There are more than three million people with disabilities in Italy. Whether it is a physical, mental or sensory disability, diagnosis is still taken for granted due to lack of structure and personnel. One in 77 children, aged between 7 and 9, is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and there are 4,000 new cases each year. There are 338 thousand students with DSA in our country, dyslexia is the most common disorder, followed by dysortography, dyscalculia and dysgraphia. 3-5% of children between the ages of 6 and 17 are affected by ADHD, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. With this picture it is clear that the system is no longer enough: public and accredited centers are few and saturated, the number of professionals is too small compared to the real need and for many families, getting a diagnosis in a timely manner is a challenge that takes months. In the North, Central and South there are 1,214 specialized centers but more than half of them are located in the North, to be precise: 54% in the North, 21% in the Center and 24% in the South. More than 300 minors between 2 and 7 years old are on the waiting list compared to more than 100 minors in care. Looking specifically at the situation in Lazio, we know that in the region’s state schools there are 34,921 students with disabilities compared to 118 active centers but with long waiting times, difficulties in access and continuity of therapy.
Last November 11, with the blessing of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the John Paul I Rehabilitation Center was inaugurated in Rome. This center, managed by the social cooperative Medihospes, member of the La Cascina Consortium, will be a structure that will offer highly specialized medical services in the care of children and adults with cognitive and behavioral disorders, physical, sensory and mental disabilities. This clinic does not only focus on the medical dimension, but will provide holistic services to patients and their families. Also present at the inauguration was a team of neurologists, psychologists, child neuropsychiatrists, speech therapists, developmental age neuropsychomotor therapists coordinated by Dr. Daniela Di Venanzio. The doctor will have a space of 256 square meters, with nine offices, a gym for outpatient care and rehabilitation aimed at autistic patients or with specific learning disorders, cognitive-behavioral and complex disabilities (sensory, motor) and for neurodegenerative pathologies.
The Giovanni Paolo I Rehabilitation Center, in addition to offering individual psychotherapy sessions, cognitive and motor rehabilitation, parent support and integrated specialist consultations, will be able to intervene quickly, immediately treating each clinical case, offering the first consultation free of charge. The Center’s philosophy is to use a personalized approach, placing the patient-family relationship at the center, ensuring guaranteed therapy over time and integrating care with schools and social services already existing in the area.
Luigi Grimaldi, director of Medihospes Development, explains: “We work so that the Center pays high attention to the needs of people who will turn to us in trust, creating better living conditions for those helped and their families”.
Marco Vincenzi, delegate of the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, defined the new John Paul I Outpatient Rehabilitation Center as “a useful safeguard for the future, and for the right to happiness, in a place where Jubilee plays an important role”.
According to the President of the Regional Council of Lazio, Antonello Aurigemma, the Center “will not only be a place of rehabilitation, but also of listening and welcoming: it is the person who must always be at the center of attention, not the disease”.
