Autism certainly does not stop him from the pandemic of Covid-19indeed, this is creating many problems for families who live this drama daily. A double drama for families already exhausted by a pathology of dubious origin and unmanageable; closed schools, closed rehabilitation centers, motor activities in reduced or prohibited parks or gardens.
April 2, was the day dedicated to autism that has seen the world colored in blue in recent years, has passed almost in total silence of the media leaving families in the emergency that have always lived.
Families living autism have not given up on what they had already given up when they received the diagnoses, isolation has always lived for them, it was not new. The state had already abandoned them, but in this world crisis they saw themselves deprived of the only support they had won, the school with the support and help received from the rehabilitation centers.
The situation is certainly dramatic for those who rely on traditional rehabilitation centers, where the parent is never involved in the therapeutic process. In this moment of solitude, he consequently feels lost, abandoned and alone in facing problems, especially behavioral ones, which tend to get worse in the absence of the right interventions containing and stimulating.
The idea of directly involving families, parents, as their children's therapists, was born from the experience and ability of a mother, a criminal lawyer who decided to give up her forensic activity to help the many families left alone , particularly in this tragic moment.
It's Veronica Tuccillo, of Naples, daughter of art in the forensic world, but determined and professionally at the forefront of the behavioral methods she studied and for which she perfected herself, so much so that she founded an Association "Higher and higher non-profit organization"Based in Naples, in the Sanità district, which involves numerous families of" special "children who feel less alone in this drama.
Veronica Tuccillo reports the statements of some parents : .. "Just in these days some friends who have children in traditional centers contacted me and they were amazed at my serenity and strength, despite this particular period where everything is lived in an amplified way. They were desperate and disappointed by the complete abandonment of the therapists. Instead, I found strength and determination that I never imagined I could guarantee to my son, because nobody before had made me understand that he has great potential if followed adequately and constantly (Fabiana, Giuseppe's mother) ".
Veronica, as everyone calls her with respect and affection, says: "more than ever, in this period I hear the cry for help from families who need training rather than assistance. The child / boy is and remains the child, pupil and disciple and to accompany him in his evolutionary growth there must be his first and main "educator": the parent.
And so the testimonies of other parents follow, many of whom I had the honor and pleasure of meeting in the non-profit center "Higher and higher ": .." I am still incredulous if I look back at all Eugenio's progress ... I finally know that I have become a parent EDUCATOR, a driving force behind the development of my son and not just an impotent spectator confined in a corner. The etymological meaning of educating, from Latin, is "to draw, to lead out". Never could an expression be more pertinent in the case of our children, imprisoned without being guilty even by the prejudices of the so-called experts (Mara, Eugenio's mother). "
Veronica continues ..: " To become an "educator", a parent must, with absolute priority and in the shortest possible time, be empowered, trained and initiated in the care of his / her child by going from "mere spectator" seen and treated with "resignation" to "active part of the growth path and progress of your child».
"The parent and family are an active part of their children's growth and progress. In the eyes of veronica, her collaborators and the parents of the other children, read only strength, trust and determination and understand that the word "resignation", which they try to get used to in other centers, is not really contemplated (Stefania, Lorenzo's mother) ".
There are many testimonials, the progress that the constant presence of a conscious parent allows is unimaginable. Only his unconditional love, accompanied by the support of other educators (teachers, operators, teachers, assistants), in fact comes to offer a child "imprisoned”The opportunity to cross the cloud that surrounds it to return, albeit with difficulty, to build its autonomies and look to the future with hope.
"Only the unconditional love of a parent has the strength to sustain such hard physical, but above all mental and emotional work. The moments of despair return cyclically, but everything is overcome with the awareness of doing the right thing (Anna, Claudio's mother) ".
"We accepted the challenge of becoming our child's therapists ourselves, taking on responsibility not only as "carers", but also and above all as "educators" ... Simone is now six years old, started a year and a half ago and was almost tabula rasa. We thought he would never speak. Now he acquires new motor skills every week, he is increasingly projected towards autonomy, he listens to us attentively, he collaborates almost always and he vocally mentions his first syllables with full knowledge of the facts (Dora, Simone's mother) ".
Even in these weeks of generalized isolation, Veronica continues, our method allows us to continue the work precisely because it is the parent who is at the center of the rehabilitation path and it is possible to support it from afar through messages, calls and videos of their children's exercises. that we comment together. Our goal remains the same every day: to allow our children to “vedere the light of a real hope for the future "(Dora, Simone's mother) or, as other parents say "learning to see the colors of a world that offers trust, determination, enthusiasm and courage (Marina, Francesco's mother, and Manuela, Giovanni's mother) ".
And again Veronica: “In order to achieve these results, we never give in to the temptation of "piety" or pietism - as Francesca, Sofia's mother wrote to me - but rather try to teach our children the unparalleled taste of freedom.
Veronica Tuccillo she is the mother of two children, the second of whom has autism. After the diagnosis, she devoted herself entirely to him and training on this issue. Building on his experience and his studies, he set up the “Onlus increasingly high”, of which he is president. Certified as a "Center for the family" by the Municipality of Naples, which has thus recognized its social utility in its support, consultancy and training activities, the association operates in the Rione Sanità and has become a reference for those who do not give up and they know that even children and young people affected by neurodevelopmental disorders can progress towards a full and free existence. Last February, Veronica Tuccillo published the book DiversaMente. Neurodevelopmental disorders: method of accompanying children and families. Dedicated in particular to parents, educators and social workers, it illustrates the stages of a method that can lead higher and higher.
It is also available online: https://www.ibs.it/diversamente-disturbi-delneurosviluppo-metodo-ebook-veronicatuccillo/e/9788835389958