Disability in Campania, Gemma (FdI) to caregivers: "I will be the voice of those who have no voice"

"This week, the draft resolution on harmonizing the rights of autistic people across Member States was approved in Strasbourg, but it's a drop in the ocean. That's how I feel—a drop that always falls in the same place, because so few of us are addressing different abilities."

This was stated by MEP Chiara Gemma (FdI-Ecr), a member of the European Parliament's Intergroup on Disability, this morning in Acerra, during the meeting organized by the Brothers of Italy party at the "Italia" theater to discuss disability and autism. The resolution was prompted by the observation that national disability cards are not recognized in all EU countries and that there is no equal access to certain specific services.

“The resolution highlights the many difficulties and discrimination suffered by people with autistic disorders, which urgently need to be addressed,” Gemma continued. “In particular, it urges Member States to facilitate access to autism diagnosis for children and adults.”

Regional councilor Alfonso Piscitelli of the Brothers of Italy party, meanwhile, provided an overview of the state of healthcare in Campania: "Families in Campania are angry, and rightly so," he explained. "There's a regional autism plan, but no one monitors it. Not to mention the obstacles caregivers face in accessing therapists in the various settings where their child or young person is cared for. Authorization after authorization is needed, as if the various agencies aren't communicating with each other."

Piscitelli then added: "We mustn't bow our heads, but we must say that the way healthcare is managed in Campania isn't working, let's work together." Among the attendees were caregiver associations and families, who had come to Acerra at the instigation of Raffaele Barbato, a leader of Giorgia Meloni's party: "We will continue to give a voice to the voiceless," he said. Another regional councilor, Cosimo Amente, shared the same opinion.

Alberico Gambino, former mayor of Pagani (now party coordinator in Salerno), recounted his experience as the brother of a girl with Down syndrome: "I remember that my parents, back in the 70s, fought to wrest rights from the institutions and managed to guarantee my sister, after so many closed doors, a better future." Also participating via video link were FdI MPs Marta Schifone and Michele Schiano, the party's provincial coordinator.