Don’t Expel Us - Autism

One, two, three, Four... hardly counted the numbers 5 years old Dato for himself, but as soon as he recognized that his parents where looking at him, Dato stopped counting at once and concealed himself in the corner of the room, as if he wanted to be invisible from them.
Dato was 3 years old when the neurologist Gia Natriashvili diagnosed him Autism. He said that little boy had serious developmental disability. 
“Still that time I started to treat Dato more tenderly not to damage his psychic. Now I and his Father are trying to follow his wishes all the time” Says Tea Manjgaladze, mother of the child. 
According t mother, Dato was always capricious and nervous child; he could not socialize with different environment and preferred to seclude himself from others. Even he never tried to hug with her by his own initiative. But parents never thought of autism, so did doctors at first. 
“Diagnose for Dato’s disease become challenge for doctors. Only after one year of ineffectual treatment, doctors came up with the correct diagnosis. I wish they could diagnose it earlier. But I see autism people don’t care government, I just want to say: “Don’t expel us” Says Manjgaladze.
According to Qetevan Abdushelishvili, psychiatrist, mental health head instructor at Iashvili Clinic, there is a lack of adequate treatment and management for the prevention of this disease in Georgia.
”At Iashvili clinic we use diagnostic questioner ADI-R and ADOS, which contains 89 questions about children’s habits that makes possible to diagnose the disease. But this technique is used only in certain clinics; most polyclinics do not use this methodology. Says Abdushelishvili.
 Pediatrician Maia Kherkheulidze talks about the ineffective management of the prevention of autism in Georgia. She says that there is a lack of guidelines and the resources for this disease, like diagnostic methods, rehabilitation centers, parents training or intervention services in Georgia. 
“Every baby from 2 month takes special diagnostic service in polyclinics in developed countries, while we have not such services and can’t discover the disease until 18 month child.” Says Kherkheulidze.

 Lika Tushishvili -Psychotherapist maintains that child ill with autism must have special care, and the parents need special trainings to learn how to relate with their

children.

 

“In US and Europe there are special funds for such families, so they are able to take the long term psychological treatment. For example in US there is 3 to 5 million dollars fund of services throughout the lifetime of child with autism. But we don’t have any analog situation here, more if parents want to take a psychologist, they must pay 25 lari in an hour, which most of families can’t effort- she says. 
The exact reason of the appearance of this disease is not asserted yet. It may caused while the pregnancy period. 
“Autism is a disease which has not exact reason to exist. Also this is psychiatrist problem and it can’t be cured. One thing doctors can do is the adequate treatment and management of this problem- says Eka Tushishvili.
Concerning to this issue Georgian Association of Child Neurologists and neurosurgeons has made a project screening and diagnose methods of Autism. Project was granted by Open Society Georgia Foundation and GNSF in 2009 Juny17th. There was held trainings for doctors how to discover disease. Also they observed three region polyclinics in Tbilisi: Saburtalo, Digomi and Vake and set the results, that there is not any supportive service for children with autism there. 

Autism has become a worldwide problem. Approximately 17 percent of children have some type of developmental disability including autism. Experts estimate that every six child out of 1000 has autism. The biggest number of the disease has been discovered in Great Britain. According to the www.emedtv.com, one of the reliable web sites in Britain. 

 Autism signs and symptoms include difficulties with social interaction, problems with communication, and repetitive behaviors. A baby with symptoms may be unresponsive to people or focus intently on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods of time. Symptoms may include engaging in repetitive movements, such as rocking and twirling, or in self-abusive behavior, such as biting or head-banging.

 

People ill with autism can improve their abilities. Many of them have some special talents Famous musician Mozart had autism too.
 Autism was investigated and discovered by the professor Kaner after World War II. He asserted all the symptoms of this disease and named it as Autism, which comes from Greek Auto and means itself.

