People with autism, when they leave the education system, after high school, when the service of a personal companion ends, do not get the possibility of support in the form of a personal assistant, because this is not provided for in the Rulebook on the provision of social protection services. As a result, people with autism are left to their families, and sometimes to themselves.
The Association for Helping Persons with Autism "Bazi Mili" from Lajkovac started work on the six-month project "Spajalica - an initiative for the availability of personal assistance services for persons with autism", which aims to change the Rulebook published by the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and social issues.
The "Spajalica" project is implemented within the "EU Resource Center for Civil Society in Serbia" project, which the Belgrade Open School implements in partnership with civil society organizations.
Radunka Lazić, mother of a boy with autism and one of the participants in the project, tells "Vreme" that the availability of this service for people with autism would mean a dignified life.
"To me, as a parent whose child was included in the regular education system from the very beginning, knowing that after finishing high school he will be left without additional support to continue living in the community, his future life looks sad and frustrating," says Lazić.
He adds that after people with autism leave the education system, the circle in which they can move around, the places they can visit, the activities they have, and the things we take for granted, is suddenly and drastically narrowed. Let's say going to the park, the store, additional education, finding a hobby, work and other activities.
"The service of a personal assistant for people with autism and multiple disabilities would enable each individual in our society to continue to live an inclusive life after the end of the educational cycle, which implies fully participating in social life in accordance with their needs and affinities," says our interlocutor.
Informing young people
As part of this project, three workshops are being held at the "Stefan Nemanja" Gymnasium, which aim, according to Radunka Lazić, to sensitize young people with typical development, to arouse empathy and activism. That young people, putting themselves in the shoes of their peers who cannot express their needs, represent people with autism in society.
The manager of the "Stefan Nemanja" Gimanzia, Aneta Pavlica, told "Vreme" that it is not the first time that their students have encountered autism, and that they have had several workshops so far, such as an art workshop where joint works contributed to the children with autism feel support and belonging to the community, as well as a workshop where autism is presented to their students as a condition and not as a disease.
Also, the students of this High School are preparing a humanitarian musical that will be performed on May 13 at Academy 28.
"School is a place where knowledge is shared, but also a place where we teach children to be empathetic and to understand the world around them in this time where peer violence is increasingly present and where there is definitely a lack of tolerance and understanding." Pavlica points out.
The goal is for the Ministry to amend the Rulebook
On Wednesday (March 20), the second workshop was held, where 25 students of this high school were present. At yesterday's workshop, the students talked about what activism is and in what ways they can engage in activism, and through the debate, in the presence of expert associates of the school and the author of the workshop, Radunka Lazić, they learned how to take a stand and express an opinion on behalf of those who, she says Lazić, "they don't have their own voice".
Finally, the ultimate goal of the "Spajalica" project is that, concludes Lazić, all the information they collect, as well as the proposed amendment to the aforementioned Rulebook, are submitted to the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs, until it is harmonized with the Law on Social Protection and defines an additional support service that will meet the real needs of people with autism and multiple disabilities and thus enable them to stay and live in the community as long as possible.
