I am ibrahim writing an article about how the government is not supporting families with children enough here in malta, I was contact by louise and she gave me more information about the situation and I wrote an article about it, but there was a recent update where the government replied to my concerns but me and louise think their response is a bit off, find below the email from the goverment, my conversation between me and louise as well as the article which you need to add a paragraph to about this new update:

email from governments:
Below please find our reply :

The Government is committed to help families with children with disabilities. Amongst other measures, as from this year’s budget a new tax credit of €200 per child was introduced to assist families that have children with disabilities that require therapy. This new measure will give families help that did not exist before.
The Government also has PSPs for different therapies, for example with the Inspire Foundation and the Malta Autism Centre (MAC). While we always look at the possibility of covering more therapies, both by offering them through Aġenzija Sapport, for example, and by purchasing services from third parties, it is always important to ascertain that providers offer therapies that are not harmful, and that they also have the necessary licences where necessary – there are 'therapies' offered abroad, that cost thousands, such as stem cell therapies to ‘cure’ autism, but there is a broad consensus that these are ineffective and often cruel. In the meantime, where medical interventions are needed that are not offered in Malta, one can already benefit from the EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive, make a request to the Treatment Abroad Committee of the Ministry for Health, or benefit from European Reference Networks (ERNs) in relation to rare conditions.


Thanks & Regards,

conversations between me and louise (I am Ig and she is <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>):
[15:10, 14/04/2023] Ig: Hi Louise
[15:11, 14/04/2023] Ig: The government got back with a reply. And I would like to share it with you and get your opinion on it
[15:14, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Pls do
[15:16, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: 🤦🏻‍♀️
[15:18, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: 1) they are only mentioning autism in their response and not physical disabilities 
1) inspire embrace and other centers supported by the government are not therapies but adapted learning programs
[15:18, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: That not everyone has access to as they are limited numbers and long waiting lists
[15:19, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Their ignorance shines bright in this email as they wrote “therapies” meaning they don’t believe in them or know that the therapies we are talking about are actual rehabilitation centers offering proven progress therapy
[15:20, 14/04/2023] Ig: Aha there was a lack of information in their response
[15:20, 14/04/2023] Ig: I am going to find a way to include the things you just said
[15:20, 14/04/2023] Ig: As a comment to their response
[15:21, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Imma fine tune it a bit as I was writing this to you
[15:21, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Don’t want to come across as rude
[15:23, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: And also include as I said on Tuesday the lack of resources and consistent therapy sessions for all the therapies i mentioned as example yesterday a lady on a FB group asked for info if anyone knew if there is a food therapy offered by the gov and I replied saying Sensory space Marsa offer it but there a waiting list
[15:23, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Someone confirmed that her son has been on a 2 year waiting list
[15:23, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: This is the same bullshit as saying we offer a service like ACTU machines for speech but waiting list is 4 years
[15:24, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Isn’t that a joke !!! And what on earth can one do with 200€ per year when that is spent in 1-2 weeks per child
[15:24, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: And the big offense is a regular child gets 300€ to go to ballet and sports which for us it’s only 200€
[15:25, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Same same huxx 🤡
[15:25, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Then we wonder why some families are begging for money for food for their kids and so on
[15:26, 14/04/2023] Ig: I completely agree with you especially now I am rereading their reply its extremely dry and dodges some points
[15:26, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Also they might say that parents of disabilities who have stopped working get 1200€ to look after their child - that doesn’t cut it …. To survive so parents must continue working and still some can’t manage the therapies they need esp abroad
[15:29, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: Play therapist are not avail by gov yet CDAU OT tell u your child needs a play therapist and that generally is 35€ per week
[15:30, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: I’m sorry about the verbal diarrhea but to give u the bigger picture all this is imp to hear
[15:30, 14/04/2023] <PRESIDIO_ANONYMIZED_PHONE_NUMBER>: From my end I want to proceed with article
[15:31, 14/04/2023] Ig: No no do not worry for me this is all important information to proceed
[15:31, 14/04/2023] Ig: Because if I am going to even acknowledge their reply
[15:31, 14/04/2023] Ig: I would need to have a better understanding and you just helped


the article that needs to have a new paragraph with the update:
do the following changes to this article
Title: (tbd)

Subtitle: A mother speaks up about the lack of government support for children with disabilities in Malta.

As the mother of three young children, one of whom has a physical disability, Louise knows all too well the challenges faced by the Maltese community in accessing critical healthcare services. Her four-year-old son has been diagnosed with PVL, a brain condition that causes cerebral palsy and renders him unable to walk.

While organizations such as CDAU, Agenzja Sapport, SI, and others offer support, there is a significant lack of manpower and governmental investment in the sector. The overwhelming demand for therapy services has led many families, including Louise’s, to travel overseas for treatment.

“There are a few private companies, mainly three, carrying out pediatric physiotherapy, but they can’t meet the demand either,” Louise says. The limited availability of therapy sessions, coupled with logistical challenges such as traffic and scheduling conflicts with school, resulted in many families not receiving the necessary frequency of treatments for effective progress to be made.

These private therapy services are fully independent of the government, resulting in session fees ranging from €25 to €40 per session.

She eventually turned to the government to ask for change and was not met with anything

"I met with The Minister of Inclusion, Julia Farrugia Portelli on this account and I was told that they are aware of the shortcomings but currently can't do much more due to lack of staff, etc... I had some other requests during the said meeting but the promised phone call follow-up was never met"

In the meantime when the budget came around most of these parents were shocked as they were told that a person with special needs will only get #200 of tax deductions every year which was "a slap in the face" in comparison to children with extracurricular activities get a #300 tax deduction.

"Due to this, many people like myself have taken a route to take our children overseas for therapy as intensive therapy and know-how has been more beneficial but the expense is quite a burden with some families having resorted to GoFundMe but just feel helpless not being able to make it happen"

Louise feels that it is time to take a stand and fight not only for her own family but for the community as a whole, lending her voice to the many parents in desperate need of help and support.



As this mother speaks out about her experiences, she hopes to shake things up and create real change for her family and others affected by disabilities in Malta.