DOHA: The Shafallah Center for Children with Special Needs launched its Autism Awareness Campaign yesterday in support of the World Autism Awareness Day on April 2.

Autism, a brain disorder which manifests during the first three years of a child’s life, is the world’s fastest growing serious developmental disorder. It is estimated that as many as 67m individuals are affected by autism, making it more common in most countries than paediatric cancer, diabetes and AIDS combined. It interferes with an individual’s ability to understand what is seen, heard and touched.

“One in every 150 children born in the world today will suffer from autism,” said Sameera Alqassimi, Deputy Director, Shafallah. “Symptoms of autism can range from mild to severe and no cure currently exists. Early diagnosis and intensive behavioural intervention programmes are the only known methods for improving outcomes and reducing the severity of behaviours. It is therefore important for everyone to learn the signs so that early diagnosis can be determined,” she said, launching a website where people can find information and resources and seek advice.

As part of its awareness programme, the centre has established a hotline number where the general public can call for information

“Autism is a broad spectrum disorder, which means it manifests in many different forms that can range from mild to severe,” said Eddie Denning, Managing Director, Shafallah Center. “While one individual can rarely speak and has difficulty in learning, another can be so high-functioning he’s able to attend classes in a mainstream school. So it can manifest in varied forms. Hence the teaching methods are tailor-made for each individual. So far no cure has been discovered,” he said.

Studies suggest that genes have a vital role in the disease. “We are working together with hundreds of scientists in the world to find the root cause,” said Hatem El Santi, Director, Shafallah Medical Genetic Center. “Many genetic mutations can cause the problem. Added to this, environmental factors also play a role in this. Interaction between various genes and the environmental factors complicates the study. All the researches are focussed on finding a cure for the disability,” he told The Peninsula.

Shafallah Center has 54 students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Sixty-six students are on a waiting list.

On December 18, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution tabled by Qatar, which declared April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD). This UN resolution is one of only three official disease-specific United Nations days and will bring the world’s attention to autism, a pervasive disorder that affects tens of millions.

The World Autism Awareness Day resolution encourages all member states to take measures to raise awareness about autism throughout society and to encourage early diagnosis and intervention. It further expresses deep concern at the prevalence and high rate of autism in children in all regions of the world and the consequent developmental challenges.

THE PENINSULA