Building independence through work: the Gelateria Autentica experience

A project offering employment opportunities to young persons with disabilities grew out of the personal experience of a mother and professional.

Before Gelateria Autentica there is a mother, and before that a professional who, without realising it, was developing the tools she would one day need in her private life. Valeria Colacchio's story passes through concern and fear, but also determination and the ability to transform a personal experience into a concrete opportunity for many young people and families.

The story

'I am a developmental psychologist. I graduated in Padua, where I worked for about six years in a day centre with patients with very severe conditions and very often with young people on the autism spectrum. In 2014 I moved to Rome because of my husband Massimiliano's work, and I decided to establish a cooperative providing home care. That same year our son Giorgio was born, and two years later we discovered that he was on the autism spectrum.'

Despite her professional expertise, the diagnosis overwhelmed her as a mother. 'My degree thesis had been on autism and I had worked closely with people on the spectrum. That allowed me to notice Giorgio's difficulties early, even though they were mild and therefore not easy to diagnose. When we received the diagnosis, I will not hide the fact that my blood ran cold. I froze, almost as though I were paralysed, and felt as if I might faint.' Valeria remembers crying desperately when she got home and the words of her father-in-law, which she still carries with her today. 'He said to me, "Valeria, you must not react like this, because these children simply need to be loved even more." I remember those words and I used them to get straight back on my feet. From the next day onwards, I never stopped.' Another reflection has accompanied her throughout the journey. 'I believe this was somehow my destiny. I think my son came to me because they knew I would be able to handle the situation.'

New opportunities

Giorgio's therapeutic journey continued until a different concern emerged. 'We realised that Giorgio was not speaking because there was also something organic going on. I asked for an MRI and we discovered that he had a tumour in the left frontotemporal lobe. Language is managed by the left hemisphere. He underwent emergency surgery and a three-centimetre mass compressing the lobe and preventing him from speaking was removed. As soon as Giorgio came up from intensive care, he said to me, "Mum, crisps," and for us a new world and new hope opened up. For years Giorgio had used augmentative and alternative communication. He made himself understood through a communication device, and AAC also helped us manage behaviour.'

That personal experience inspired the idea of something that could also help others. 'During the period when my son had surgery, we were going to the Bambino Gesù hospital in Palidoro. A childhood friend of ours, Giorgio Bianchi, has been making ice cream for twenty-seven years. Talking about the situation together, we said to ourselves: why not start thinking about the future?'

The initial idea changed shape, but not substance. After years of research, Gelateria Autentica was born. 'We decided to help create this business in order to build a future. Not a business project in the strict sense, but a concrete response to the fear shared by many families. The question of what happens after us frightens parents. We have to act, to be proactive and build something.'

Augmentative communication became an integral part of Gelateria Autentica. 'Very often, because they do not use speech, people with intellectual disabilities do not have the opportunity to say what they want or choose what to eat, so we created communication boards inside the shop.' The impact is immediate. 'Young people with severe and very severe autism are able to choose an ice cream through pictures. And very often, when mothers see their child do something completely independently, there are tears of joy and emotion.'

Growth and independence

'Young people with different disabilities work in the shop. The journey is not simple and requires commitment, trust and responsibility from everyone. Through defined tasks and daily routines we are able to achieve very good results. The progress is clear. One of them used to do nothing and spent the whole day on the sofa. Now he wakes up with a purpose, packs his backpack and comes to work independently by bus. Their manual skills are incredible and, operationally, they all learn very quickly. The most delicate part is behaviour. We have to act as emotional regulators. If you ask them to make an ice cream, everyone is happy. If you ask them to go and empty a bag, nobody wants to do it. Gelateria Autentica exists thanks to the daily commitment of those who believe in it. No one has provided financial support so far, and we have invested all our own resources. It is not a profitable business, but that is not our objective. Gelateria Autentica has welcomed and placed its trust in six people who, through work, have the opportunity to fulfil themselves. Inclusion comes through work, school and sport. My son has exceptional teachers. He plays the drums, roller-skates, cycles, skis and runs fast. He genuinely seems to have a talent for athletics. It is important to insist on social skills. Whether Giorgio learns to read and write in Year 5 of primary school or in the first year of middle school matters relatively little to me. What matters is social interaction, that he knows how to be with other people.'

Looking ahead, Valeria dreams of expanding the project. 'The goal is to produce and sell directly and to find larger premises.' In the meantime, she continues doing what she has always done: building. 'I pushed where I knew I could push. In my view, that is the resource a parent has.' And she does not lose faith in change. 'No one should give up, because things can be changed.'

Perhaps this is the deepest meaning of Gelateria Autentica: not a commercial business, but a place where independence becomes possible, work restores dignity and inclusion stops being a slogan and becomes part of everyday life. A concrete response to the question that accompanies so many families, and which Valeria decided to confront without waiting for someone else to do it.