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Description
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are lifelong developmental disorders that prevent people from properly understanding what they see, hear and generally feel. As a result, they face serious problems in their social relationships, communication and behavior.
Institutions, in cooperation with families, should lead the effort to inform and educate, dispelling myths and focusing on the rights of people with disabilities, as enshrined in all international conventions and the national legal framework. Many efforts have been made, but they are often fragmentary. The plethora of scattered laws and regulations makes it difficult to claim and enforce the rights of people with ASD.
The project will contribute to the solution by creating an easy-to-use Internet legal framework for codifying the legislation concerning people with ASD, which will provide information and support to a set of connected users of involved parties. An important element of the database will be the guidance of users in cases of violation of the rights of people with ASD regarding the legal ways of claiming their rights.
In the context of this project, there will be the possibility of linking the database with other relevant websites and the data will be updated at least annually or in significant changes of the institutional framework of the current legislation.
The creation of the online legal framework will be framed by:
- Training activities for public officials who manage issues of rights of people with ASD (Community Centers and Social Services of Municipalities).
- Platform presentation actions combined with awareness actions on Panhellenic rights issues.
- Training activities for people with ASD with high mental capacity to understand their rights and acquire self- advocacy skills using the content of the database.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to address the challenges people with autism and their families face when navigating the complex legal and administrative landscape related to their rights. Often, individuals and professionals involved in autism care struggle to access and understand the legislative framework that governs the rights and services available to people with autism. The project sought to make this information accessible and user-friendly to support better understanding and exercising of rights.
The project created an online legal database (http://dikaioma.autismthessaly) that serves as a comprehensive resource for individuals with autism, their families, public officials, private professionals, and institutions. To ensure the database’s accessibility and usability, user-friendly instructions and educational materials were developed and widely distributed. The project also hosted four online workshops to educate and raise awareness about the database, and a final workshop to review its usage so far. These workshops were attended by public officials, parents of children with autism, and other relevant professionals. The project successfully combined the database with a pre-existing "Support Line," enhancing the immediacy and impact of the information provided.
The project had significant positive outcomes:
- The creation of an online legal database that is freely accessible and serves as a legislative resource for people with autism, their families, and professionals working in public and private sectors.
- A total of 479 workshop participants, including 251 public officials, were trained on using the database to access legal information relevant to people with autism.
- More than 4,695 beneficiaries used the database to gain easy access to vital knowledge about their rights.
- The project was well-received by beneficiaries who used the database to identify and exercise their rights, as well as by other organizations and public services that sought clarification on autism-related legislation.
- The database was incorporated into the Thessaly Region''s Regional Observatory of Social Inclusion, further demonstrating its value and accuracy.
- The "Support Line" enhanced the project’s impact by providing immediate assistance to those needing legal support.
The project successfully simplified access to legal information for people with autism and their families, improving their ability to navigate the complexities of the legal system and enhance their daily lives.