The municipality of Vilablareix, in the Girona area, has for a few weeks had a new center specialized in supporting people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. Espai JP, promoted by doctors Gerard Virolés and Maria Jiménez, has opened its doors after the rehabilitation of a house and its surroundings to offer comprehensive care to children and adults.
A family project with a social vocation
The initiative stems from the personal experience of Virolés and Jiménez, parents of two diagnosed children. The name of the center, Espai JP, corresponds to the initials of their children, Jan and Pere. Both professionals have wanted to transfer their knowledge and direct experience to the care field, with the aim of facilitating access to specialized resources for other families in the area.
The center has almost one thousand square meters of spaces adapted to the different sensory and therapeutic needs. The facilities include classrooms differentiated by colors, smells, and lights, as well as individual and group work areas. The team is made up of psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and specialists in dog-assisted interventions.
"Here you can find the medical professional to make the diagnosis with all the support they may need: psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, dog-assisted interventions; everything that the child or adult who has been diagnosed may need" - Gerard Virolés, anesthesiologist
Personalized attention and accompaniment to families
The experience of user families highlights the importance of accompaniment and the improvement in quality of life. Sara Buxeda, mother of an 11-year-old child from Santa Coloma de Farners, explains that they go to the center twice a week and that they have noticed significant progress in her son.
"We come twice a week and we will continue, because the child has improved a lot and we feel very accompanied" - Sara Buxeda, mother
Virolés and Jiménez emphasize that, despite their health training, they encountered difficulties in obtaining adequate answers and resources for their own children. Their goal is that other families do not have to travel the same path of search.
"Even being healthcare professionals, we couldn't find answers to many questions. And we don't want families to have to search as much as we did" - Maria Jiménez y Gerard Virolés
Adapted environments and sensory health
Maria Jiménez, neurologist, emphasizes the importance of adapting spaces to minimize sensory overload, a factor that affects both diagnosed people and the general population.
"The sensory overload to which we are all subjected has consequences on everyone's health" - Maria Jiménez, neurologist
Jiménez adds that the adaptation of environments thinking of autistic children implies a global improvement. When we adapt an environment thinking of autistic children, in reality we are improving it for everyone.