Events

On December 3, on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Caritas Czech Republic and the Institute for Child Development of Ilia State University held a summarizing conference of the project "Expanding and Improving Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Georgia" funded by the Czech Development Agency.

The event was opened by Nino Doborjginidze, Vice-Rector of Ilia State University, Nino Tsintsadze, Director of the Institute for Child Development of Ilia State University and Jan Blinka, Head of the Mission of Caritas Czech Republic in Georgia.

The project aimed to provide quality and affordable services for people with autism spectrum, as well as professional development of specialists in the field across the country.

 At the summarizing conference, Rusudan Chkhubianishvili, Project Manager of the Caritas Czech Republic, introduced the results achieved in 2015-2021 and the challenges of the work process to the audience. The head of the Institute for Child Development, Nino Tsintsadze, spoke about the importance of the steps taken to support the field as a result of a six-year partnership, improving the quality of services and diversity.

One of the most important parts of the conference was the presentation of the preliminary results of the project "Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders, Clinical Peculiarities and Risk Factors in Georgia" conducted within the project. Maia Gabunia, Chair of the Georgian Academy for Childhood Disabilities and Project Expert, Gvantsa Chvamania, Acting Chair of the Association of Behavioral Analysts, spoke about the emerging trends in the research and presented a report on the importance of the Association's legislative initiative. If approved, the initiative will regulate the activities of behavior analysts. 

"Ilia State University has been implementing vital research and educational projects for the country and the region since its foundation. I would especially like to highlight the projects dictated by our social responsibility. This is especially mentioned in the strategy and implies the creation of equal opportunities, research and teaching in this area. The Institute for Child Development at Ilia State University is unique in the whole region, it is really a distinctive space, which, under the leadership of one scientific team, offers both teaching-education as well as research and service part. It is for this purpose that the Institute for Child Development was established, which creates vital resources in all three areas. Acquiring such a broad function, establishing an institute that is fully capable of operating, is unimaginable without the support of large international partners. Caritas Czech Republic was such a supporter.” - Nino Doborjginidze, Vice-Rector of Iliauni.

"The project is very important for people with autism spectrum in Georgia, because their services have been significantly improved across the country. We have worked with many stakeholders in various areas - including the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs of Georgia, the Institute for Child Development at Iliauni- to offer a variety of services in the region at the national level We have supported the service standards of people with autism spectrum disorders, and a general framework has been set up for all service providers to provide quality services for children with autism spectrum disorders, including at the municipal level. ” - Jan Blinka, Head of the Mission of Caritas Czech Republic.

"The aim of the project is to create a supportive environment for people with autism spectrum in Georgia, as well as to raise the qualification of specialists working with children with autism spectrum and their professional development, in order to provide quality service to beneficiaries. Our goal is also to promote inclusive preschool education in Georgian kindergartens. The project started in 2015. At that time the service was available only in Tbilisi, there were services in the regions as well, but they were not of good quality. We aimed to strengthen the regions in this direction, for which we actively used the expertise of Ilia State University. Through its specialists, regular supervision was carried out on the place for local autism centers. With our support for quality assurance, an autism detection and management protocol has been approved, which is actively used by specialists and representatives of the primary health care industry, and the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs of Georgia has approved a minimum standard of service, a guide for municipalities,  they know What standard should the services they provide meet the needs of children, but the condition of adults and persons with an adult autism spectrum remains open as there is no service for them, which is very disturbing. We want the project to continue in this direction - we are looking for state support and new donors who may be interested in this issue.’’ - Rusudan Chkhubianishvili, Manager of the Project "Expanding and Improving Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Georgia."

The participation in the Caritas Czech project has enabled the Institute for Child Development of Ilia State University to introduce two new, modern and very important models for children with autism. One is the Denver early school model, the other is the top model. The first is for children from 2 to 5 years, the second - for children from 2 to 12 years. It is very important to ensure sustainability in the sense that the service is already underway, research on Denver will begin soon, and Serci has become part of the curriculum. ”Nino Tsintsadze, Head of the Institute for Child Development at Iliauni.

At the end of the event, Ilia State University Professor Tinatin Chincharauli handed over certificates to the graduates of the University's International Certification Course in Behavior Analysis.

The project implemented by Caritas Czech Republic was aimed at expanding and improving the services of people with autism spectrum, as well as professional training of specialists in the field. Caritas Czech Republic implemented the project with the financial support of the Czech Development Agency (EUR 255 000) and in close cooperation with the Institute for Child Development of Ilia State University and the Academy for Children with Disabilities. The project was developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs of Georgia, taking into account the government's priorities in this area.

Key achievements of the project:

• Family physicians and health professionals across the country have been trained to identify the risk of autism spectrum disorders;
• Five regions of Georgia are required to identify the autism spectrum, considered the "gold standard" of diagnosis, the so-called. The ADOS tool was delivered and trained by relevant specialists in its use;
• ABA specialists have been trained in the use of child assessment tools (ABLLS-R and EFL), which are essential for the full implementation of ABA therapy;
• 15 specialists were funded who completed the international certification course required to qualify as a Behavior Therapy Supervisor;
• In parallel with the ABA, two alternative approaches to autism intervention - the Denver Early Intervention Model and the SCERTS (Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, Transactional Support) model - were introduced, the specialists were trained;
• The model of inclusive education was presented to three pilot kindergartens of Georgia, special teachers and kindergarten educators were trained;
• A model for evaluating the autism program was presented to various municipalities, with some allocating the budget needed for the program and others increasing the number of hours required for both beneficiaries and therapy;
• In 2018, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs of Georgia approved the National Protocol on Autism Detection, Diagnosis and Management;
• In 2020, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs of Georgia approved the "Minimum Service Standards for People with Autism";
• The Association of Behavioral Analysts has developed and submitted to Parliament a legislative initiative that, if approved, would regulate the activities of behavioral analysts.

Read more about the project: https://bit.ly/3cBPGdl

2021