Published on 01 April 2019

Autism Info Service: launch of a unique service sponsored by the Orange Foundation

In France, Autism Info Service is the first nationwide, online and free-of-charge information and listening service designed to help and guide people with autism, their entourage and medico-social professionals. By telephone (0800 71 40 40) and via the internet (www.autismeinfoservice.fr), it is there to answer questions from all the people who currently experience great difficulties.

 

autisme
Samuel Le Bihan and Florent Chapel, joint Chairs of the Autism Info Service Association

 

Hundreds of thousands of people in difficulty

Today, in France, 85% of people with autism do not benefit from suitable care (*), because of disorganised information and the lack of coordination between professionals, associations and supervisors in the field of autism: 8 people out of 10 either cannot find information about the support that they need, or take a year to find it…(**)
And yet we know that early diagnosis and support are decisive for the future of young people with autism. We support www.autismeinfoservice.fr which exploits the full potential of digital technology to provide answers for all, to help and integrate these 700,000 people (***) into our society.

A unique answer to all the key questions

The experts at Autism Info Service answer questions concerning diagnosis, administrative processes, education, training, vocational integration… all the key steps in life.
It is also, for the first time, a single point of entry and guidance.

A single address for general, local and personalised information

On autismeinfoservice.fr, you can find out about all the medical, administrative, legal, professional, and leisure issues… by personally accessing practical information, useful advice and tutorials.
You will also find geo-located addresses and solutions such as local organisations adapted to your specific needs. A national directory contains all the Autism Resource Centres and specialised associations.
Lastly, by e-mail at any time of the day or using an instant messaging service (every working day from 9 am to 1 pm and on Tuesdays from 6 pm to 8 pm), you can get in touch to discuss and receive personalised answers from a "listener". This instant messaging is particularly well suited for people with autism, who often hesitate to use the telephone; it is also personalised as it ’remembers’ the data to give targeted, precise and rapid answers.
In this way, through Autism Info Service, a person with autism can now receive support for all the difficult steps that they face.

Digital technology particularly well adapted to people with autism

Committed to the cause of autism and the digital inclusion of people in difficulty, the Orange Foundation currently sponsors Autism Info Service with a budget of €100,000. The use of digital technology to structure and deliver information in a personalised way via www.autismeinfoservice.fr shows the extent to which it can be a wonderful enabler of social inclusion.

(*) Report by the French National Audit Office (Cour des Comptes), published in December 2017
(**) Source: the OCCURRENCE agency, an online survey conducted from 19 to 28 February 2019 with 2,203 respondents.
(***) Source: Pasteur Institute 2018

 

The Autism Info Service Association

The Autism Info Service Association:
a not-for-profit association governed by the law of 1 July 1901, chaired by Florent Chapel, Vice-Chairman of the French Autism Foundation and ex-Chair of the "Autism Collective" and Samuel Le Bihan, an actor and activist committed to the cause for a number of years.

The Autism Info Service experts:
For any advanced questions, child psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers, specialists in vocational integration, education, the different forms of autism… guarantee expert advice and recommendations from the French Higher Health Authority (HAS). The scientific and ethics committee consists of Professor T Bourgeron, Professor M Leboyer, Professor R Delorme and Fabienne Cazalis. An Inter-Association Committee (****) which exists for the purpose of bringing together more and more associations committed to the cause of autism, completes the structure.

(****) The member associations of the Inter-Association Committee of Autism Info Service are: the group SOS Solidarités, UNAPEI, the Red Cross, Autistes sans Frontières, Agir et Vivre l’Autisme, AFFA, and the Autism Foundation for research activities. Other associations are free to contact Autism Info Service to join the Committee.