Poland: Polish-British cooperation for people with autism

On February 28th, 2007, the Polish Parliamentary Group on Autism, in cooperation with the SYNAPSIS Foundation as well as United Nations Development Program (UNDP Poland) organized in the Polish Parliament the debate, entitled: ?Social and Work Integration of People with Autism?. The debate inaugurated Polish ? British cooperation for people with autism. The British side was represented by vice-chair of British All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism that was also a vice-chair of the British nonprofit organization: The National Autistic Society. Angela Browning showed to Polish members of Parliament and other decision makers a deep, almost 20 year devotion to the cause and showed the importance of cooperation between the government and nongovernmental sectors. The debate and discussions showed that the Great Britain was facing very similar obstacles Polish government and third sector activists are now facing while trying to fight for rights for quality life for people with autism. This gave Polish activists hope that some obstacles can be overcome is activists are sufficiently persistent. The close cooperation can also show Polish people best practices and let them avoid many mistakes. Great Britain has one of the most developed support system for people with autism, and only 6% of adults work full-time jobs. In Poland the rate is close to zero. The Polish Parliamentary Group on Autism currently includes 23 members (from the lower and higher chamber of the Parliament) and aims at improving Polish legislation so that it takes into account the specific needs of people with autism. The debate’s aim was to convince members of the government that social exclusion of adults with autism is a serious problem in Poland. The Polish government currently does nothing to help adults with autism find their place in the labor market (both open and sheltered). About 80 policy makers and other experts participated in this one-day debate. From the Polish side, apart from Polish Parliamentary Group on Autism – The Polish Minister of Work and Social Policy as well as the Government Plenipotentiary on the People with Disabilities participated actively in the debate and promised their support. In the conclusion remarks, Arkadiusz Rybicki ? member of the Polish Parliament and the chair of the Polish Parliamentary Group on Autism has also confirmed his intention to put forward a proposal to the Polish Parliament to ratify the Convention of the United Nations Organization on the rights of people with disabilities. The Convention was passed by the UN in December 2006. It makes it obligatory for countries that ratify it to provide disabled people with appropriate care and an opportunity to fully participate in the social life. The Convention will take effect if it is ratified by at least 20 countries.