A mother climbed to the top of a crane this Friday to denounce the plight of autistic children in France. She got her 8-year-old son with autism to stay in school.
” March 18, 2014: I learned that the contract of Anne, the school life assistant (AVS) of my son Allan (8 years old, autistic, in CE1 class), ends May 05, 2014! Yes, it isknows of a one year contract only. Shocked by the news, it was immediately obvious to me that her contract was going to be extended for two more months so that she could finish the school year with Allan! Well no… Absolutely not! »So, to succeed in not taking his son out of school Estelle Ast Verly, 39, has been at the top of a crane in the city center of Toulouse, avenue Jean Jaurès since this Friday morning (7am).
A new AVS for her child or nothing else
And before getting off her crane, this “mother courage” has very specific requirements. First of all, she wants all discrimination against her child to end: “ As long as my son’s condition requires educational support, I want the competent administrations of the city of Toulouse to free up the Ste Marie de Nevers school with the necessary financial means to enable them to recruit a trained AVS on a fixed-term or permanent basis. and qualified, at a decent salary for my child. “
And the latter to add that she will get off the crane “only when I have received an official letter attesting to this information. I ask that this letter be sent to my mailbox and delivered to me personally by a representative of the city of Toulouse when I get off. ”
A fight won in a few hours
And the good news is that Estelle got off her crane a few hours after her call. She posed in front of the cameras and the microphones with this famous letter in her pocket. Messages of congratulations and admiration continue to flow every minute on the facebook page that she created yesterday: ” Together, let’s save Allan’s future “. The latter already has 662 fans.
Nevertheless, Estelle does not forget the other parents of autistic children in a situation identical to her own. She also asks that what has been applied to her child be applied to everyone. But above all that all general practitioners and pediatricians are trained in autism.
Finally, she demands from the government that we open as quickly as possible structures worthy of the name “instead of funding psychiatric hospitals. The goal of this fight, that there is appropriate care for each autistic person in this country. “And that psychoanalytic psychiatry definitively disappear from the world of autism”, she concludes.
Autism: France sanctioned twice by Europe
In early February, the Council of Europe condemned France for failing to respect the right of autistic children to receive an education. This in violation of the European Charter. THEors of the first conviction of France in 2003, the proportion of autistic children with access to education was just 10%. It has now fallen to 20% in 2014. Despite these efforts, the Council of Europe does not consider that a real progress has been made in this area, “with 80% of children excluded from the enjoyment of a right enshrined and guaranteed by the Charter. “In England, this rate would be around 50%, according to Estelle Ast.
As a reminder, the 3rd autism plan 2014-2017 presented in May 2013 by Marie-Arlette Carlotti, Minister for Disabled People, provided for the creation of 700 places in adapted, separate units in nursery schools. Among the other measures announced, there was also the training of 5,000 professionals in the medico-social sector in educational methods, but also the creation of 1,500 more reception places for autistic adults in already existing specialized structures.
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