Greetings from the Programme Director
Welcome to the website of the Interinstitutional Postgraduate Studies Programme “Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Health Promotion, Early Intervention, Special Education, Personal and Community Intervention”!
From folk medicine and therapeutics, whose beginnings go back centuries, to Hippocrates, and from then until today, the necessity of medicine and therapeutic interventions has remained steadfast. Clearly, all healers meet vital human needs. They share the difficulty, help, advise and create hope. There is also no doubt that the Public Health approach to all human difficulties is multidisciplinary and holistic. It is an approach described in the literature as the “360o approach”. With this strategy as a guide, we decided to create this Postgraduate Studies Programme, placing Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at the centre of the project and taking into account that little of its difficulties are purely medical. Our approach is horizontal and comprehensive and encompasses all the variables that affect the life of a person with ASD. It is a global approach at the core of which the person with ASD is placed. The program incorporates all of the external variables that affect the life of a person with ASD, while allowing the surrounding community to capitalize and properly maximize their abilities. With the prevalence of people with ASD increasing globally in the recent years, as public health practitioners and educators, we must support our fellow human beings who may (or may not) appear “different” in one or more ways: the way they stand out in a crowd, the way they express themselves (or not), their voices (internal or external), the way they share, achieve and enjoy, and the way they embrace and offer their love to all of us.
With this holistic approach, we can educate ourselves and others and gradually be able to help everyone thrive, individuals – family – community.
We wish you a pleasant browsing of the Programme!
Best wishes,
Anastasia Barbouni
Programme Director
Pediatrician
Professor of Public Health, University of West Attica
