November 23, 2015
Georgia
The conference on “Autism: current trends and challenges in Georgia,’’ was held at Ilia State University in Tbilisi on 11 November, 2015 and was attended by nearly 100 representatives from national, regional and non-governmental institutions that work with people suffering from autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The conference mapped out the current situation in the country and introduced activities aimed at developing services for children and young people with autism spectrum disorder. Two experts from a Czech APLA [spell out] association, which has engaged for many years in comprehensive care for people with ASD, shared their work experience together with the participants.
Giga Zedaniam, a rector of Ilia State University, opened the event with pronouncing his support for programs that help people with ASD. Tinatin Tchintcharauli from the Child Development Institute talked about her work experience. After them, the floor was given to representatives of Ministry of Education who introduced the model of inclusive and professional education. Tbilisi City Hall representatives then presented the current program for children with ASD.
In the second part of the conference, the floor was given to executive director and director of the methodical centre of APLA association, who introduced to participants a system of lifelong social support and integration of people with ASD in the Czech Republic and explained the importance of early diagnosis.
There was a round table discussion with participants at the end of the conference and it was decided to establish a working group. The working group will discuss actual issues related to autism in Georgia during its regular meetings.
The whole event, which was organized within the framework of activities of Caritas Georgia, was met with great interest from the participants.
