Ziv Medical Center: ASD awareness in the Arab sector in the ...
Ziv Medical Center: ASD awareness in the Arab sector in the Galilee
The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services at Ziv Medical Center services include an in-patient ward, out-patient and day care, providing assessment, treatment and counseling to children from birth to age 18 and to their families. Specialty services include an Infant and Toddler Clinic, Anxiety and Post-trauma Clinic, ASD, Attention Deficit Disorders Clinics, Eating Disorders and Sexual Abuse. Services are also provided in four satellite locations, two serving children in the Arab sector.
Early intensive intervention,individualized treatment and suitable educational frameworks greatly improve ASD outcomes. Thus accurate diagnosis early in life is necessary to optimize the quality of life of the children and their families. ASD diagnosis and treatment are affected by the way families and professionals perceive children's symptoms and by their behavior and resources. Parents and teachers of diverse backgrounds tend to attribute symptoms and behaviors related to ASD to different causes, and may assign different meanings to such symptoms; consequently their request for consultation as well as referral to diagnosis and acceptance of treatments varies.
Under-diagnosis is reflected in the fact that there are no speciall classes for children with high function Austism in the schools in the Arab sector in the Galilee. This has a serious impact on the future development of these children.
Thirty classes have been established for 5 and more children with high function Autism in the Jewish educational sector, with 21 classes in elementary schools.
The project aims to raise awareness about Austism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the Arab sector in the Galilee, promote referral for accurate diagnosis and treatment and provide the evidence for the creation of special classes in schools for this sector.