Unicamp's rector, Professor Paulo Cesar Montagner, received a delegation from the Municipal Government of Estância de Socorro, a municipality located approximately 16 km from Campinas, in an audience on Monday morning (115). The meeting marked the beginning of negotiations to establish a partnership between the University and the municipal administration in a project aimed at children with disabilities, especially those diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
“We came to ask for guidance and help in the area of inclusion for the municipality of Socorro,” explained the city’s first lady, Solange de Souza Magalhães de Oliveira Santos.
The idea, according to Santos, is to sign an agreement with Unicamp through which some type of protocol can be created to assist these people. Among the possibilities is the implementation by the University of training actions for professionals capable of identifying cases of ASD.
“We turned to Unicamp because we know that it is a reference center. We knew that here we would find the answers we needed and that it would help our city,” she said. According to the First Lady, the city does not have a coordinated network of services for these people.
“Today, in the municipal education network alone, we have 150 children with a diagnosis [of some type of disability], but we can infer that this number is much higher because there is a lack of a multidisciplinary team capable of carrying out accurate diagnoses,” he said.
For the rector, the University must find a way to contribute. “I think that Unicamp has to engage in some project in this direction because we see the desire of the city halls and communities in the region, especially regarding such a complex issue as the diagnosis of ASD,” he stated.
Montagner recalled that few municipalities have a systematized plan to assist people with this type of condition.
“We really need our researchers and professionals in the field to build perspectives to support these initiatives,” stated the rector.
“Today we are talking about Socorro, but I am sure that many other municipalities in the region are experiencing similar difficulties,” he warned. “At these times, the need for more scientifically robust protocols to plan and guide these educational processes becomes clear.”
Training
Unicamp professor Eloisa Celeri, from the Autism Spectrum Disorders Care Program (Pratea) – who participated in the meeting –, stated that one of the program's objectives is to train public service professionals to work with children with ASD.
Celeri also said that Pratea receives children for diagnostics.
“When there is a significant number of children with this diagnosis, we usually talk to the municipal secretaries to see if they want us to provide some type of training.”
Edison Duarte, a professor at the School of Physical Education (FEF), said that the school, with extensive experience in projects related to people with disabilities, is now a national reference in the adapted sports segment. According to Duarte, the FEF is open to extension projects. “Besides, these projects are completely free.”
