information needed for family in Italy

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am posting on behalf of an Italian family. Their daughter has been

on an ABA programme for the past 3 and a 1/2 years, which they have

completely self-funded up until now. Recently however, a family in a

nearby region has won full funding for their son. This family who is

from a different region is now undergoing similar proceedings to

request funding. However they are encountering a lot of obstacles. In

Italy each of the 21 regions has a different policy for allocating

funds, in the case of the boy being funded he was still under school

age (6 in Italy). This little girl is 8. The health service

authorities have so far refused to fund them on the basis that there

are no guidelines stating that intensive behavioural intervention

should be applied to " older " children with autism. They have

requested the mother provides them with official guidelines from

several international organisations stating the validity of ABA and

particularly in relation to children beyond the preschool years.

Although there is some research demonstrating the effectiveness of

intensive behavioural intervention in 4 to 7 year olds (Eikeseth et

al), this according to the Italian authorities does not constitute

sufficient evidence.

I know that the State of New York educational guidelines clearly

recommend the use of behavioural intervention as part of the

educational provision for children with autism, are there any other

states that have produced similar guidelines?

Any help would be much appreciated, the situation in Italy is

dramatic to say the least, this is a country where one of the most

widely used and recommended intervention for children with autism is

Facilitated Communication and where any behavioural intervention is

very much discouraged.

Thank you in advance,

Francesca, UK.