Skills for 400 Children with Autism in Venezuela

An article from the New York times dating back to August 25, 2017 describes the situation in Venezuela as “aside from political turbulence, Venezuela is suffering one of the worst economic crises in modern Latin American history. Hunger is common, store shelves are empty and oil production — the country’s life blood — is in sharp decline”

Furthermore, according to the Financial Times, ninety-three per cent of Venezuelans said their income was not sufficient to buy the food they need. The International Monetary Fund projects Venezuela’s inflation rate could reach 720 per cent this year. 

In the face of such hardship our Autismo en Voz Alta community has chosen the path of resilience, and survival. Our children with autism deserve and are entitled to an education, and we are totally committed to provide it. Last year auditing results indicate that despite the challenging conditions in our country, our initiatives allowed us to maintain the outstanding performance of our teachers and students. We intend to do the same this school year. 

And, THANKS to all of you, on Sept 11th, 106 children started a new school year. All our students are receiving partial financial support, and 68% of them are receiving additional scholarships. There are no words to describe our gratitude. Our parents, our students, our teachers, our fundraising, and our management team have joined forces to face the challenge and provide, for the 8^th consecutive year, the high impact education we are known for.

This school year, our digital, on line induction program will continue to provide a very effective way of recruiting, and get personnel involved in the program. We have already in place individual teaching programs for each student, and in the second semester our teachers will receive the yearly training in PECS, our key communication system.

In addition to our traditional teaching dynamics, curriculum, evaluation and auditing processes, our teaching team is implementing an improved approach to teaching with our adolescent students. The approach emphasizes the development of the skills a young adult needs to be independent. At the same time, our directors have started working on the development of a manual to provide simple and straightforward guidance to parents as they face their children transition to adulthood.

Thank you for being part of AUTISMO EN VOZ ALTA. 

Creativity and solidarity will be necessary to maintain our program running. We truly hope that you are as excited as we are in our efforts. Your support makes it possible! You are our families best hope for this program to continue!

Every day I mourn the moments I cannot share or enjoy with my niece Cristi because she has autism. Every day I am also hopeful as I celebrate her achievements and cherish her smile, which motivates me to continue working day in day out with optimism and determination.

Coping with this complex and difficult reality has meant reinventing my relationship with Cristi. I live with the conviction that her education is the path to her development and independence. As a result, my actions, commitment and solidarity to her have translated into efforts to enhance her education.

Specifically, 10 years ago I founded Autismo en Voz Alta, a foundation that today serves 400 families including ours. I believe Autismo en Voz Alta is Cristi's legacy and the way to honor the talents and differences of those with her condition.

Although my own involvement has contributed to the advancement of our cause, Autismo en Voz Alta is the result of the commitment, support and participation of many who have believed in a future for Cristi and others like her. I can only feel grateful and optimistic, because as Mandela said, it always seems impossible until it is  done.

This is why TODAY in the face of unrest, unforeseen challenges and circumstances in Venezuela, we are inspired and committed to the development and sustainability of Autismo en Voz Alta, an island of care and professionalism. How could we not be when every day millions of people that believe in a better future for Venezuela face and fight a complex and difficult reality of scarcity, insecurity, and inflation driven by the conviction that a new Venezuela is our legacy and the way we honor our youth.

We, at Autismo en Voz Alta, will continue supporting our community, working with optimism, determined to provide education to children with autism. Your support sustains our cause. We are grateful and honored by your trust. Thank you.