Home | First lady | Activities of Silvia Gašparovičová | Year 2010 | First Ladies of Slovakia and Cyprus visited an autistic center
During the official visit of the President of the Republic of Cyprus and his spouse to Slovakia on 11th November 2010 Mrs. Elsi Christofia got informed about activities supported by the First Lady of Slovakia Mrs. Silvia Gašparovičová. One of them is the support of people with autism, so the slovak First Lady along with the wife of the President of the Republic of Cyprus visited the Autistic Centre Andreas in Bratislava.
At the beginning the First Ladies were welcomed by the director of the centre Mrs. Kateřina Nakládalová, who informed them about activities of the centre and also to thanked Mrs. Silvia Gašparovičová "for the protective hand she holds over us. You have already several times held the auspice over ´autism´ in Slovakia. We are honored that today we can host such a rare visit," said the center director.
First Ladies got familiar with the operation and activities of the center. They could see the work of teachers and therapists performed with children – for example, in a room called Workroom First Ladies saw the work with a 7-year-old autistic boy. "Caring for people with autism at any age is very important. It is also important that the work is also enriched by a variety of therapeutic orientations and different therapies," said director of the professional activities Mrs. Andrea Šedivová.
On the first floor of the spouses of presidents got familiar with the teaching of autistic children in kindergarten and primary school, and also visited a therapeutic room called Snoezelen. As Mrs. Silvia Gašparovičová said, "we saw the amazing work of all who care about these children and also adults. I believe it is necessary to increase assistance from the state because there is a growing number of autistic children and people that need help." First Lady thinks it should be called the whole world for research of this disease, because the latest statistics show the fact that more and more people are suffering from autism.
Not only Slovakia but also the Republic of Cyprus faces the same problem, such as autism. As Mrs. Elsi Christofia said, "I realize that this job is very challenging and every day you have to perform very important duties for these children. From you I take away very useful experience and a lot of useful things I could see here. It was for me a very useful experience, which I can use in our country."
Autistic Centre Andreas was established in 2001 as the first device of its kind in Slovakia. It provides comprehensive care to people with autism and their families. Restored rooms of this center were inaugurated in 2006 by the First Lady of Slovakia Mrs. Silvia Gašparovičová. |
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