honorable mention
Marco Ponzianelli italy
title
Jacopo
back to gallery
entry description
This is Jacopo, autistic. Jacopo, 11 years old, does not speak and he is a case of low cognitive functioning autism. When I came in contact with autism, I was impressed by the high rates at which manifests the disorder. I could not understand how anyone could be so uneducated on this question and after I realized that I was not the only one. There is great lack of information about it. So I decided to get to know the issue and I tried to tell Jacopo. "Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by an atypical mental functioning that mostly persists throughout life. The ASD are caused by an altered biologically brain maturation and already appear in the first few years of life. Children and people with autism or ASD are often closed, isolated in their own world with great difficulty interacting with others, in adequately communicate (language can be used absent or abnormally) and present behavior repetitive and very limited interests. Autism and ASD are very frequent. It affects, in fact, about one child every 68 and males are more affected than females (4 times more). There are not differences between the various ethnic groups and social conditions and is the most frequent cause of disability." By adults in Italy: At the age of 18 years the person with autism is abandoned by the Neuropsychiatry and actually loses, in addition to the diagnosis, any right to take charge of a specific authorization. Nobody benefits from an individual life project, neither the most gifted. There are very few examples of day care and residential centers equipped with specialized operators, in most centers adults spend time in childish activities or heavily sedated with drugs.back to gallery