Organization's Mission
Tohum’s key purpose is to lead and disseminate early diagnosis, education, and social integration services for children with autism throughout Turkey. Tohum has six missions:
- to meet the knowledge and support needs of children with autism and their families in order to help them pursue their lives in contemporary societal conditions
- to ensure early intensive special education of children with autism and their subsequent placement in the least restrictive educational environments
- to encourage teacher training for educating children with autism and research in this area
- to support and improve health and education services delivered to individuals with autism throughout the country
- to achieve world standards in screening, assessment, and diagnosis of autism and disseminate these throughout the country
- to raise awareness in public on autism
Impact
Tohum carries out the following activities in order to address the above-mentioned needs in the area of autism in Turkey:
1.Raising awareness in the community and in the government
2.Developing models for providing early identification, early intervention, and special education services effectively and efficiently for children with autism
3.Initiating such services (e.g., special education) when possible
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Tohum’s Special Education School: The Problem Addressed by the ProjectAutism is a pervasive developmental disorder defined by various problems grouped in three areas: (a) Social interaction: Lack of interest in interacting with others, (b) Language and communication: Delayed or unusual linguistic and communicative development, and (c) Behaviors and interest: Repetitive, stereotyped, problematic behaviors and interests. Prevalence of autism has been rising considerably in the last several years and it is 1 in every 110 children in 2010. This prevalence rate makes autism the most prevalent neurological disorder of childhood. However, there are no dependable statistics regarding the prevalence of autism in Turkey. Hence, one can only make projections based on the world statistics.| Time Line: July 2011 - July 2012 | |
The Goal of the ProjectAutism is not curable but it is treatable. According to the research base, the most beneficial treatment approach is applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA treatments need to start in early childhood and be intensive. About half of the children who can receive such services make remarkable progress and continue their education in inclusive environments. That is, although seems to be expensive, early and intensive ABA services are very cost-effective for the society in the long period. On the other hand, the treatment options are numerous and it is not easy for parents to reach the most beneficial treatments for their children. Thus, it is necessary to raise awareness and disseminate ABA practices in the society.
Turkey is among the countries with the biggest need in this sense. The percentage of special needs students is about 1% in Turkey whereas it is 3-6% in Europe. This means that great majority of special needs children, many with autism, cannot receive special education services in Turkey. Furthermore, there is a lack of early identification and intensive ABA services in Turkey.The Impact of the ProjectTohum opened a school for children with autism in 2006. The curriculum and instructional approach followed at Tohum’s school is based on ABA. Currently 126 students are enrolled in Tohum’s school; 102 students receive rehabilitation services whereas 24 students attend school full-time.
A variety of behavioral techniques are utilized at Tohum’s School such as activity schedules, scripts and script fading, discrete trial teaching (DTT), incidental teaching, modeling/video-modeling, peer mediated instruction, and stimulus prompts.
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