world autism awareness day

In your country, do people with intellectual disabilities get any support from the government?

Here in Vietnam, the Association of parents of children with autism is calling for a walk on the world day for autism awareness- 2 April. 

They also publish a call for action on this subject.

Any event in other countries on this day?

\\\congratulations - you are the first person to join this discussion.  I am in London at the moment, but when I get back to Ireland I will check about World Autism Day events and will get back to you.

I hope that all is well with you and that everything was fine at the conference in Lusaka.

Best wishes

Maureen

In the Philippines, the National Council on Disability Affairs with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Education and other government organizations, together with the private sector and Autism Society Philippines, Autism Hearts Foundation, and other NGOs on autism participated in various activities during the national observance of the “14th Autism Consciousness Week” last January 17-24. There is a law passed in the Philippines to observe Autism Awareness pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 711 issued on January 4, 1996.

The weeklong celebration included, among others, Angels Walk for Autism in SM Mall of Asia, 1st Regional Conference in De La Salle, Dasmarinas, Cavite, Colors of Autism Exhibit in Atrium, Block, SM North, Discussion on Autism in Local Government Units (LGUs) during flag ceremonies, Developmental Assessment and Family Support Group Meeting in Laguna, and Sensory Friendship Games in SM Baguio.

Other activities included an International Autism Conference on February 3-5, 2010, in the Philippine International Conference Center, Manila organized by the Autism Hearts Foundation.

These awareness raising activities emphasize the governments’ efforts and commitment to promote the rights of children with autism under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Magna Carta for Persons with Disabilities..

Statistics show that in the Philippines at least 600,000 families are estimated to be affected with autism.

In Thailand, the Ministry of Labour (Skills Department) has recently conducted a training for young boys and girls with autism. The training provided computer skills. There are several initiatives run by Thai institutions to provide training for people with autism, yet they are separate courses.

If the community is aware of good initiatives on supported employment for people with intellectual disabilities it would be very good to share. The ILO has just concluded a conference in Zambia on " People with Intellectual Disabilities - Opening Pathways to Training and Employment in the African Region". The ILO is also interested in following up with some activities on the same topic in select countries in Asia.

There is a good paper available: "Promoting training and employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities: by Prof. Trevor Parmenter (attached).

http://www.autism-india.org/worldorgs.html

What are the best awareness-raising activities for ensuring that people with autism (or, indeed, any other impairment) are enabled to participate in what is going on in the society in which they live?  Of course, because of its nature, autism makes this difficult, but some interesting things are going on in some countries.  In Ireland and Canada some autistic young people now have assistance dogs.  Because the young people find it easier to relate to the dogs than to other people, they find the dogs calming, and so are able to go places and do things, accompanied by their dog, which they would otherwise find very stressful.  The dogs are living examples of reasonable accommodations that enable young people with autism to join in everyday life more freely.

A piece of good news. In Thailand, the ministry of social development and human security and the ministry of labour together with the associations of parents with children with intellectual disabilities (down syndrome and autism in particular) are starting to discuss concrete initiatives on supported employment for youth with intellectual disabilities. It is very promising and the ILO project on disability PEPDEL is exploring ways to collaborate. Some training is already avaialble on computer skills, cleaning and cooking. Some young boys and girls have being trained for 3 years and are waiting to be employed. Something to reflect on: despite qualified training, employment for youth with intellectual disabilities remains a big challenge. What can we do? Does the community have any good case to share?

supported employment has been the most successful model here in Ireland, although to be successful it is important that the employing organisation is familiarised and understands what it is getting into - a bit of DET helps, too.  I think there is scope for looking at supportive cooperative production ventures - groups of people, making their own decisions, with support from an entreprise worker.  I came across something like this in either Zambia or Tanzania a few years ago - I will try to recall exactly where!