Armenia: Nikolay Gevorgyan

Health experience related to: autism

Providing physical and behavioural health services in one location enables patients and their families to form relationships with providers and to engage more fully in their own care.

(As told by Nikolay's father, Yerem Gevorgyan.)

When he was 3 years old, my son was diagnosed with autism. We had started noticing changes in his behaviour about a year and a half before that, but despite visiting a lot of specialists we could not get a clear diagnosis. Fortunately we learned that a regional branch of a child rehabilitation centre was established in Gavar, a district town about 70 km from the village where we live. So we went there and finally he got diagnosed.

Nikolay went through 2 courses of treatment, each of a few months duration. Compared to the situation before, we see obvious changes. My son received comprehensive care there. There was a psychologist, a speech therapist and a special educator working with him. Now he goes to school and receives good grades. He is self-aware and has good eye contact with people, and his behaviour is appropriate to the specific situation he is in. He enjoys playing chess. I believe his progress is a result of their team work.

Although we have stopped visiting the centre now, we maintain contact with the team of specialists who cared for him. They call to see how he is doing and visit us at home once every 3 months. Those consultations help us manage his health, which is very valuable to me as a father.

The rehabilitation centre occasionally involves us in different educational programmes and seminars on care for children with neurological and developmental disorders. The children can attend some of these courses. This engagement was very important for us, because for my son the most crucial problem now is social inclusion.

We also received a lot of help from social workers at a local nongovernmental organization and from our family pediatrician. Their advice helped us plan our family life and adapt it to Nikolay's treatment goals. The individual attention we received from everyone involved in my son's care has made me more aware of my responsibilities for my children's health and for my own health. I can say that it pushes me and my wife to model healthy lifestyles for our children.

I have to mention that although the rehabilitation centre works in our society, which is transitioning to a market economy and has some deficit of humanism, in this facility we were met with the kindest, most unselfish attitude.

Here is Nikolay. When we began attending the centre, we planted a small sapling in their yard. We've seen it grow and become the same height as Nikolay. Everyone should strive to make things beautiful for the children visiting the centre.

Nikolay: I planted the tree myself.