Summary Conference of the project “Expansion and Improvement of Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Georgia”

December 3, the Institute for Child Development of Ilia State University and the Caritas Czech Republic will hold a concluding conference on the project “Expansion and Improvement of Services for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Georgia,” funded by the Czech Development Agency.

Read more about the project: https://bit.ly/3cBPGdl

Join Zoom Meeting: https://bit.ly/3rozB3f

Time: 16:00 – 17:30

Format: Hybrid (will be provided Live on Ilia State University and Iliauni Child Development Facebook pages).

Agenda

15:45 – Registration

16:00 – 16:10 – Welcome speech

Nino Doborjginidze, Ilia State University, Professor, Vice-Rector
Petra Mojžíšová, Czech Development Agency, Program Manager for Georgia
Tamila Barkalaia, Ministry of IDPs, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, Deputy Minister
Jan Blinka, Head of Mission, Caritas Czech Republic

16:10 – 17:00 – Achievements and Challenges of 2015-2017

Presentation of the results of the project “Expansion and Improvement of services for people
with autism spectrum disorder in Georgia.”

Rusudan Chkhubianishvili, Project Manager

Importance of Cooperation between Child Development Institute of Ilia State University and
Caritas Czech Republic

Nino Tsintsadze, Child Development Institute, Director

“Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder, clinical characteristics and risk factors in Georgia,”
preliminary results of the research study

Maia Gabunia, Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Chair

Applied Behavior Analysis – Report of the Georgian Association of Behavior Analysts

Gvantsa Chvamania, acting chair of the association

Ilia State University’s Certified course for ABA supervisors

Tinatin Tchintcharauli, Head of ABA, Child Development Institute, certificates handover to the course graduates

17:00-17:30 Discussion, Future Plans

About the project

The project, implemented by the Caritas Czech Republic, aimed to expand and improve the services of people with autism spectrum disorders and provide professional training to specialists in the field. Caritas Czech Republic implemented the project with the financial support of the Czech Development Agency (EUR 255 000) and in close cooperation with the Child Development Institute of Ilia State University and the Academy for Children with Disabilities. The project was developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, taking into account the government’s priorities in this area.

Significant achievements as a result of the project:

• Family physicians and healthcare professionals across Georgia have been trained to detect the risk of autism spectrum at an early stage.
• Five regions of Georgia are considered the “gold standard” of diagnosis needed to detect the autism spectrum. The so-called ADOS tool was delivered and trained specialists were trained in its use.
• ABA specialists have been trained in using professional child assessment tools (ABLLS-R and EFL), which are essential for the full implementation of ABA therapy.
• Fifteen specialists were funded who took the international certification course required to qualify as Behavior Therapy supervisors.
• In parallel with the ABA, two alternative approaches to autism intervention – the Denver Early Intervention Model and the SCERTS (Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, Transactional Support) model were introduced, trained specialists.
• The inclusive education model was presented to three pilot kindergartens of Georgia, special teachers and kindergarten educators were trained.
• An autism program evaluation model was presented to various municipalities. Consequently, some of them have allocated the required budget for this program, while others have increased the number of hours required for both the beneficiaries involved in the program and the therapy.
• In 2018, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Health, Labor and Social Affairs approved the National Protocol on Autism Detection, Diagnosis and Management.
• In 2020, the Ministry of Health approved the “Minimum Standards for Services for People with Autism.”
• The Association of Behavior Analysts has developed and submitted to Parliament a legislative initiative that, if approved, would lead to the regulation of the activities of Behavior Analysts.

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