The boys and girls with autism take voice in public – Viviana Persiani’s blog

Children and girls with autism become the protagonists of an awareness campaign launched by Municipality of Milan And ATMwhich makes use of the scientific advice of the non -profit organization Ability who for over 25 years has taken care of boys and girls with disabilities and their families, thanks to a network of specialized centers where the right toinclusionat the treatment and toequality

Right on the occasion of the World awareness day on autism, Until April 6, the voices of Francesco, Alessandro, Jacopo, Tiffany And Kian They will accompany travelers on all Milanese metropolitans through audio ads with the aim of increasing the awareness and knowledge of citizens and towns on this issue.

The little ‘announcers’ are girls and boys with autism that the specialized team of the skill accompanied in an educational path, explaining to them what the initiative consisted of, the meaning of their involvement and the importance of the announcements for passengers, so that they could actively participate in the experience, developing a full awareness of their role.

The participants chose their favorite message among those proposed, and then recorded it in the ATM Operations Center. At the end of the registration, they were also able to make a guided tour of the operating centers of the subway, surface vehicles and security.

“The subway – says the councilor for welfare and health Lamberto Bertolé – is the most used, comfortable and fast public transport, but for some it can represent a difficult experience. Thanks to this campaign, for the first time children and girls with autism have the opportunity to speak to the city bringing to a truly vast and varied audience with an inclusion message capable of accompanying everyone and all towards a better understanding of the situations and behaviors that can put them in difficulty or contrary, help them feel at ease.

Laura La Ferla, ATM’s communication director declares: “We have supported the initiative with true enthusiasm: it is an additional stage in our path to promote an increasingly open city. We believe that our nature as a public company entrusts us, in addition to the mobility service, also the responsibility to inform, in the awareness that knowing is the only way to understand”.

Laura Borghetto, General director of The ability onlus concludes: “Our hope is that the world day of awareness of autism is not an event limited to April 2, but a daily commitment of listening, acceptance and enhancement of all citizens. We for the ability has been doing our part for 27 years with a supply chain that responds every day to the needs of 200 girls and children with disabilities, of which 40% have a diagnosis of autism. For the non -profit organization, this campaign was born after a year from the opening of a new ‘Le Small Houses’ center, a semi -residential rehabilitation territorial center that today welcomes 47 children between 2 and 11 years old with autistic spectrum disorder, designed to offer personalized treatments based on their different levels of development “.

According to the Autism National Observatory (OSSNA), approximately 1 child out of 77 in the age group 7-9 years is diagnosed with an autistic spectrum disorder, with a prevalence Greater in males (4.4 times more frequent than females). In the school field, the latest Istat relationship on the inclusion of pupils with disabilities shows that students with autistic spectrum disorders are about 107,000, equal to 32% of the total pupils with disabilities
The apparent increase in autism cases is mainly due to diagnostic and social factorsnot to a real increase in autistic people