“France has fallen behind.
"Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged that France is historically lagging behind in the treatment of autism.
“We have to catch up with him through several battles that we are waging.
And the first, the most important, is that of locating to take charge of the child as quickly as possible.
"
Visiting an establishment dedicated to disorders linked to autism in Saint-Egrève, in Isère, the Head of State intends to "meet the needs of psychiatry and child psychiatry".
“It's a huge project,” he said.
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Accompanied by the Secretary of State for the Disabled Sophie Cluzel and the Interministerial Delegate for Autism Claire Compagnon, the President spoke with parents and professionals, reaffirming his “support for caregivers”.
Emmanuel Macron: The management of autism is "a huge project on which France had fallen behind" pic.twitter.com/mqiJPAhPPu
- BFMTV (@BFMTV) April 2, 2021
The Isère platform for detection, diagnosis and early intervention is one of the first to be established in the region.
It has already taken in several hundred children who are followed on site 3 half-days per week for a period which fell on March 1 from 18 months to 2 years.
A two-year waiting period
The creation of these free monitoring structures is one of the flagship measures of the “autism strategy” launched in April 2018 for five years by the government.
Despite the health crisis, 63 have already emerged, with the objective of installing one per department by 2022, recalled the Head of State.
They have already made it possible to identify 6,800 children and 3,800 families have benefited from an early intervention package, allowing them to start follow-up with a psychologist, occupational therapist or psychomotor therapist.
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Several parents told the Head of State of their relief at having found this versatile structure which poses a diagnosis often after several years of incomprehension and fruitless consultations with specialists.
But all of them stressed the enormous waiting time: at the Grenoble hospital center, the period of consultation in child psychiatry is two years.
“My son is alive again!
"
“My son Raphaël, who is six, is living again!
He has friends, he's starting to learn to read and write, ”exclaims Céline, who is worried that the free follow-up will stop after two years.
"It will be necessary to extend it", wishes the president.
"We saw dozens of doctors, for thousands of euros, before finally making the diagnosis here", says with emotion Pierre, father of a 6-year-old girl.
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Endowed with nearly 400 million euros, the 4th autism plan (2018-2022) includes four objectives: to act earlier with children, to diversify the methods of schooling, to support the scientific approach and to strengthen support for adults.
France has nearly 700,000 people with autism and it is estimated that nearly one in a hundred children is born with an autism spectrum disorder.
Under-diagnosis, schooling problems, lack of reception solutions, discrimination, integration difficulties: its support remains insufficient, regularly alert associations.
Adults, the "great forgotten"
"Adults are the big forgotten" of this strategy, regrets Unapei.
“This year in particular, because of the health crisis, we want to pay tribute to those who are once again forgotten, on the waiting list, in the Creton amendment (adults kept exceptionally in institutions for children in lack of places to welcome them elsewhere), exiles in Belgium, or worse, without any solution ”, also points out the association Sésame autisme.
Gathered in front of another entrance to the psychiatric hospital, a few dozen caregivers demonstrated in white coats to denounce the closure of 78 beds since 2017 in this establishment which now has around 300 beds.
Catherine, a caregiver, makes "the link" between the closures of beds and the death of a man at the end of February in Grenoble, killed by a patient who had been hospitalized under duress in this structure, the result according to her of a lack of personnel to follow these potentially dangerous patients.