bordered by Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north,Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. It constitutes approximately the northwestern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia, which also comprises the neighbouring parts of northern Greece and a smaller portion in southwestern Bulgaria.

The country’s capital is Skopje, with 506,926 inhabitants according to the 2002 census. Other cities include Bitola, Kumanovo, Prilep, Tetovo, Ohrid, Veles, Štip, Kočani,Gostivar, Kavadarci, and Strumica. It has over 50 lakes, plus sixteen mountains higher than 2,000 m (6,562 ft). Macedonia is a member of the UN and of the Council of Europe. Since December 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership.

It has two autism-specific parent organisations, located in Bitola and Shtip. These are very young organisations, organising information sessions and fund-raising events. ‘In My World’ (a generic disability parent organisation) has run a seminar on PECS and one on ABA. However the costs involved meant that this was inaccessible to most families.

The Macedonian Scientific Society for Autism (an organisation run by professions, and one of the partners in this strategic partnership) provides free lectures about autism and specific approaches, such as PECS, TEACCH and ReAttach. The organisation also participated in an EU-funded project regarding parent and professional education in conjunction with the Apollonia Foundation, Gevgelija. Some church organisations have also arranged seminars. However the majority of events are on an ad hoc basis and are inaccessible to most families.