“A further 300 children and young people will begin receiving support under the city’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Habilitation Programme from April,” announced the Mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, at a session of the Tbilisi Municipal Government, during which he outlined new developments in the city’s healthcare and social projects.

The Mayor stated that the Tbilisi City Hall remains firmly committed to supporting children and young people with autism spectrum disorder, and that the programme’s budget has grown year on year.

“Tbilisi City Hall continues to stand by children and young people with autism spectrum disorder, and we make continual improvements to the programme to ensure that no one is left without support. From April, 2,700 children and young people will have their comprehensive therapy sessions funded under the City Health and Social Services programme, sessions drawn up by multidisciplinary teams. The programme budget stands at approximately 13,000,000 lari, and covers a minimum of 20 individually tailored sessions of at least one hour each, designed around the specific needs of every child and young person. All therapeutic sessions are conducted in consultation and with the consent of the parent or legal guardian. As for the number of service providers, that too is growing steadily, which is very welcome. At present, 15 centres are operating within the programme,” said Kakha Kaladze.

He emphasised that the city government aims to ensure that no child or young person is left without support or care.

Mayor Kaladze also recalled that when the programme was launched in July 2015, just two service providers were involved and 325 children were enrolled, with a budget of approximately 500,000 lari.

“Since then, the budget has increased every year, making it possible to support more and more children. The level of funding per individual beneficiary has also risen. Moreover, when the programme first began, therapy sessions were funded only for children between the ages of 2 and 14. Following consultations with specialists in the field and representatives of relevant associations, the City Hall extended the upper age limit to 18 in 2018. This is a vital programme, and it is working. Our goal is to ease the burden on parents as much as we possibly can, to help you, to stand beside you, and to give you every form of support we can offer,” said Kakha Kaladze, adding that the programme would continue in the years ahead.