Educate society on autism to tackle issue, says doctor

Nagpur: Creating awareness and acceptance of autism in society is crucial as one per cent population of the world today is born autistic and one lakh children are added to the figure every year, said Dr Yashwant Patil, international president of Commonwealth Association for Health and Disability (Comahad) on Tuesday.
Talking to TOI on the sidelines of a programme organized by Comahad, Prayas School for Children with Special Needs and South Central Zone Cultural Centre on World Autism Awareness Day, Patil said, “I believe we have come a long way in creating awareness, but there is still a lot more to do.

There is a big chunk of society which still needs to be educated, from social workers to teachers to even paediatricians. People need to know that autism is not mental retardness, it’s a behavioural disorder that affects social skills,” he said.

Patil spoke about how early detection can help manage autism to a great extent. “Autistic children show early signs from the age of 6-9 months. If paediatricians are able to detect the signs within 30 months, there are interdisciplinary therapies through which autism can be managed,” said Patil.

Earlier, ‘Walk for autism’ rally was taken out from Sarvoday Ashram, Amravati Road. Over 120 students, parents and a few doctors participated in the rally with the aim of spreading awareness on the issues circling autism.

Later in the evening, specially abled students of Prayas School performed various acts and put up a fashion show in a cultural evening held at SCZCC. Director of SCZCC Deepak Khirwadkar was the chief guest while senior paediatrician and executive director of Comahad Dr Uday Bodhankar and school president Kiran Dive were present.

Speaking about the aim behind the international day, Dr Bodhankar said, “We are only asking for inclusiveness from society. Schools today can accommodate autistic children and teachers and staff can give a little extra guidance. Only awareness on such issues can make the society more accepting.”