According to ALU data, the education system in Israel has over 20,000 students diagnosed on the autistic continuum. In the past year alone, there has been a 170% increase in the number of children diagnosed on the continuum in Israel, and the numbers are expected to increase as awareness increases.
There are hundreds of communication kindergartens in Israel intended for children with autism, some of which are associations such as the one I head, which provide promotional health care, and whose eligibility is determined by the Ministry of Health and supervised by it. The association also operates promotional treatment systems designed to enable parents to exercise their child's right to care with the health funds, which operate in about 120 schools and provide a solution to about 1,600 students in synchronizing educational and therapeutic investment through personal programs built with parents and school. The center employs professionals from the fields of communication clinics, social work, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, psychology and behavioral analysis.
The distribution of the budget by the state is done in a way that in the short term harms the significant manpower situation for the operation of the frameworks, and in the long run may cause real harm to those children. The state's share in financing the care of the media gardens passes to us as an association that is responsible for providing the health care that promotes through the Ministry of Health. The state's share in financing the operation of the promotional treatment systems in the schools, passes to us through the health funds. For example, the Ministry of Health allocates us NIS 127.7 for an hour of treatment in the media, an amount that includes an hourly wage cost, an employer cost, the cost of training, the cost of training, travel reimbursement and more. The tariff does not reflect the cost of wages and the need for proper payment. HMOs receive incentives for recruiting staff, while non-profit organizations do not receive such incentives. In addition, an opposite situation arises where if the associations fail to raise the required amount, the Ministry of Health even offsets the payment.
The result is that we have great difficulty in staffing about 500 standards for caregivers in kindergartens and the promotional care system, for the simple reason that the salaries we can pay are unable to compete in the private market and the institutional market. Communication clinicians, whose role is critical for promoting children with autism at varying levels of functioning, can earn much more at a private clinic after gaining enough experience. According to the findings of the report on Personnel Disparities in Physiotherapy, Communication and Occupational Therapy Clinics conducted at the Prime Minister's Office in 2020, in light of the steady increase in demand, in 2025 the Ministry of Education alone will require 4,016 paramedical professionals. An incredible number of 6,326. If the existing conditions continue to exist, we are witnessing the development of a real national problem.
Research and the clinic teach us that in the treatment of autistics, there is a "window of opportunity" especially in early childhood.
Multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment during this time period can lead to a significant advancement in the child's abilities, and reduce his dependence on external assistance in the future.
Treating autism at a more advanced age is also effective and important.
The existing budgeting policy makes it very difficult to recruit the skilled manpower that should provide the professional and intensive care at these ages.
This treatment may be the decisive factor in the child's ability later in life as an independent adult and contributor to society.
In the current situation, the state does not stop harming thousands of children with autism.
This situation must change fundamentally.
In order for this absurd situation to be resolved, the Minister of Health, his office and all concerned must act to update the treatment tariff to a realistic tariff that will allow fair employment of professional staff and the ability to meet competitive market conditions.
In addition, the state should encourage the opening of additional training courses dedicated to the field of autism in order to meet the existing requirements in the field and to encourage therapists to work in therapeutic settings, even in weakened areas of demand in the periphery, where the problem is even more present.
Discussions in the Knesset about the wage shortage of paramedical caregivers in special education This is important, but far from sufficient.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us