Families of autistic children in Turkey have been raising concerns over mounting barriers to essential healthcare as the country’s overwhelmed public hospital system struggles with fully booked appointment schedules, the BirGün daily reported.
According to the families, they are required to prove their child’s autism diagnosis with a medical report from a public hospital every time they apply for therapy, special education or other support services. These reports are valid for only one year and must be renewed annually.
However, securing appointments at public hospitals in major cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir has become nearly impossible due to overwhelming demand. In smaller cities, many hospitals do not issue these reports at all, forcing families to travel to larger urban centers, which has only worsened the problem.
The families are demanding that regulations be changed so that their children’s reports are permanent or valid for at least 10 years. The Turkey Autism Assembly has submitted an official petition to the Ministry of Health requesting an extension of the validity periods of existing reports. In their statement they said thousands of children and their families are at risk of losing their support by June 30 because they were unable to renew their children’s reports. They are still waiting for a response from the ministry.
Sedef Erken, lawyer and president of the Istanbul Autism Volunteers Association, said the problem of not being able to get appointments was happening all across Turkey and especially in large cities. “In Istanbul families are advised to try getting appointments from other cities. When these reports expire, all social support is cut off until a new report is issued. It is obvious that autistic children will need long-term support. Families have to prove again and again that their child is autistic. This doesn’t happen in any other country. These reports should be either permanent or valid for up to 10 years. Short-term reports cause real suffering and hardship. They also create extra burden on hospitals. Doctors have to reassess the child from scratch every time. This problem has existed for a long time, and we just can’t get past it. We are tired of the ordeal of these reports.”
People living with disabilities have repeatedly criticized the country’s disability policies, citing numerous problems related to physical accessibility, adequate healthcare and access to rehabilitation services. Nearly 92 percent of children living with autism are not enrolled in school, nor do they receive a formal education, largely hindering their therapy.
Moreover, families said their children require care, therapy and specialized support outside of school but that the high costs make such services largely inaccessible without government assistance. They also emphasized that social prejudice severely hinders their children’s development, with discrimination affecting them disproportionately in nearly every aspect of life.
