“What is the land of Human Rights waiting for to accompany with dignity the people autistic ?” The Autism Collective, which brings together six federations of associations, wonders on the occasion of World Autism Day, this April 2, on the reality of the consideration of autism in France. After conducting a investigation with 538 families, the Collective is launching a petition online to ask MPs to create a parliamentary commission of inquiry on respect for the rights of people with autism.
Indeed, the report reveals that nearly 44% of people with autism have been victims of abuse, nearly 78% do not have access to an education adapted to their needs, nearly 70% of families must finance all or part of the care of their child (minimum €2,500 per month) and more than 50% of adults do not have access to their medical records.
30% unjustified confinements
Despite the actions of the government and the implementation of a third autism plan a year ago, some 80% of autistic children are not in school, notes the Council of Europe, citing a violation of human rights in France.
The survey goes even further, claiming that 30% of autistic people are threatened with unjustified confinement in a psychiatric hospital and that more than 82% of adults do not work. “When the diagnosis is made, it is at the age of 6 years on average. While the first signs appear from 18 months.” Once the diagnosis is confirmed, “the parents are ruined”, separate in 80% of cases, “and the child ends up locked up”, regrets the president of the Collective, Florent Chapel. “Prisoners of an abusive system that actually denies them all the rights and guarantees that have been theoretically granted to them in recent years, autistic people are doomed,” he summarizes.
