World Autism Day was this year marked with an important partnership between the Care Malta Group and Hand in Hand Malta through which Hand in Hand Ltd, a company specialising in services for people with developmental disorders was set up.

This partnership brings together two entities that have established themselves in their respective fields. Care Malta, a leading private operator in elderly services for the past 25 years, has ventured in the area of disability through its latest company, HILA – home to independence and limitless abilities.

The aim of HILA is to offer a range of services for people with disability, including housing, learning and development and leisure with a person-centred approach. HILA operates two homes for people with disability – Casa Apap Bologna in Mosta and Santa Monica in Qormi.

Hand in Hand Malta was set up in 2008 by Jacqueline Abela DeGiovanni following 16 years of experience in the field of clinical interventions related to disability services. She has worked in different organisations in Malta before relocating to Holland, where she worked at the Amsterdam International Community School as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO).

Relocating to Ireland, Ms Abela DeGiovanni first worked in a child development centre and then in a rehabilitation centre for people with acquired brain injury. She is also an Accredited Play Therapist and obtained her MSc in Applied Behaviour Analysis from Queen’s University in Belfast.

Applied behaviour analysis is the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviours to a meaningful degree, and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behaviour.

Through the recently-formed partnership Hand in Hand Ltd will be expanding services it had been previously offered by Hand in Hand Malta, enabling it to provide a wide range of services according to the needs of the child, ranging from psychological assessments, evidence-based intervention, occupational Ttherapy and speech therapy services.

Present for the launch were Vassallo Group chairman Nazzareno Vassallo, Care Malta Group CEO Natalie Briffa Farrugia, HILA director Janet Silvio and Hand in Hand Ltd CEO Jacqueline Abela DeGiovanni. A number of parents and children currently benefitting from the services offered by Hand in Hand were also present.