Autism, an issue that weighs on 500,000 families, Covid has increased isolation

by Livia Parisi

In the last two years, the isolation linked to the Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated the conditions of people with autism and further complicated the lives of the approximately 500,000 Italian families who find themselves facing the practical difficulties that living with this condition entails.

This is the complaint that comes from the associations in view of the World Day of Awareness of Autism which is celebrated on April 2 and which will see hundreds of monuments, in Italy and in the world, light up in blue.

For the associations, however, the lights on and messages of solidarity are not enough in the face of problems that "today are the same as ten years ago, but hidden by the news about the pandemic and the war".

In Italy, one in 77 children, between 7 and 9 years old, has an autism spectrum disorder

, with a higher prevalence in males (4.4 times more than females).

Usually the first symptoms appear between 14 and 28 months of life.

The complaint:

"

, no one has raised the question of how families have managed forced isolation. And this has weighed on an already difficult situation. The difficulties - explains

, journalist and father of Tommy, a boy with autism - begins by arriving at a diagnosis and accepting it, then understanding which therapies are worth pursuing, trying not to fall victim to fake news and false promises. With the arrival of school age the problems change. Despite the law on school inclusion that the whole world envies us, support is entrusted to teachers who almost never have specific training ".

If the school is the first failure, the second - continues the president of the Fondazione Cervelli Ribelli - is when the autistic becomes an adult: the management remains in the hands of the families, who often have no choice but to 'confine' them in residential structures, which with some exceptions, they are the only subjects to receive funding.

For job placement, only small companies manage to do it.

And the most distressing thought is what will happen when they are no longer there, given that the law on the After us still struggles to give answers ".

"We are not talking about tens of people, but hundreds of thousands, who still today - explained the Anffas National President,

- experience denial of rights, inattention, deprivation and invisibility".

Awaited for years, the guidelines of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità on autism in adulthood "will arrive shortly and will give important answers. It is clear - assures

, scientific director of the Autism Observatory of the SSS - already from the fact which will also cover aspects such as the quality of life and housing solutions, not only diagnosis and pharmacological interventions. This is a turning point on the international scene ".

Meanwhile, from the Quirinale to Palazzo Madama, many monuments will join 'Light It Up Blue', lighting up blue on the night of April 2nd.

Rai will devote ample space to the topic on all networks and the fundraising campaign

of the Italian Foundation for Autism (Fia), committed to funding research projects on early diagnosis and clinical interventions: until April 10, it will be possible to donate through a Solidarity SMS to 45592. While, for the occasion, Pope Francis will receive tomorrow a delegation of young people and associations will be in the audience.

Finally, the tenth edition of the Run for Autism promoted by the Filippide Project, on Sunday 3 April, will bring over 400 autistic children from all over Italy to the streets of central Rome, to testify to the role of sport in social inclusion.