents with Autistic Spectrum disorders, having been awarded by a number of reliable organisations in the UK(Offsted, .......) Dissemination of the results will be ensured not only by meetings and discussions within the teachers and parents associations but also through the already established network of international contacts through the e-twinning platform. Expected results include, apart from the motivation of the staff for modern and more efficient teaching practices, the upgrading of participants professional skills, a better awareness of cultural differences and the increased efficacy of school operation, the following: 1. Formation of a network of special schools in Europe with different cultural identities cooperating for a constant flow of know-how 2. A sense of globalisation regarding school routine problems with positive impact on professional burn - out phenomena. 3. Improved cooperation with parents as a result of assignment of authority to the work provided by the school staff. 4. Establishment of a common school policy, accepting at the same time the different approaches on the basis of professional role so that tensions and conflicts are avoided and a positive climate is established.