Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
Autism Spectrum Disorders and Special Needs Resources
Since arriving in CH my impression is that there is less public awareness/understanding and services for people with Autism Spectrum Disorders (including autism, high-functioning autism and Aspergers) than in the UK. Also, there is a lack of services for adults with ASDs (although this has been the case too in the UK, but a current campaign by the National Autistic Society is seeking to implement changes here).
There apparently is actually a lower prevalance in CH than in the UK of about 1 in 150 (in the UK it is 1 in 60, and the most recent publication even suggests 1 in 40!). A report also suggests that the existance of different languages in Switzerland also hinders the flow of information when informing the public. However, this is just my understanding of the situation, so I apologise if I am wrong and stand corrected!
I do not know what the funding situation is like from the government to the ASD services that are available over here. Though I've heard there are some excellent services/schooling in Lausanne area for autistic children.
I have had contact with the Autisme Suisse (and the other German and Italian versions) and they have been excellent and most supportive.
Moving to a new country is difficult, especially when there are language barriers involved. It is even more difficult when there is a family member with an ASD or other Special Need and one is trying to find out what services are available to help.
So I am starting this thread so that parents of children with ASDs, Adults with ASDs, or friends/carers/teachers of people with ASDs can share information and experiences of accessing services in CH. Or maybe people have suggestions of groups that people can join that would be ASD friendly.
Other Special Needs are welcome to be discussed too of course!
I look forward to hearing other peoples experiences and information.
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Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
Have you tried the special needs yahoo group - there seems to be a lot of support there (although admittedly this is primarily a parent support group rather than helping adults). The address is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Special-Kids-CH/
Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
Hi Husky,
I saw your message regarding services in Switzerland, and I am an ABA therapist, I have just moved to Geneva from the US, and gained all my experience in the field of autism and ABA in Los Angeles.
If you have questions or need therapies for your child I am now available for intervention, I am in the Geneva area.
Hope you will find what you are looking for in CH.
Best of Luck
Tania
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Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
Interesting youtube video.
Here is a website for uk based support for Dyspraxia, some of the symtoms are the same as Aspergers/Autism. There is hardly any support for Dyspraxia in Ireland.
They have more and more families booking their services, especially in the center and north of Germany. I believe they've reached a point where they have families in a waiting list for almost 6 months before they can start with their consultations.
But she has told me that they don't have many families in CH...they don't know if this is because there is no economic support from the goverment for this kind of therapies or just because there are less families with autistic children in the country.
And they're attending some US families in Germany (in English of course), so in case anyone is interested, they can find more info in the link above.
Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
I have now read about Germany and the UK on this thread.
Does anyone have any experience with aspergers and a CH doctor or psychologist?
Are they clued up enough?
thx - useful, but i was more thinking of - if you took your kid to a "normal" paediatrician, are they "as clued up" on the subject as say, those doctors in the UK?
or is it luck-of -the-draw with the doctors, just like with anything?
Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
In Switzerland there are many associations that were originally set-up by the parents of children with Autism which gradually developed into centre's or homes with specialist help. From my experience the whole attitude & system is very good but very much on a local & independant level with guidance from the state (of course).
Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
From what I read in this link http://www.autismusschweiz.ch/ , as a first step you can either go to a "normal" paediatrician as you said, or to a child psychologist, and they will guide you through, giving you all the information you need and pointing you out to the right places.
thx - useful, but i was more thinking of - if you took your kid to a "normal" paediatrician, are they "as clued up" on the subject as say, those doctors in the UK?
I can't really see any reason why you would think that they are an less "clued up" than their UK colleagues....
I've been through the process with my son and it was as you would expect, based on reading web articles etc... Of course language might be the issue - we all understand Swiss German...
Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
Hello,
I was learning BSL when in the UK. Because of my autism I find groups difficult to attend for various reasons (though will try if I have to). So I was using a brilliant website which contained video clips. This was easier for me to learn since I think visually.
Now I am in the German part of Switzerland. I was interested in learning German/Swiss-German sign language. Are the two similar? Do you know of any online video courses?
I do not speak/read (etc) and German/Swiss-German though, so I guess this would make things very difficult?
Thankyou
But both sites are, logically, in German. Personally, I wouldn't even dream of trying to learn German sign language if I only spoke English. I found it hard enough to learn basic Greek from German, although I understand German well.
You could try getting in touch with this member who might be able to give you a tip in the right direction. Perhaps there are ways to do it after all.
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Re: Autism Spectrum Disorders in Adults and Children -resources, groups etc.
I have been wondering whether the lower prevalence is maybe because some 'markers' for autism, such as being introverted, not understanding irony, being almost pedantic with details, etc. are actually seen as favourable characteristics. And I rank between 35 and 37 out of 50 on most of the Autism scale tests, which may explain why I don't get irony or sarcasm at all (I get teased about it a lot, especially by non-Swiss people, one of the reasons I tend to avoid social situations) and other things that make normal life just that little bit more difficult.
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