A daycare centre for teenagers with autism has been opened in Chișinău with the support of the European Union

Teenagers with developmental disorders in Chișinău will be able to attend the ADIR Daycare Centre for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders, inaugurated on 20 May in the Botanica sector, where they will be able to develop independent living skills, participate in vocational workshops and rehabilitation sessions. The Centre was created by the public association “SOS Autism” in partnership with the Chișinău Municipal Council, with the support of the European Union and the Soros Foundation Moldova.

At the Centre, young people, guided by specialists, will have occupational therapy activities, with the help of which they will develop independent living skills, participate in vocational workshops for making ceramic, wax, and textile objects. Those who have individual recovery programs will have massage and physiotherapy sessions. Social activities will also be organised.

“When a child with autism reaches teenage years, the parent is already very tired emotionally, psychologically, and financially. At this stage these children become practically invisible. They don’t get much assistance when they become adults. To help them integrate and possibly find a job, we train them in vocational workshops and, where possible, guide them towards social entrepreneurship,” added Aliona Dumitraș, director of SOS Autism.

The premises of the Centre have been repaired, furnished, and equipped accordingly. The specialists employed here have completed professional training courses to work with this category of beneficiaries. “In Chișinău, we have several services focused on overcoming crisis situations for children, but we also need to strengthen services for young people who leave school and are unable to integrate or find a job,” said Angela Cutasevici, deputy mayor of Chișinău for social issues.

The ADIR Centre is one of the 40 social services created in Moldova as part of the project ‘Civil Society Organisations Act for Better Social Services’, financed by the European Union, co-financed and implemented by the Soros Foundation Moldova. “We supported the service not only financially, but also, together with partner organisations Keystone Moldova and Institutum Virtutes Civilis, we offer support for training and enabling staff, mentoring, so that the service can be qualitative and meet the specific needs of its beneficiaries. We also insist that the services created need to be sustainable, that is why we appreciate the openness of the local public authorities in Chișinău, who have taken over this service and will finance it next year,” said Daniela Leahu, project director, Soros Foundation Moldova.