More means for health and in particular support for people with disabilities : this is one of the most popular measures within the framework of the Ma France 2022 consultation. he set up two structures of this type for autistic people, one in Forez, the other in Velay.
Thus, at the Gem du Puy-en-Velay, autistic people can meet to discuss, exchange, participate in activities. Since the creation of the structure, some have been able to attend shows, concerts together, share outings and meals. In the long term, the objective is even that they can manage themselves independently.
“Here I don’t need to think”
In the space of a few months the effects are already very positive for the ten people who have joined and who have come to get out of their loneliness. This is the case of Aurélie, of Retournac. Thanks to the group she was able to meet Armelle, a girl like her: “I needed to talk between autistic people. We have a way of functioning that is different from normal people. There are things we have to think about and make the person opposite believe that we don’t I haven’t thought about it and it’s automatic. Here it allows me to rest because when I talk to Armelle, I don’t need to think”.
“Finding something that resembles normalcy, life”
Armelle, from Polignac, confirms: “There is no need to think. We discuss a lot of things and we understand each other more easily. It was a help to come here”. Help is what Marie is looking for for her 30-year-old son, autistic Asperger’s. Like all parents of autism, she wants to help her live better, and this group can make it possible: “It’s to get him out of his loneliness and to meet people like him who won’t have a contemptuous, mocking look. To find something other than the medical community, something that looks like normality. Something resembling life”.
This mutual aid group is therefore an opportunity that autistic people should not miss, says Armelle: “Come here! There are people who are like you, who can listen to you. We all help each other!”
How to contact the Autism GEM of Haute-Loire
- By phone: 04 71 57 31 87 or with the coordinator Francis Limandas 06 24 69 69 16
- By email: [email protected]
- Address: 18 chemin de Gendriac 43000 Le Puy en Velay
- A Gem also rose in the Loire in March 2021, in Saint-André-le-Puy.