Inauguration of the Second Regional Center for Autism for adult children
Inauguration of the Second Regional Center for Autism for adult children.
The investment is supported by the Government of Kuwait
After the inauguration of the Regional Center for Autism in Farka, 3 and a half years later the Albanian Children Foundation inaugurates another Regional Center for Autism, but this time for adult children over the age of 7.
This center was the result of a generous gift of the Government of Kuwait, which has financed its establishment and thanks to the continuous support of Kuwait Foundation AQWAF. Ministry of Aqwaf an Islamic Affairs, General-Secretariat of Aqwaf, Zakat House and International Islamic Charitable Organization helped on the establishment of this center.
After a standardized work of the staff of therapist and employees of the Center in Farka on modern methods, many children not only have overcome the “non communication” condition, but around 20 of them have been integrated into public and private schools in the country.
This integration is accompanied by the manifestation of many talents in certain fields, making their potential even more powerful. To further develop these potentials as well as to ensure their social integration through empowering of a profession, Albanian Children Foundation made possible the opening of this second center.
Dr. Liri Berisha, in her remarks for the inauguration of this center said:
“Nothing is accidental. The concrete results of our children thanks to the therapy at the Regional Center for Autism in Farka, made us proud not only of their achievements but also hopeful and visionary for their performance in the future. And this power, we found it this time at the indescribable potential that these children have in certain fields, the talent with the perfect doses and almost unbelievable, to the gift of genius backgrounds, they have provided us during the long hours of therapy. These are talents naturally gifted and very comfortable from their beautiful world in fields such as painting, music, computing, reading, etc., which not to leave without a proper form and artistic content do have a continuous need for support by true professionals “.
So this center is a home, a school, a therapeutic center, a place that will offer children and parents the warmth and motivation to empower potentials and build skills of meaningful days. Here, the staff trained by professional skilled experts from partner centers in America and Kuwait, will work with school-aged children, where through therapy, game, vocational activities and entertainment, along 3 hour cycles extended from morning to evening, become the founding of the modern application of intervention and treatment methods.
The second Regional Center for Autism is a Treatment, Therapeutic and Educational center for the excellence of talents of children over the age of 7 years with autism spectrum disorder. The structured teaching at this center is based on the combined work between behavioral therapist and professionals from different social fields in order to generalize their distinctive gifts and talents enhanced during therapy, as a profession for the future.
This kind of learning is designed by courses-like to take advantage of the strong points of children with autism spectrum disorder, in order to increase their social skills.
Courses provided by the Center are: 1-Therapy (individual + group); 2- Speech therapy; 3- Physiotherapy; 4- Painting; 5- Information Technology ; 6-Music; 7-Hairdresser; 8- Cooking; 9-Tailoring; 10-Physical education and 11- Gardening.
The social and physical environment set up and organized for these courses, provides not only visual teaching practices and techniques of the field, but also implementing them by children in order to enhance their gifts, talents and promoting the consolidation of a profession for the future.
The program established in this center provided parents to work with therapists and professionals as co-therapists for their children by using these acquired techniques in other environments that the child attends.
The ceremony was attended by First Lady, Mrs. Odeta Nishani, First lady of Macedonia- Maja Ivanova, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Albania H.E.Mr. Al-Bader, representatives of Autism Speaks, parents, teachers, therapists, chiefs of medical institutions and friends and guests of the Foundation.
2 April 2015