Volunteering, autism: in Lombardy there are 1,600 children affected with 134 new cases per month

MILANO – L’Paolo Zorzi Association for them Neurosciences Onlus inaugurated in Milan at the Neuropsychiatry and Developmental Rehabilitation Unit of the IRCCS Santa Maria Nascente – Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation a technologically assisted room for the observations, evaluations and treatments of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The increase in cases. In Lombardy, as in the country, more and more cases of autism are being recorded. In the region there are 134 new cases per month and there are 1,600 per year. According to the Ministry of Health, in Italy, one child in 77 (aged 7-9 years) has been diagnosed with ASD, with a higher prevalence in males, which are 4.4 times more than females.

It will be possible to acquire new knowledge. The causes are not known but now, in Milan, in the Institute in via Capecelatro 66, thanks to innovative technologies and tools, it will be possible to acquire new knowledge. Thanks to the presence of cameras, motion sensors and microphones, it will be possible to acquire new useful information to better understand the functioning characteristics of children with ASD without interfering in the subject’s play activity and with clinical-rehabilitation work. These data will be very useful in clinical diagnostic field, in the setting of rehabilitation treatment and in scientific research.

You can also work with parents. Furthermore, by using a one-way mirror it will also be possible to work with parents to help them understand the moments of the session and the behaviors of their son or daughter. The inauguration was attended by, among others: Enio Fontana, president Paolo Zorzi Association; Francesco Converti, general director of the Don Grocchi Foundation.

About a hundred children in the rehabilitation department. Currently at the Child Neuropsychiatry Operational Unit of the Don Gnocchi Foundation, the Paolo Zorzi Association already supports two research projects, in collaboration with the Polytechnic of Milan and the University of Turin. More than a hundred children diagnosed with ASD are undergoing outpatient rehabilitation in the department and a multidisciplinary team is active, made up of neuropsychiatrists, psychologists, psychomotor therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists and educators, dedicated to early diagnosis and timely management of the small child with ASD.