Pietro Cirrincione at European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities 2023

Autism-Europe’s board member and representative at the European Disability Forum addressed the European Parliament of People with Disabilities on 23rd May 2023.
During the Panel dedicated to Disability-inclusive resilience:
“During emergency situations, including pandemics, or climate crisis such as the recent flooding in Italy, people with disabilities are the last ones to receive support because of a value system called ableism, that considers certain typical characteristics of body and mind essential for living a life of value, every non-standard person is abandoned.
Ableism comes from the medical model of disability and it is still pervasive in our society: please let’s make together a paradigm shift!
About the war in Ukraine, please support refugees with disabilities, because they need also professional support and individualized programs.
Because of sensory overload, bombing is a terrible torture for people on the autism spectrum, leading to permanent trauma.
I call on all MEPs: please make every diplomatic effort to end this war, do not wait, stop the war now!
When rebuilding Ukraine, the EU support must not go in segregating and inaccessible services.”
#DisabilityParliament