Tuesday, December 7, 2016, the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection Sector 4 in partnership with Help Autism, launched, at the Day Care Center and Recovery for Children with Disabilities Harap Alb, the public-private partnership between the two institutions.

The initiative will result in the opening of a center dedicated to the early intervention and specific individual therapy for children with autism, aged up to four years, living in sector 4. The partnership with The General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection Sector 4 is the sixth partnership of this kind of the association and is meant to extend the best practices obtained from the collaboration with other public institutions in order to facilitate access to free recovery services for families from District 4.

In Romania, it is estimated a total of over 30,000 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder but because of high costs of the rehabilitation services, costs that exceed most often a family income, access to programs needed for recovery is limited. In the absence of specific treatment, prospects for recovery and integration of children diagnosed are worrisome, many of them reaching adulthood as non-integrated and often institutionalized adults.

"Early intervention is a priority for us because the adherence to therapy of children under the age of 4 is excellent, at this age the chances of integration being significantly  larger. This way, we can offer our little ones the chance to become adults integrated into the community to which they belong. Acces to therapy services is still limited and we can not yet say that at national level children's access to these services is completely ensured, but I think it is our, the local authorities' duty to develop this social sector in order to offer support to the children who are most in need" Mihaela Ungureanu, CEO DGASPC Sector 4.

Given that each year the number of children who present developmental delays is growing, globally, an alarming incidence of 1 in 68 children has been estimated, the joint effort of the NGOs and state institutions is certainly the key to creating a functional system within autism spectrum disorders. The partnership between DGASPC Sector 4 and Help Autism Association comes as a response to the limited number of solutions that society offers, at this point, to families who have a child diagnosed with autism.

Present at the launch, sector 4 Mayor, Daniel Băluţă reconfirmed that projects built in support of children represent a priority of his mandate:

"Just as we desire all that is best for our own children, we must make the same efforts for all those who are in need. Therefore, through this sort of collaborations we try to be present everywhere. Because great results cannot be achieved through the efforts of only person, it is the sustained effort of many people, starting with those who run institutions and continuing with those dealing directly with this activity and fighting everyday for these children. " said Daniel Băluţă.

The over six years of experience of the association in working with more than 400 children diagnosed with autism come to complete the support measures for families in sector 4 initiated by The General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection, the collaboration between the two institutions materializing in  professionalizing the services offered in the community and facilitating access to evaluation services, diagnosis and individualized therapy for children with autism.

"Our society is one that still needs a lot of education and involvement, and I firmly believe that things can be different if each of us is trying to change something and not rather expect that those around us produce the change, believing  that we are entitled just because we were born. This partnership was born due to the involvement of our colleagues at Harap Alb, their wish to change something and the determination of a handful of parents to do more for their children. Two years ago, I responded to a request to hold a training course here. We managed very quickly to lay the foundations of a partnership, we held a training course, work-shops for parents to help them better manage the relationship with the children and then we were able to provide care for three young children here. Two years have passed and the partnership between us has grown nicely and today we are ready to include in the recovery program 20 children. " said Daniela Bololoi, president of Help Autism Association. 

In the new center, 20 children diagnosed with autism, coming from poor families across the sector, will benefit from free services meant to help them overcome the developmental delays. The building is provided by the Sector 4 Local Council that will also take over the administrative expenses. The costs of diagnosis, psychological assessment, counseling and therapy services for the 20 children, are borne by the funds collected through the involvement of the parents beneficiaries of the Association.

Help Autism Association is actively involved in the development of autism awareness programs, early diagnosis and early intervention for children with autism. In addition to the sustained activity in changing the status of autism in Romania, the association provides therapy services within the 6 centers, six public-private partnerships - with General Directorates for Social Assistance and Child Protection in Bucharest, Suceava, Drobeta Turnu-Severin, Dambovita - and at home, conducts trainings in ABA therapy, free informative courses for teachers, workshops and counseling sessions for parents and is co-organizer of the International ABA Conference - the science underlying autism recovery therapies.