Disability: the difficult daily life of families whose child is affected by autism

When he comes back from his day at the medical-educational institute, Terini likes to play with a funny green ball. He suffers from autism spectrum disorder, diagnosed when he was four years old. To express himself, he shows vignettes to his mother. At 11, he knows how to dress, eat and go to the bathroom on his own, but he has no schooling and cannot speak. Its development takes time, and it is difficult to project into the future.

A nursing home as a solution

“It’s like having a baby forever, it will have to be taken care of because unfortunately, (…) my son is non-verbal, maybe he will never speak, maybe he will, but briefly . He will never be independent“, testifies Therite Wilkins, his mother. 40 km from her home, a structure exists in Levens (Alpes-Maritimes). It is a nursing home with 36 places for adults. This solution allows families to live again and be able to work again.