On April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, Head of the EU Delegation/EU Special Representative Ambassador Peter Sorensen called for institutions and NGOs in Bosnia and Herzegovina to join forces to improve the lives of people with autism and particularly children.
It is estimated that around 2 people in every 1,000 people worldwide are affected by autism.
Ambassador Sorensen said:
“Awareness of autism varies widely around the world. We need to bring it into the light.
“So today we put a special focus on acknowledging and explaining this lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people, and how they make sense of the world around them. One of the reasons awareness of autism varies is that because it is a ‘spectrum condition’ meaning all people with autism share certain difficulties but their condition can affect them in different ways.”
Commenting on efforts to assist people with autism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Sorensen said:
“I very much welcome and support the work that has been done so far, particularly in the non-governmental sector, to recognise the abilities of people with autism and help them to lead fulfilling lives.
“The EU is supporting EDUS – Education for All through projects implemented by UNDP and by UNICEF and in partnership with USAID. Already in their work at Mjedenica Institute it is clear that EDUS are unleashing children’s abilities through early intervention and focusing on ability, not disability. I welcome EDUS’ aim to make their practice available for all children in BiH through the education and health system; we urge the institutions at all levels competent in health, social care and education in the country to take active steps to benefit from the work of such NGOs.
“2 April – World Autism Awareness Day – reminds us of the great work done so far, and of how much there is left to do,” the Ambassador concluded.
Notes to editors
Four NGO EDUS projects in the total amount of approximately 154,000 EUR were supported through the EU’s Reinforcement of Local Democracy project (LOD – implemented by UNDP). The projects, selected by municipalities, were: Improving the outcomes for children with severe developmental disorders; Centre of progress for children with developmental disorders; Sarajevo – third city in Europe with CABAS® (Comprehensive Application of Behaviour Analysis to Schooling) I; and Sarajevo – third city in Europe with CABAS® II. The beneficiaries were 47children, 90 parents 18 professional staff ( eg education-rehabilitation, education, psychology, pedagogy, physiotherapy, speech therapy, social workers) and 12 children from additional classrooms in PI “Mjedenica”.
Under the EU’s SPIS (Social protection and inclusion) project (implemented by UNICEF) EDUS is stated as one of the partner NGO expert organisations responsible for a) Development of training curriculum on Early Childhood Interventions (ECI) and b) Training for service providers on ECI. EDUS will be contracted for the provision of services in the amount of approximately 30 000 EUR.
For further information on autism visit:
http://www.un.org/en/events/autismday/
http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/world-autism-awareness-day
http://www.autism.org.uk/
