Croatia marks the World Autism Awareness Day.
With the release of blue balloons, Sisak symbolically marked the World Autism Awareness Day on Sunday. Sisak-Moslavina County Prefect Ivo Žinić said that the first autism centre in Croatia would soon be opened in Topusko, reports Novi List on April 2, 2017.
On the promenade along the Kupa river, the balloons were released by County Prefect Ivo Žinić and parents of autistic children. “In this way, we wanted to draw public attention to the fact that among us are children who suffer from autism, and they need help. Our wish is that the illness should be detected at an early age, which increases treatment opportunities. Given that in Croatia there is no institution which could deal specifically with this problem, parents have to look for help in other countries. That is why we have launched the project of establishing an autism centre in Topusko, in order to treat children from all over Croatia. I believe that we will successfully realize this project within a year,” said Prefect Žinić.
He pointed out the his county recently signed a contract on early prevention activities for children with difficulties in speaking, reading and writing, and will engage a speech therapist. He also announced that the county is involved in the organization of a charity concert to help the Plahutnik family, whose autistic child is being treated in Belgrade. The concert will be held in Sisak on 8 May.
The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2 April as the World Autism Awareness Day, in order to highlight the need to improve the quality of life of people with autistic disorders who must be able, as an integral part of society, to live a full and meaningful life. This year the day is marked with the motto “Let us bring down barriers of autism – let us build accessible society”.
Autism is a biological developmental disorder of the brain that manifests in poor social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour. The disorder occurs in the first three years of life, affects many parts of the brain, and its cause is not yet known. Autism includes several disorders that range from mild to severe, and occurs four times more frequently in men than in women.
