Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/667669
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 17 APRIL 2016 News 11 son now attends a resource centre, where he was significantly happier than before, he still doesn't receive the kind of therapy he so desperately needs from the school, and that the family has to pay for certain thera- pies out of pocket. "The treatment necessary for someone with autism is rather cost- ly and the bills can rack up," Brincat says. Parents who didn't have a signifi- cant income, or single parents for instance, could consequently some- times not be able to provide the nec- essary therapies. Maggie Schembri, whose 23-year- old son Danny also has autism, paints a somewhat more hopeful picture, but she too stresses that she herself had to pay for some of the therapies that improved her son's condition. "Back when Danny was young some 16 years ago, occupational and speech therapy, as well as psy- chologists were available under state funding, but waiting lists could sometimes reach up to six months. "Services at the Child Develop- ment Assessment Unit were avail- able, but they also meant very long periods of time in a waiting room, making the whole experience coun- ter-productive," she says, explain- ing that people with autism don't cope well with waiting in queues or changing routines. "But I credit the many private classes Danny has followed so far, including sessions at Inspire, with lifeskills and speech therapy mak- ing him somewhat independent already. He often goes out to watch movies and travels by bus all by him- self," she says. Now he has entered Sheltered Employment Training, which he attends twice a week, for a few hours at a time. H owever well Danny has managed to develop by now, autism has caused a number of challenges, not least of all due to the routine he requires and the pressure changing such a routine puts on him. "Caring for someone with autism can also mean having to cut down on working hours, as well as putting other relationships like the ones with your other children, or even your partner, on the back- burner," she says. If she could ask for one thing it would be more awareness about the condition. "We've come a long way, but there is still much to be done," she says. "Before his diagnosis, I had only ever heard of the condition in a movie, and that it was something that seemed so remote from reality. "Autism is ultimately an invisible condition, so many people tend to judge people or children with au- tism badly… a deeper understand- ing could help parents and even people with autism themselves feel more supported." Schembri adds that more aware- ness could also help create an en- vironment where bullying was less frequent, something Danny had experienced once during his school years. "In an ideal world, public spaces would also have somewhere like a quiet room to allow people with autism to calm down when they're having a meltdown," she said. "My biggest fears circle around the possibility that something happens to Danny when he is alone and un- able to explain his condition. If he has a meltdown and the police get involved for instance, how will they know not to use a certain amount of force, or that physical contact might make things escalate more for him," she says. Here again, Dr Micallef says that autism affects both the way people learn different things, and the way they adapt to the world around them, "so naturally, a world that is ready to accept them, will help them feel more comfortable and capable of developing, as well as more mo- tivated to do so." "A deeper awareness would trans- late into different physical arrange- ments like dimming down neon tubes and even using less bright colours, arrangements that come naturally to anyone having frequent exposure to the condition." But Micallef also draws on the ser- vices offered by the national Speech and Language department within the primary health care department, of which she is the manager, and the acute demand for its services means it has to recruit more profession- als and therefore widening services from health centres to schools. "We set up a specialised division for autism, which has the role to keep other Speech and Language Professionals updated with current assessment and intervention meth- ods and material about autism." The department has already seen some 500 individuals with autism this year up until March. Interestingly, there has been a surge in the number of adults dis- covering that they have autism at a relatively late stage in life. "It's never too late to start therapy, but not everyone takes the news well," she says. "While for some it was a relief to learn the reason behind certain characteristics, it meant a loss of hope for others." Dr Micallef says that these cases reveal the importance of having services available even for adults. Adults with autism also make the need for people to be more under- standing, more acute. "The possibility, makes a certain degree of understanding, even be- tween colleagues essential… people with autism could also have some incredible strengths, making it even harder for people to realize that there might be some form of the condition." mborg@mediatoday.com.mt Seminar at the Grand Hotel Excelsior on Friday 29th April at 0930 hrs, including lunch. Guest speakers from eleven different countries. Delegates, especially delegates representing NGOs operating in this sector, who wish to register for the seminar are urged to request an invitation in writing from the Foundation's central office at St. Lazarus Building, Mdina Road, Zebbug. The Seminar is by invitation only and limited space is available on a first come, first served basis. The Saint Lazarus Foundation Aiding Vulnerable Persons to Integrate in the Job Market Aiding Vulnerable Persons to enjoy Independent Living Saint Lazarus Foundation Mdina Road, Zebbug, Malta. NGO Registration: V0/0391 "Schools need to understand the importance of a so-called 'quiet-room' to take autistic children to when they are having an intense meltdown."