gypsy family in Tbilisi

Clothing-line was almost full of the cloth, but a gypsy or a Romani woman- barefooted and unwashed, was still swilling some clothes in a cold water flowing from the tap in the yard. Then she put them into the oozy dark grey plastic box and entered the house speaking something in her mother language in an anxious way. 
Though the surrounding houses where quite damaged and old, they still seemed to be a nice compared to the gypsy’s home. Partly wooden, partly iron plated and also cemented walls of gypsy house looked like a stumbling tree in a terrible storm. Without a floor and with a holed ceiling, the house was hosting sixteen member of a gypsy family in it.
16 years old Bela is one of the Romani family members, who speak in Georgian. She is going in a kind of educational centre and learns Georgian reading and writing there.
“My family came from Azerbaijan to Georgia 20 years ago. We like being here and are not going to move from Georgia. ”-Bella says. As she says, her family has lead a beggarly life all time along and this is how they keep their family in Georgia. 
“Sometimes people treat us roughly and impolitely, they don’t like that we beg, but mostly we are not discriminated from Georgians, even we have good relationship with neighbor Georgian families”-She says.
In the sixteen member gypsy family, some of them are couples, sisters and brothers, uncles and aunts.
A 12 years old gypsy boy, playing with a little, nice but a dirty baby with a Georgian name Vaxo says: I am not begging, because my father works, he is fixing cars.
None of gypsy men begs in Georgia and the situation is same with this particular family. Vaxo’s and Bella’s relative men don’t beg, some of them gather scrap-iron and buy, other fix cars.
None of the gypsies have a passport or any kind of identification card. They have no financial support from the Georgian government, no pensions, and no discounts. Because of a lack of money, mostly gypsy women give birth to a child in a home, without doctor’s help. Though if they have money, they are not against by the doctors and visit hospitals with no obstacles, according to Bela.
An aunt of Vaxo a 35 years old Romani woman, with an infant, wrapped up on her back says that there have never been journalist talking with their family and none of their acquaintances have ever had touch with them.
“ journalist doesn’t interested in our life in Georgia, maybe they had covered our history and life style article, but me and my friend gypsies have never been asked for interview by them”- this gypsy woman says.
Gypsy people are also known as a Romani people. Wikipedia says that “they are an ethnic group living mostly in Europe, who traces their origins to medieval India. The Romani are widely dispersed with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe and Anatolia, followed by the Iberian Kale in Southwestern Europe and Southern France, with more recent Diaspora populations in the Americas and, to a lesser extent, in other parts of the world. Romani language is divided into several dialects and mixed languages”. 

Coming Soon: Center of Contemporary Art -Tbilisi

Everything started in Bucharest, on a big conference. It was 2007 then. Seeing amazing Cultural exhibitions and centers in Europe, Artist Vato Tsereteli got inspiration to found alike Center of Contemporary Art in Tbilisi.   Building near river Mtkvari where                                                      the center of   contemporary                                                          art will be situated     

After six month 27 Georgian Artists had exhibition near Amsterdam. There were presented big companies too. Though Vato’s desire was deeper and superior at that time, he had no finances to implement it himself. So he talked to PR manager of TBC Group there and soon it came out that he had already have a foundation on which Vato could built his dream Cultural Center soon.

“I believe in private initiatives, in step by step projects. With my 10 years experience in organizing the cultural events, I am sure Center of Contemporary Art in Tbilisi will justify my hopes and it will definitely serve the aim for what it is building now”- Vato says.
TBC group approved the idea of Art Center. They gave two floors building to Vato and therefore Tsereteli started to found different sources from different countries to bring grants for his project and he did bring. The highest finance he has got now is 10 thousand Euros, which Vato got from Swiss development Agency.
Library, cinema screening place, Three Exhibition and three class rooms, reception, resting and bath rooms. In two floors building which is under thorough repairs now will serve students of different age and education to develop their personal skills and initiatives in contemporary art soon.
“We believe it is of crucial importance to have an independent and open institution, which will work on the development of contemporary visual culture and help artists to effectively address their creative products to local and international audiences” says Tsereteli.
As The Artist explains, Georgia cultural education is behind the east and west culture of middle ages. Even Tbilisi Art Academy does not teach the students the values of contemporary art, which means private ideas and initiatives realization in free and independent art life.
Video Art, Photography, Painting and sound Art. 9 month courses in these spheres of Art will start from October. Teachers from local and foreign countries will introduce to students their knowledge and experience. Each month will cost 350GEL and in return of diploma, graduated students of Center of Contemporary art will gain exhibition and concept based realized private ideas.