Cuba and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are collaborating on a project aimed at families and educators who care for people with autism, whose international day is commemorated today.
The Central Institute of Pedagogical Sciences and the Unicef representation in Cuba have been developing the Show them the way initiative for several years, which provides informative material to experts and families as a result of research programs by Cuban specialists.
Doctors Imilla Campo and Yaima Demósthene exclusively explained to Prensa Latina that at this stage specialized brochures and didactic material were published with the purpose of achieving an understanding of this condition and knowing the potential of these people.
A peculiarity of these initiatives is that they take into account the Cuban culture and reality and in this sense, the creation of a series of pictograms that are the first of their kind in the country stands out. These are images used as visual support for communication with people with autism.
The specialists stressed that the project transcends the academic and methodological scenario and develops actions in communities, including rural ones, with the participation of parents and teachers, who contribute from their experience to generate new knowledge.
Show them the way was born as a result of a cooperation experience between the Institute and Unicef aimed at managers and teachers to improve the care received by children and adolescents with disabilities in institutions and modalities of regular education.
At that time, the research showed that the greatest complexity existed in the attention to students with Autism Spectrum Disorder because they demand a greater transformation in the way of teaching and in the didactic resources they need to learn.
In the opinion of the doctors, in recent years the number of people diagnosed with this condition has increased and among the causes they indicated greater knowledge on the subject, which favors the detection of manifestations from early childhood.
The Caribbean nation has an inclusive educational system by nature, but in this matter it has challenges such as raising awareness among teaching directors and society in general, understanding the need for transformations of contexts in the organizational and methodological order, and adequate employment. visual cues and teaching methods.
In Cuba, the process of diagnosing ASD is hierarchized by child psychiatrists, but a multidisciplinary team with specialties such as genetics, speech therapy, otolaryngology and neurology participates.
Once the diagnosis is made, specialists from the Ministries of Public Health and Education, in a close relationship, define the modality of educational care that best suits the needs of the infant.
As a result of this process, they can be placed in special education for children with autism, stay in general education or attend one combined with other special education.
The United Nations Organization decreed April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day, with the aim of improving the quality of life of both children and adults.
This year the commemoration has as its motto A happy journey through life and its purpose is for society to recognize and support the right of people with autism and their families to live a happy life.
