Araraquara articulates the implementation of the TEA Paulista Center in the municipality

07/08 Meeting with the Mayor of Araraquara, Dr. Luís Cláudio Lapena Barreto Credit: Disclosure. Araraquara took a new step in negotiations to enable the implementation of the Paulista Autism Spectrum Disorder Center (ASD) in the municipality. Mayor Dr. Lapena, accompanied by the municipal secretary of Health, Emanuelle Laurenti, and executive advisor Karina Maia, was at the State Secretariat for the Rights of People with Disabilities, in São Paulo, to discuss the project. The meeting took place on Friday (7), in the capital of São Paulo. During the meeting, alternative spaces that could receive the equipment were presented. The proposals were accepted and new meetings should take place to advance the analysis of the conditions necessary for implementation. The Centro TEA Paulista is part of the state policy for care for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and seeks to strengthen the care network through specialized services, guidance for families, professional training and coordination between different areas of public policies, such as education, social assistance, health and others. 07/08 Meeting with the Mayor of Araraquara, Dr. Luís Cláudio Lapena Barreto Credit: Disclosure. The first unit, established by State Decree No. 67,634/2023, was implemented in the capital of São Paulo and, in June of this year, the State Government inaugurated the Centro TEA Paulista de Bauru, the first equipment of this model in the interior. The Bauru unit now serves 39 municipalities in the administrative region, in a strategy of decentralization of specialized services. The state forecast is for approximately 24,000 annual visits to the equipment. For Araraquara, the initiative represents the possibility of expanding access to specialized care and strengthening assistance to people with autism and their families, in addition to benefiting the population of municipalities in the region. The implementation is still in the coordination phase between the municipality and the State Government. The next meetings should define the directions and evaluate the alternatives presented. The work marks another step in the construction of public policies aimed at inclusion and improving the quality of life of people with ASD.