Romanians abandoned by the state after the increase. There are more and more vulnerable and Romania wipes them with sponge
The Romanian state abandons about 1% of its adult population. It is about children with autism, who, after reaching the age of 18, are no longer recognized as a chronic patient. They are not helped to integrate into society, benefit from therapy and have a normal life.
Children with autism will reach adults with autism, no archive photo support
Autism is a developmental disorder that affects communication, behavior and social interaction. It has genetic causes and is part of a spectrum with a great variation in the type and severity of experienced symptoms. Symptoms appear around the age of two and the disease can only be diagnosed by studying the child's behavior, marked by repetition, isolation, lack of eye contact, developmental delays. It is a disorder that affects more and more children worldwide, more common than childhood cancer, child diabetes and Down syndrome. In Romania, 1% of the population is represented by people with autism, ie around 40,000 children.
Autism is a chronic condition, it lasts all their lives and most patients are dependent on care and support. Although they will represent part of the country's adult population, the Romanian state abandon them without blinking after the increase. In adulthood, their diagnosis disappears, along with the few benefits, remaining in the family's care.
“Autism is a chronic disorder, it does not disappear after 18 years”
Laura Jijie is a primary physician specialized in pediatric psychiatry. He has an experience in the field of over two decades, being also coordinator of the Pediatric Psychiatry Department of the “Mavromati” County Hospital in Botosani. Through her hands have passed numerous children with autism. Diagnosed, he offered them support and many saw him increasing until the age of majority. The Botoşănean doctor realized that the last completed file was the most dramatic moment, because that child with autism disappeared for the Romanian state. After 18 years, although a chronic disorder, autism is no longer a diagnosis in the country. “Autism is a chronic disorder, it does not disappear after 18 years. But the diagnosis of childhood autism, after 18 years, is no longer found.”confesses Laura Jijie. And the nightmare for the family and the child became an adult.
First of all, all the therapy sessions settled by the Romanian state, and so insufficient, disappear. Day centers for adults with childhood autism are a rarity in Romania and are generally found in big cities. We are not talking about other facilities that could make the life of the adult with easier autism. “All behavioral interventions disappear, ABA therapy can benefit from children up to 18 years. After 18 years they are no longer settled by the state. There are no day centers for adults with childhood autism. For these children become the most family represents the only social and relational support. big ”adds Laura Jijie. “The Romanian state does not invest in the person with autism, regardless of age”confess the ones from the National Association for Children and Adults with Autism in Romania (ANCAR)
“He wonders what will happen to them when they will no longer be”
Young people with autism, after the age of 18, could benefit from qualification courses adapted to them. In many civilized countries people with autism acquire a job. They can perform different operations and they can earn their bread or at least they can complete the income of the house by feeling useful and integrated at the same time. The high functional ones, such as those with Asperger's syndrome (with a much above average intelligence), can work in individual workshops and can have extremely complicated jobs. However, the Romanian state fails to provide facilities for adults with autism. They are actually abandoned in the medical system and in society, they confess the doctors. Most are isolated, labeled and live an ordeal in adulthood.
The hardest thing is when he has no one to take care of. “They are lost in the medical system, they become isolated, marginalized, labeled. And many parents who have only one child with autism, becoming a major, wonders what will happen to him after he will no longer be. It is a great concern for parents who have children with autism.”adds doctor Laura Jijie. Most arrive in sanatoriums or hospitals of psychiatry. “After the age of 18, the adult with autism can be integrated into two types of communities: in one of the private and state family houses, where people with different disabilities live or in a psychiatry hospital. In both variants, his special needs are ignored. Most families decide to keep the adult with autism at home.”says those from ANCAR.
In the country there are only a few NGOs or private initiatives that have managed to make centers for adults with autism, but insufficient for their national number. Although in Romania there are special schools in which they learn children with different disabilities, those with autism do not have a personalized program. Under these conditions they cannot be integrated socially in the labor market. “Adults with medium and high functional autism can work in a protected workshop, such as a few in Romania. Adaptation to the environment and colleagues with various disabilities, including motors or views, depends on them. Most cannot be integrated due to the lack of specialized therapy and counseling services”concludes the ones from Ancar.
