Podgorica, (MINA) - Systemic support for persons with autism and their families in Montenegro is still very poor, while progress made in recent years has been more formal and declarative than substantive, Goran Lakovic of the NGO You Are Not Alone said.

He told the MINA News Agency that April 2, the World Autism Awareness Day is being marked this year in a similar atmosphere as in previous years, and that they remain largely invisible to the system.

Lakovic welcomed, as he stated, small systemic changes, mainly in the field of education and healthcase, emphasizing that people with autism are still in a kind of semi-darkness in the Montenegrin system.

Speaking about social protection and support that people with autism receive, Lakovic said that currently the support is mainly limited to material donations, while the service-based support remains weak.

Asked what is the key issue that should change regarding the position of persons with autism in Montenegro, Lakovic replied that it is the awareness of decision makers.

When asked about the main challenges in healthcare for people with autism, Lakovic said that performing every examination for children with autism is difficult due to lack of clear protocols, but he also pointed out that the training of medical staff to work with perosns with autism is questionable.

Addressing the development of inclusion in education, Lakovic said that “things should be called by their right name, that this is not inclusion, but an illusion”.

He added that the current Minister Andjela Jaksic Stojanovic, along with several others, has managed to bring about some changes.

According to Lakovic, the two main advances in education relate to improvements in the training of assistants and the announcement of the opening of the special education faculty in Niksic.

Asked how inclusive Montenegrin society is today, Lakovic said that Montenegro is truly as inclusive as it is an ecological state. “And we all see how ecological it really is”.