A project to increase the availability of services for people with autism spectrum disorders and genetic disorders in Moldova was launched today by the SOS Autism NGO.
Among other objectives, the project aims to identify the needs and shortcomings in the legislative framework regarding autism and rare genetic disorders. Also, various diagnostic tests will be bought, specialists will be trained, and two new SOS Autism centers will be opened in Balti and Comrat, announced Aliona Dumitraș, executive director of the SOS Autism..
According her, the official statistic doesn’t reflect the real number of people with autism spectrum disorders living in Moldova, because there is a deficit of diagnostic instruments, especially in the provinces.
The organization proposes that all aspects related to early intervention, medical diagnosis and ABA behavioral therapy should become law. “The diagnosis of children with autism is increasing very rapidly, that’s why we intend to do a statistical research and show the government that we exist. This research will be the basis for a (potential) Autism Law. Our hope is that the government will take over the process and adopt such a law”, said Aliona Dumitraș, who is also the mom of an autistic child.
Mariana Budaianu, head of the Support and Hope NGO from Ungheni and also the mother of an autistic boy, says that it is very complicated and expensive to provide them with the therapy they need. “It is very difficult to accept that your child has a problem. We have some progress, but it’s minimal. He has a very high potential, but his development is impeded by the lack of appropriate therapy. We had to come to Chisinau for a while to do ABA therapy, because there are no such centers in Ungheni, but when the bills became overwhelming, we had return to Ungheni. At present we receive a disability benefit of 1600 lei”, said Mariana Budaianu.
“A project to help parents at an early stage, when children can be diagnosed or tested, is very welcome (…) We hope this program can one day go national and be financed as much as possible from the municipal, local, national budgets, so that parents can really feel support”, said Aliona Doroș, Chisinau city councilor and mother of an autistic child.
Katerina Silhankova, representative of the Czech Embassy, noted that the Czech Republic started supporting this initiative in 2018, when the first phase of the project was launched. Several successes have been achieved, but there are still issues that need to be resolved, which is why the second phase of the project has been launched.
“Assistance to Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other genetic conditions in the Republic of Moldova II” is a follow-up to a project financed by the Czech Development Agency through the project partners ADRA Czech Republic, ADRA Moldova. The project’s budget is 570,000 euros.
