( JUST/2013/PROG/AG/5004/NGOS)
Partners of the Project:
Autism-Europe
Institute for International Legal Studies of the National Research Council (ISGI-CNR)
This training session is supported by the European Union Programme PROGRESS (2007-2013).
This programme is implemented by the European Commission. It was established to financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment, social affairs and equal opportunities area, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Europe 2020 Strategy goals in these fields. The seven-year Programme targets all stakeholders who can help shape the development of appropriate and effective employment and social legislation and policies, across the EU-28, EFTA-EEA and EU candidate and pre-candidate countries.
For more information see: http://ec.europa.eu/progress

1.
Is the protection of persons with disabilities, as a specific segment of vulnerable population, provided for in the Constitution or does a specific
“disability law” exist in the country where your organization is working?
The constitution protects people with disabilities. There is also a law 448/2006 that specifies the way people with disabilities are protected in Romania.
2.
In your country what steps have been taken to prevent discrimination based on disability? Has your country established specialized services to combat discrimination?
The existing laws stipulate measures to prevent discrimination.
3.
Does the country where your organization is working provide technical guidance and financial support for the provision of reasonable accommodations in the fields of education and employment?
At a theoretical level the state provides support and guidance. The financial support is a real problem as the funds for this sector are not too high. There are new laws on social economy that aim to encourage businesses to hire people with disability.
4.
Does the general employment law takes accounts of the needs of persons with
ASD? If so, please give details.
No, unfortunately Romanian laws for people with disabilities do not take into account the needs of people with ASD.
5.
Does the country where your organization is working take positive action to employ persons with ASD? If so, please give details.
People with ASD are hired only in protected workplaces opened by NGO ( see
Pentru Voi Foundation, Timisoara or Apha Tranbsilvana, Targu Mures).
6.
Does the country where your organization is working promote employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector through incentives and other measures?
Law 76/2002 and its implementing procedures of 2011 promote employment of people with disabilities, but employers are still reluctant to hiring people with disabilities.
7.
Are mainstream vocational training and employment services accessible to persons with disabilities? If so, please give details.

In theory and according to law persons with disabilities can access mainstream vocational training and employment services. In practice they do not take into account the particular kinds of disabilities, are not made accessible enough, they do not properly assess the abilities or needs of this category, consequently they do not offer proper education and then opportunities to get employed.
8.
Does the national legislation in the country where your organization is working recognize the right to inclusive education for people with ASD?
The Law of National Education 1/2011 recognizes the right to inclusive education of people with disabilities in general, not with ASD in particular. These are general principles that can be very easily interpreted or misunderstood.
9.
In the national policy of your country what are the characteristics and the significance of “integrated/ inclusive/ special education” of students with disabilities?
According to the Romanian law:
- all children have the right to free education
- education for children with disabilities can take the form of: special education in special schools, inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools individually or in groups.
In practice things are very different. There are many cases of children with disabilities discriminated in various ways in the educational system.
10.
In the country where your organization is working, do teachers and other educational personnel receive specific training on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the classroom or education program? If so, please provide details.
Teachers in Romania have to take part in training but the kind of training is not specified. There are different projects that offer training on the inclusion of persons with disabilities mainly developed by NGOs or County Boards of
Education. These trainings lack the practice part. Autism Baia Mare trained 300 teachers in Maramures and drafted a course that is certified by
The Ministry of Education “Methods and techniques for inclusion of children with disabilities in mainstream schools”. At a national level such courses are not provided by the state.
11.
Do teachers and other educational personnel receive specific training to deal with the needs of persons with ASD? If yes, please give details.
Training for teachers and educators about dealing with persons with ADS were and are provided as part of different projects developed by organization that support this category.

Additional Information
12.
Please identify, and where possible provide copies of any law, study or/and document that supports your answers to this questionnaire.
Law 448/2006 updated in 2014
Law 76/2002, updated in 2011
Law of National Education 1/2011
Law 136/2012
13.
Please, feel free to add any comment, observation and/or reflection that you consider necessary to the purpose of the ISGI study.
Autism Baia Mare sees integration and inclusion like this:
Integration means having the child in class with typical children and helping him to adapt to the curriculum.
Inclusion should take into account the adaptations made to the school environment in order to help the disabled child developed his abilities and improve his independence.
According to this principle we started an Inclusive class in September 2013. The class is made up by 3 students with ASD. They are in the 5 th grade and go to an inclusive class in a mainstream school in Baia Mare. We took the opportunity offered by the law and made it possible. The class is coordinated by a person hired by Autism Baia Mare who works with the teachers every day to adapt the curricula and to help the children learn.
The programe is very successful so there will be other two classes of the kind in Baia
Mare.
Baia Mare Autism Association was founded in late 2008 in order to protect and promote the rights and interests of people with autism and their families .
The initiators of this project are parents of children with autism from
Maramures county.
Our goal for each child integrated in our programs is a functional development, we want to have visible results in behaviour, language and cognitive abilities. A child who does not embrace his/her parents, who does not understand what is going on around him/her, who seems disconnected from our world - and who after several months of individualized therapies becomes affectionate and starts talking about what is happening around him are the signs of our success.
Our vision A tolerant and responsible society that includes children with autistic spectrum disorders.
Our mission Improving living conditions and social adaptability of children with autistic spectrum disorders in order to improve the quality of life of these children and their families.

Our objectives
Creating an optimum environment for recovery, education and social integration of children with autistic spectrum disorders;
Providing assistance, rehabilitation and care for the children attending Autism
Association Baia Mare;
Changing social attitudes towards children with autism;
Providing training and support for the autistic child's family;
Informing and making the community aware of the problems of the autistic child and his family;
Developing strategies for achieving self-financing in the medium and long term.