It is estimated that 70% of people with autism receive treatments based on alternative medicines and therapies without scientific evidence. The Villablanca Foundation of Reus, of the Pere Mata Group, coordinates the AUTHERAPIES project, based on digital training to empower people with autism.
The Villablanca Foundation coordinates the ATUHERAPIES project, developed jointly with four other European entities. The objective is to make available to people with autism, their families and health and education professionals, all the knowledge on interventions based on the scientific evidence of this condition.
The project is financed with Erasmus+ funds from the European Union and will be developed with the participation of the European Rehabilitation Platform (Belgium), the Medical University of Silésia (Poland), the Fundazione Istitut de Sordi di Torino (Italy) and the association Programes Educatius Open Europe. The project will last 3 years.
The initiative aims to remedy the lack of knowledge of people with autism about the therapies and treatments based on scientific evidence that can be most beneficial for them. This same knowledge is also intended to be made available to families and professionals in the health and educational fields who often deal with people with autism.
All the social entities have presented today June 1st the project to several entities such as Aspercam and the disability associations of the city council of Reus and Tarragona, with the aim of adding new entities to the project. They have also attended the presentation of the candidate most voted as mayor of Reus, Sandra Guaita.
The starting situation is worrying. While the prevalence of autism grows (with an average of 1% among the European population) the services of attention to the affected collective are limited and often the interventions are made by non-specialized professionals, even in more developed countries. In addition, many therapies used by affected individuals and their families are not based on scientific evidence and can be counterproductive.
Specifically, it is estimated that 70% of people with autism receive treatment based on alternative medicines without scientific evidence, and 50% receive biological treatments and 30% psychological therapies that do not have scientific evidence either. Some examples of treatments or therapies without scientific evidence that people with autism receive are: Chelation, lupron therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, gluten-casein free diets, stem cell therapy, secretin injections, treatments with antifungal agents, vitamin supplements, intake of raw camel milk, marijuana therapy, nicotine patches, intake of bleach (MMS), transcranial magnetic stimulation, horse or dolphin therapy, use of prism glasses or repair therapies, among others.
The Villablanca Foundation and the social entities of the Autherapies project, want to remedy this situation by creating a training package of digital content, available in a web environment in different languages, which can be available to people affected with autism, family members and professionals, especially in the health and educational fields.
The content will be based on therapies and treatments with scientific evidence, with an accessible language, so that people with autism, family members and professionals can learn about the effectiveness of the different therapeutic interventions.
The project foresees that access to this information will provide tools to people with autism, family members and professionals to distinguish interventions that may be ineffective or counterproductive. In addition, the aim is to empower people with autism with respect to decisions about their treatment and the management of their own health.
The training that will be created within the framework of the project is proposed as an apprenticeship adapted to different levels and personalities. In this way, digital training will be brought closer to adults, especially in the case of people with autism and their families. In addition, people involved in health and educational intervention will be able to improve their professional skills and the quality of the care they provide.
The project also takes into account that many people have vision problems, deafness or blindness, mobility problems and physical and/or mental health problems. For this reason, the web platform where the Atuherapies training will be available will incorporate the W3C (World Wide Consortium) accessibility standards.
The project will have a duration of 36 months and has received a grant of 250,000 euros.