The executive has unveiled its new strategy to address neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD).
For its new plan on neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), the government will release 680 million euros between 2023 and 2027, according to information from France Bleu and France Inter. This new strategy is extended to TND – which may concern attention disorders, behavior, autism or even dyslexia – while the previous one, that of 2018-2022, was focused solely on autism.
All children, regardless of the neurodevelopmental disorder, will therefore be able to benefit from this new plan. “This will help prevent families from being in the greatest distress, because they do not know what the problem is with their child”declared Fadila Khattabi, Minister Delegate in charge of People with Disabilities, in the show “Allo Docteur” on France Bleu.
Creation of a public early identification and support service
This plan will be based on coordination and guidance platforms: occupational therapist, psychologist, psychomotor therapist, speech therapists, etc. It must also prevent “excess disabilities”, explained the delegate minister because “the earlier the quality diagnosis is made, the better the treatment”. The health record of all French children will now include a booklet identifying signs of unusual child development.
In order to improve diagnosis in children and adolescents, an envelope of 185 million euros, the largest in this plan, will be released and a public service for early identification and support for 0-6 year olds must first be put in place. The plan also provides for the strengthening of late detection services in order to increase diagnoses beyond 12 years of age. These interventions will be covered by Health Insurance.
The public early identification and support service will make it possible to train (or improve the skills of) all those who work in contact with children in France. This will concern nursery professionals, childminders and even all national education professionals. Training will also be offered to parents and caregivers as soon as neurodevelopmental disorders are diagnosed in the child.
Nearly 400 new additional adapted classes
To best adapt the education of the children concerned, 380 additional new adapted classes will be opened, indicated Fadila Khattabi. Among these new classes, 100 will be dedicated to children with Attention Deficit Disorder with or without Hyperactivity (ADHD) / DYS (DYSlexia, DYSgraphy, DYSpraxia, DYSorthography, DYScalculia) in middle and high school.
To best support autistic adults, this new plan provides for the opening of 50 new small establishments, primarily in departments under pressure, such as Seine-Saint-Denis and Pas-de-Calais.
Research will be amplified, in particular thanks to the increase in funding for the five centers of excellence, the opening of a sixth and the creation of a university hospital institute for the child’s brain within the Robert Debré hospital in Paris (19th). An envelope of 50 million euros will be released for scientific research.