Autism, eliminate age groups. “Now the cuts for children are revoked”

Change of regulation and elimination of the division into age groups for access to welfare services for autistic children. The decision, to deal with the difficulties and controversies that arose after the cut in rehabilitation hours for users decided in April by the Lecce Local Health Authority, arrived the day before yesterday from the summit in Bari between the Region’s health leaders and the general directors of the Healthcare companies to take stock of the spending budgets relating to mental health departments.

A step forward, at least in theory, which should help unravel the bureaucratic mess relating to the restoration of rehabilitation announced in recent days to families by the Friends of Nico Center, after a note from the Region itself, and then instead stopped with serious inconvenience between families.

The warning to the ASL

The issue began in April with the 50% reduction in hours of assistance and rehabilitation for autistic children in the Cat of Lecceparticularly for the age group between 6 and 11 years.
Now, however, after some empty passages and continuous buck-passing but also after a discussion in the Regional Health Commission, a new window of opportunity is opening up for autistic families and children: there are around 2 thousand minors in Salento with autism and other forms of mental disability. Among other things, parents have also announced a warning to the Local Health Authority to ask for the reinstatement of hours for the month of May in addition to other requests.

The meeting in the local health authority with the managers of the rehabilitation centres

The new scenario authorized by the Regional Department «to guarantee the taking charge of the patients for the places already subject to a contractual agreement with the Local Health Authority for the year 2023 and until 31 May 2024» will be illustrated this morning by the top management of the ASL led by the general director, Stefano Rossi, in a double meeting at the Department of Child Neuropsychiatry in Piazzetta Bottazzi in Lecce. The managers of the Amici di Nico and Istituto Santa Chiara associations will participate”. The meeting should serve to remodulate the services in light of the Region’s renewed invitation to restore rehabilitation. It is difficult to understand at the moment, however, whether the cuts in hours (still in force) will be canceled completely or whether a new meeting point will have to be found between the centers and the Local Health Authority, which will in any case be called «to guarantee therapeutic and healthcare continuity, without the constraint of respecting the limit by age group”.

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