The two-day international conference on "Autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities in Bangladesh and South Asia" begins in Dhaka tomorrow (Monday) to raise awareness on the neuro-development disease.
President of Indian Congress Party Sonia Gandhi will grace the inaugural session, to be held at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel, as the chief guest.
Second Lady of the Maldives Iiham Hussain, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan Fehmida Mirza, First Lady of Sri Lanka Shiranthi Rajapaksa, and the health minister of Bhutan will be present as special guests.
The conference is jointly organised by the Centre for Neurodevelopment and Autism in Children of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and US-based Autism Speaks in association with World Health Organisation (WHO), speakers told a news conference at BSMMU yesterday.
Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is convening the conference to be attended by specialists from 12 countries, they added.
The speakers said autism is still a neglected disease in Bangladesh and there is no exact statistics how many children are affected with autism in the country.
About 10 percent the country's people are challenged, said Ranjit Kumar Biswas, secretary to the social welfare ministry. Of those, one percent is estimated to be autistic accounting to around 1.5 lakh people, he added.
He also said currently one stop service is being provided to the autistic children in a very limited way in 15 districts including diagnosis, counseling, and physiotherapy.
"It will be extended to 35 districts soon along with a resource centre in Dhaka". The government also plans to extend homebound intervention for the autistic children to 17 districts, he added.
Health Minister Prof AFM Ruhal Haque, Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad, Social Welfare Minister Enamul Hoque Mostofa Shaheed, and BSMMU Vice-chancellor Prof Pran Gopal Datta also spoke at the press conference.
They also informed that a three-day training workshop will follow the two-day conference. The training sessions will be held on July 27-29 in different auditoriums of BSMMU and will be attended by about 370 participants from across the country, including parents of autistic children, therapists, psychologists, and teachers and students of psychology.
Soruce : The Daily Star
