Cuba's easternmost province to open its first school for children with ASD

GUANTANAMO, Cuba, Aug 21 (ACN) The first school for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Desembarco del Granma, will open its doors on September 1st in this city, as one of the new achievements for the 2025-2026 school year.

The center will have an initial enrollment of 25 students, 19 with ASD from early childhood and six with Down syndrome who previously attended the institution and will complete their stay this school year, said Yannay Barrera Correa, the school's director.

She explained that construction work is currently underway with the support of various companies in the territory to ensure that the school opens on September 1st, as a response to providing early, quality, and comprehensive care for people with autism.

The school will remain the same, but considering these children's conditions, some areas will be expanded, such as a playground, a sandbox, and a pool, for the therapies the infants require, from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon, she pointed out.

Barrera Correa explained the challenge of caring for these children with a specific condition who require special educational attention, for which they have full teaching coverage.

They received methodological training that included a visit to the William Soler Autism School in Santiago de Cuba to gain experience, and it requires a great deal of self-improvement, she emphasized.

Hilda Molina Hinojosa, head of Special Education for the municipality of Guantanamo, added that the school is taking on the My Blue Dream project, referring to the color that distinguishes people with ASD, which meets a demand from the population for a center of this type that satisfies the quality, learning development, and communication requirements that children need.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) encompasses a set of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in communication and social interactions, as well as restricted and repetitive interests and behaviors, or language difficulties or disabilities, and is usually identified in childhood (before the age of three).

Cuba, with approximately 3,500 people registered on the autism spectrum—60 % of whom are male—is advancing a community model that seeks to break down barriers and build support networks based on love and science, according to Dr. Osmara Delgado Sánchez, a disability program specialist at the Ministry of Public Health.