World Day of Prayer International
  • Home
  • About
    • International Committee >
      • International Meeting 2017
      • WDPIC History
    • Executive Committee
    • National Committees
    • Contact
  • Program
    • Journals
    • Fund for Tomorrow >
      • Honored Women
    • Guiding Principles
    • How to organize your worship service
    • Themes & Writers
    • WDP at a Glance
  • Vanuatu 2021
    • EWNI 2022
  • Meeting 2022
  • Latest News
  • Members

Latest News

Welcoming People on the Autism Spectrum

11/23/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
In the course of preparations for WDP 2019, for which Slovenia was the writer country, I was privileged to visit the ASPI Centre twice. I was very touched by their work. ASPI, I have since learned, is the name which Slovenes with Asperger syndrome use to refer to themselves.   

The ASPI Centre helps and supports adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders. They prepare them for independent living, as much as possible, in cooperation with their parents and families. It is located in the outskirts of Domžale, a town in the greater Ljubljana region of Slovenia. The facility has been supplied by the local Caritas. It is a fairly small, longish narrow building with a garden attached in a quiet area not far from the old main road from Ljubljana to Maribor. They have some limited overnight accommodation and offer a series of programmes which include gardening and vegetable growing. They offer individual therapy, classes and activities that enable adolescents and adults to pursue their interests and develop their life skills in a meaningful way. 

During my visit, I had the chance to see one of the neighbours assisting with the gardening, which appears to be a meeting point for the local community and the ASPI clientele. This Centre is a place to which persons on the autism spectrum and their families can come freely and find acceptance and help; which improves their wellbeing by making them feel more secure and calmer.  

In Slovenia, there are limited official resources, recognition or understanding of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Many families live in isolation and unaware of where to turn to for help and understanding. The government and the society still need to research and learn more about it. Official recognition of the disorder would help the organisations get financial aid from the state to assist those people and their families.  

ASD can be manifested in extreme sensitivity to sounds, light, smells, or interaction with other people and groups. Sometimes schools and churches are not prepared to welcome them, and so they are excluded from many activities that would enrich their lives or be enriched by them. When they are together, they realise that they are not alone or not to be blamed, but their condition needs to be understood so they can count on help to face the frightening world around them. 

In case you live with a person with ASD or want to create a welcoming environment for them, let me share a few tips. Be aware that noise or light can be quite unbearably painful to them; even music played at fairly acceptable volume. Their repetitive behaviour and gestures, or unwillingness to meet your eye, does not necessarily mean that they would not like to be your friend. They may have no way of interpreting the body language of those around them. They may look like a lonely child, although they themselves may be actively seeking companionship. 

I have a friend with Asperger syndrome, who is one of the most caring and artistically gifted people I know. She spends much of her life doing voluntary work with old people - who appreciated her care and concern - but could not hold a paid job because somehow “she didn’t fit into the norm.” She must have been in her 40s before she and her sister heard of Asperger syndrome, and it took her another few years to get the necessary medical assessment, and then a monthly pension. But simply understanding her own condition was a great relief to her.  
​

It is very important to understand ASD and raise awareness in schools, churches, families, the medical field and government offices. People on the autism spectrum and their families need to be supported and we are grateful to the WDP committees who partnered with us to donate to the ASPI Centre in response to the World Day of Prayer Slovenia service in 2019. Thank you all very much. 

- Áine Pedersen, WDP Slovenia
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016

    Categories

    All
    A Word From WDPIC
    Events
    Prayerful Actions
    Thursdays In Black
    WDP Celebrations
    Writer Committee

    RSS Feed

475 Riverside Drive, Room 729
New York, NY 10115 USA
T: +1-212-870-3049
​H: M-F 9am-5pm EST
Home Image: ​Skies of Zimbabwe by WDPIC
Site powered by Weebly. Managed by Lunarpages
  • Home
  • About
    • International Committee >
      • International Meeting 2017
      • WDPIC History
    • Executive Committee
    • National Committees
    • Contact
  • Program
    • Journals
    • Fund for Tomorrow >
      • Honored Women
    • Guiding Principles
    • How to organize your worship service
    • Themes & Writers
    • WDP at a Glance
  • Vanuatu 2021
    • EWNI 2022
  • Meeting 2022
  • Latest News
  • Members