From School to Independent Life
A Holistic Ecosystem for Supporting Students with Cognitive Disabilities.
On 7 May, as a member of Eurochild and the Alliance for Investing in Children, Don Bosco International (DBI) participated in the event “Children’s Mental Health Across All Their Environments”. Hosted by MEP András Tivadar Kulja at the European Parliament, the session brought together institutional leaders and civil society to address the growing mental health crisis among Europe’s children and youth through a holistic lens.
Speaking on behalf of DBI and the Salesians of Don Bosco Italy, Fr. Elio Cesari presented the "Bridge2Autonomy" best practice, delivering a powerful intervention focusing on the vital link between educational stability and psychological well-being. The presentation highlighted a pressing emergency in the post-pandemic era: the fragmentation of support systems for students with cognitive disabilities within the Italian school system.
The project responds to a reality that we can no longer overlook. In the 2022/2023 school year in Italy, 338,000 students, the equivalent to 4.1% of the total school population, were identified as having a disability, with a 7% increase in just one year. In secondary education, 48% of students with disabilities have an intellectual disability. There is another particularly critical datum: 60% of students with disabilities change their support teacher every year. This "educational discontinuity" is a primary factor of vulnerability, directly affecting children’s emotional stability and their trust in the school environment.
As a concrete solution, the Bridge2Autonomy project is designed to support students with cognitive disabilities in the complex transition from school to adult life. The new model shifts the focus from isolated interventions to a holistic ecosystem that involves the school, the family, and the wider community.
The central innovation presented was the Inclusion Tutor, who represents a constant and reliable presence in the student's life. Unlike traditional support models, the Tutor operates both inside and outside the school environment, maintaining a relationship with the student even after graduation. In this interconnected role, the Tutor acts as a vital bridge between the student’s individual goals, the family’s needs, and local employment or social services.
As of April 2026, the project involves 244 students, mainly in their fourth and fifth years of secondary school, across 11 Italian regions, covering 23 cities and 39 schools. There are 94 Inclusion Tutors actively involved; 39 memoranda of understanding have been signed, and 17 territorial entities are engaged.
While sharing moving success stories of students who regained their independence, the Salesians of Don Bosco stressed that such initiatives must not remain "isolated good practices." The intervention urged policymakers to transform these successful models into guaranteed rights, through adequate investments, educational continuity and a multidimensional approach. For DBI, advocacy means ensuring that the "preventive" spirit of Salesian education becomes a structural reality across Europe, securing a stable and inclusive future for every child.
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