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Already for the fourth consecutive year the autistic children from Yerevan and from the regions of Armenia, accompanied by their nurses, spend their summer holidays in the summer recreation camp in Aparan, made possible thanks to the cooperation between the Orange Foundation and “Arabkir” United Children’s Charity Foundation.

In the scope of this joint program a 2-week recreation for 7-14-year old 16 autistic children, left under the care of “ArBeS” Health and Day Care Center and its rehabilitation affiliates in regions, is organized in the summer camp, where alongside with treatment the children enjoy their days filled with various games, events and interesting leisure time. The camp to the maximum boosts communication of the autistic children with their peers.

“Care for autistic children is one of the main priorities of the Orange Foundation in the scope of its philanthropic activity in Armenia, like in other countries all over the world. Our cooperation with “ArBeS” Health and Day Care Center started several years ago and it is already for the fourth year that with the support of the Orange Foundation the summer camp hosts autistic children who need so much to communicate and have their pastime. Alongside with supporting integration of local regions into the digital world and offering free eye care services to the disadvantaged groups of population, we also never forget about these too vulnerable children and their families, whose existence and problems are sometimes ignored by the society. Doctors confirm that the children frequently hosted by the summer camp have become more sociable. We are really happy to help these children,” said Francis Gelibter, Chairman of the Board of the Orange Foundation.

The summer recreation camp constitutes only a part of the program financed by the Orange Foundation. In fact, the program, as a whole, is a large-scale program consisting of several projects, including, training of medical staff, teachers, pupils and parents of autistic children, with an objective to raise awareness of autism, as well as implement contemporary methods (CHAT and ADOS tests) for early detection of autism.

Due to the lack and load of specialized rehabilitation centers, in the scope of the program the Children’s polyclinic N9 in Malatia-Sebastia community (Yerevan) was equipped and furnished with rehabilitation items, and the whole medical staff of the policlinic was trained by the specialists of “ArBeS” Health and Day Care Center. This will allow the polyclinic, which is a first contact with the population, to ensure early detection of autism and other developmental disorders, as well as early intervention.

This program also includes one very important function to be implemented in Armenia as a pilot project, i.e., the professional education of the autistic children. From September an autistic young boy will attend the French-Armenian professional school.

As stated by Professor Ara Babloyan, member of the Board of Trustees of “Arabkir” United Children’s Charity Foundation and Scientific Adviser of “Arabkir” Medical Complex, “Already for several years we witness this miracle. Autistic children are able to spend their summer holidays with or without their parents. These children easily adapt to the camp life thanks to very interesting days they spend with their peers, as well as thanks to the help of field specialists, thus becoming more and more sociable. Moreover, an 18-year old autistic boy, who has attended the summer camp for several years, this year attended as a volunteer and worked there. This, perhaps, is our greatest achievement”.

The Orange Foundation has allocated overall 16.290.000 AMD for implementation of the program in 2013. This amount was used to organize the traning courses and the summer camp, to equip the rehabilitation centers and to implement the professional education project in Armenia.