Imagine you were in a foreign, noisy and crowded city at night, not understanding the language spoken, recognizing a few words but not really comprehending situations taking place around you, wanting to express a need for help but not being able. This experience may begin to help you relate to what a child with autism feels on an ordinary day.
Wednesday began a two-day seminar on Adolescents and Autism. The Al-Faisaliya Women’s Welfare Society sponsored this event as part of their Autism Awareness Campaign. The Society established the Jeddah Autism Center in 1993, the first one of its kind in the Middle East. The seminar’s guest speaker was Dr. Samira Al-Saad, one of the founders of the Center. Autism has been ignored and misunderstood and the most crucial issue is that most people are unfamiliar with the disease even though it has been estimated to occur in as many as 2 to 6 in 1,000 individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2001). “How can a community, teachers or even parents deal with a disease that is not understood?” Seham Basrawi, head of the Faisaliya’s handicap committee explained to ArabNews, “This seminar is an opportunity to raise awareness about autism as a disease, and Jeddah Autism Center as an organization dedicated to helping autistic children maximize their potential but our role alone will never be enough."
What is Autism?
Autism is a developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. Children and adults with autism may display repetitive physical movements, unusual responses to people or attachments to particular objects and resistance to changes in routines. With appropriate treatments, some behaviors associated with autism may improve over time. Studies show that individuals with autism respond well to a highly structured, specialized education program, tailored to their individual needs, these are the methods of Jeddah Autism Center according to Ms. Basrawi.
The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ali Al-Namla estimates that there are 42,500 diagnosed autistic children in the Kingdom, yet there remain many undiagnosed cases. Its prevalence rate makes autism one of the most common developmental disabilities. Yet most of the public, including many professionals are still unaware of how autism affects people and how they can effectively work with individuals with autism.
The Society’s goals include providing information and education, supporting research, writing, translating and publishing books and research and advocating for programs and services for the autism community. “Princess Fahda bin Saud, president of the society, plays a great role by not taking a traditional path of treatment alone, there is a strong focus on awareness,” explains Ms. Basrawi. The Society also tries to raise and allocate funds to implement their goals and assist families with autistic children. “The financial burden on these families is great, and tuition at the center is much higher than ordinary schools because of the one or two to one teacher-student ratio.”
The Society supports research to address the many unanswered questions about autism. They aim to provide information to parents and teachers regarding intervention and treatment strategies for children with autism. “I did not know about the high occurrence of autistic adolescents and seizures - this lecture open my eyes to possible answers for so many unanswered questions, “Nuha G., mother of an autistic teenager, who attended Wednesday’s seminar.
How can you help?
Education is the first step to help society understand the nature of this common developmental disorder.
As a community – private companies can follow the example of Alhamrani-Fuchs Petroleum Saudi Arabia, which chose the Jeddah Autism Center to be one of the recipients of proceeds from a promotional campaign. Individuals can educate themselves more on autism, they can volunteer their time, skills, and/or donate funds. People can sponsor an autistic child’s education or fund a research project. “We want all the members of the community to be involved with us, not to wait until somebody they know has autism, don’t underestimate the help you can offer,” invites Ms. Basrawi.
Experts advise "when you meet a child with autism treat them with patience and understanding, because they may not understand you."
Teachers…..research and never stop learning…new discoveries are being made constantly and relying on the degree you may have earned years ago will not serve justice to these children. Read and learn on a regular basis, and if you have made some discoveries or observations be sure to publish it, even if it just on the internet so that other people can share in the knowledge.
Parents of children with autism can experience high levels of stress as a result of the challenging behaviors of their children, attempting to secure appropriate services, resulting financial hardships, or very busy schedules. They need support as well, from family friends and the community at large. No single program or treatment will benefit all individuals with autism, therefore, the recommendation of what is "best" or "most effective" for a person with autism should be determined by those people directly involved—especially the parents and families.
“A message to parents of children with Autism: your role is the most important. You should not wait for others to offer a service or rights in a community to be equal to everyone else. You are the ones who should ask and ask and ask – never relent or give up. If the Faisaliya Society opened the center it is your responsibility to improve it – to make it attain the best standards in the world. Around the globe this is how people get their voices heard and their rights.” Seham Basrawi.
Individuals who wish to know more should contact Ms. Basrawi by phone at (02) 661-4433 or by email at [email protected].