Early Care of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The «Progetto Valigia»
Francesca Rossi, Marta Visconti, Sara Lovotti, Paola Bona
The growing demand for taking care of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has generated criticalities in public health services due to a discrepancy between demand and the organisational capacity of the service. Early intervention is known to be a crucial factor in obtaining a better rehabilitation outcome according to national and international guidelines, moreover parental-mediated treatments are thought to be more effective, underlining the importance of networking (ISS Guidelines n. 21, 2011). This article describes the «Progetto Valigia» conceived by the Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit of the Savonese 2 Local Health Authority. This project aims to support the family and the school after initial diagnosis in order to identify the first relational-communicative objectives on which to intervene in the life context and allow the family to better understand the functioning of the child and implement effective strategies and behaviours.
Keywords
Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Early intervention, Parent-mediated therapy, Networking, Co-treatment.