Hungary’s first autism learning centre opens its doors

A complex of a model home and education centre for autistic people and their families opened in Budapest’s 13th district on Tuesday.

Anikó Nagy, director of the National Heim Pal Paediatric Institute, welcomed the inauguration of the new facility. She said the model home aimed to provide an “ideal space” for families with an autistic member. The conference area of the facility will offer training courses for parents as well as conferences for experts in the field, she added.

Szilvia Szijjártó-Nagy, the head of the Together for Autistic People Foundation, said her foundation had collected donations for several years to build an Autistic Model House, which opened in the spring of last year, and the new complex. She said autism affected one in 15 Hungarian families, adding that “a multitude of people around us are struggling to support an autistic family member, meeting their special needs in everyday situations.” The foundation also aims to educate society about autism, she added.