COLOMBO, Dec 5 (Bernama) — Awareness among parents and the public, combined with effective early intervention will help improve the quality of life of children with autistic problems, said the Prime Minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
Rosmah, who is also the patron of the Permata Programme for early childhood education, said there was also a need to empower parents to be better equipped at raising their special needs children, who will then be able to plan a better future for them.
“Research shows that intervention before age three years can bring about transformative outcomes and can reduce life-time-costs by two-thirds.
“The children will grow up with the best care possible, as parents understand autism better and know where to get assistance. Hence, the quality of life depends not only upon the foundation that is provided in childhood, but also on ongoing parental and family support,” she said at an autism symposium here on Friday.
The Symposium on ‘Minimising the Gaps of Service Delivery for Autism in Sri Lanka’ was graced by the Sri Lanka’s First Lady, Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
Rosmah said there had been twenty- to thirty-fold increase in the prevalence of autism globally, with boys being affected four times more than girls.
She drove home the point that Autism Specturm Disorder (ASD) was the fastest growing developmental disorder, and lack of proper early detection services and special education may deprive children with autism to grow optimally into independent and productive individuals in society.
Sharing Malaysia’s experience in providing early intervention for autistic children, Rosmah said Permata had formed a core team of interdisciplinary experts to develop Permata Kurnia, the first ever Centre of Excellence for Autism in Malaysia.
Permata Kurnia aims to provide three types of programmes, the first involving full-time service for 150 children with mild autism aged between four and six years, to prepare them for mainstream primary school education.
The second programme is treatment for another 150 children aged two to four years who manifest early signs of autism, involving weekly intervention sessions.
The third concentrates on educating the public and enhancing the sensitivity of the community towards supporting the needs of individuals with autism, as well as the needs of their families.
On the National Autism Centre in Malaysia which is expected to be ready for operation September next year, Rosmah said although the building is yet to be completed, Permata Kurnia had already received overwhelming response from parents.
“However, since the centre will start as a pilot project, the enrolment number has to be limited. When proven to be successful, we will roll out the initiative to other states in the country,” she said.
At the symposium attended by some 150 participants including experts and officials from the Sri Lankan Health and Education ministries, Rosmah also shared some major obstacles that Malaysia had to endure while setting up Permata Kurnia.
She said the main challenge was to build a transdisciplinary team of professionals which include doctors, early interventionists, special educators, occupational and speech therapists, and other professionals to deliver the best and most effective services for the autistic children.
“The second challenge is the lack of qualified and specialised professionals such as speech and occupational therapists and special educators to fulfil the requirements for ASD services,” she added.
The third challenge, said Rosmah, lay with the profession itself, where not many qualified individuals were interested to work with children with autism.
“If they do, they are reluctant to serve these children in their ‘naturalistic environment’.
Instead, they prefer to deliver therapy to these children in a one-on-one clinical setting which may not be very effective,” she said.
Rosmah also highlighted that in order to provide the best care for autistic children in Permata Kurnia, lead and assistant interventionists would undergo a special course at diploma and certificate levels, respectively.
“By the time the Permata Kurnia building is ready for operation in September 2015, we will have enough skilled and trained human resource.
“They will be able to interact and play with young children, educate and support parents and collaborate with each other in an effective team,” she said.
On the symposium, Rosmah noted that Malaysia and Sri Lanka shared similar dedication and commitment to help children with autism achieve their optimal potential.
She also congratulated the Sri Lankan First Lady for her high commitment to help children with autism and her far-sightedness in organising the symposium.
Rosmah said Malaysia’s Permata was ready to work together with Sri Lanka in dealing with the challenging and complex issue of autism.
“I hope that my thoughts on Malaysia’s experience will be beneficial to all of you and will help you chart your plan in helping children with autism in Sri Lanka. As close friends, we are more than happy to work with you wherever possible,” she said.
— BERNAMA
