This Thursday, July 6 marks the launch, from the Elysee Palace, of the fourth autism plan. The opportunity for associations and parents of children suffering from this disorder to speak out and be highlighted. For this, Meltem, a mother from Strasbourg, created the Facebook page “My name is Okan”. Okan is none other than his three-year-old son. In June 2016, she was diagnosed with “mild autism” and since then her parents have been looking for solutions to support her in the best possible way.
An intensive method
Between two appointments with the psychomotor therapist and the psychologist, Meltem did research and discovered the AEVE association (Autism hope towards school) as well as the “3i” method (for “individual, intensive, interactive”) . If this support based on play and exchange is not recognized by the Haute Autorité de Santé for lack of research and studies on the subject, it has already convinced many families. “It’s a play method where you follow the child, imitate him and it works for Okan. When I imitate him, he looks at me. He throws a car, I throw a car, he looks, he opens up to us, he accepts us a little in his world ”, explains Meltem to France Blue Alsace.
However, setting up this method requires time and investment: in a dedicated game room, the sessions are filmed before being analyzed by a psychologist. It also requires the intervention of many volunteers, in order to play six hours a day with the child. To set up the device necessary for the application of the “3i” method, Okan’s mother therefore launched an appeal on Facebook. Of the 40 volunteers sought, 18 people have already volunteered to play with Okan 1h30 per week. Thanks to them, the little boy will be able to benefit from this support from August.
Read also:
World Autism Awareness Day: a video to understand
Autism: the HAS launches a public consultation
Autism: gaps in care
