Children with autism spectrum disorder are not just the responsibility of their families, but also of society. Everyone should take up activities to bring autistic children to the social mainstream, Mayor V.K. Prasanth has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating Autcare 2018, the year-long 10th anniversary celebration of the first autism centre set up in the State by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) at its south urban resource centre (URC) at Sathram school in the Fort area on Wednesday.
Mr. Prasanth said the Corporation had allocated ₹2.5 crore for the SSA’s activities, and this money was being used for the development and welfare of autistic children.
Mr. Prasanth received the first contribution for Autcare from Santhosh Kumar S., Deputy General Manager, and assistant manager B. Anand, Canara Bank regional office, here.
Corporation Education standing committee chairperson S. Unnikrishnan presided over the function and released the Autcare action plan.
Day-care centre
He said a day-care centre where parents of autistic children could leave them for some time without worrying about their safety was being planned by the Corporation. In the absence of such a facility, parents of autistic children had to take them everywhere, putting huge pressure on them, or skip most engagements. Such a centre, with all facilities, had to be set up in the heart of the city, he said, calling for people’s cooperation in identifying a suitable place or building.
Fort ward councillor Suresh S. released the logo of Autcare by handing it over to SSA District Project Officer B. Sreekumaran.
A class by child psychiatrist at SAT Hospital Jayaprakash was held.
Anila George, SSA Additional State Project Director; actor Joby; Mr. Sreekumaran; and South URC block programme officer A. Najeeb spoke.
Autcare aims at raising the autism centre here to a centre of excellence. Moulding ‘pupil of determination’ is what it aspires to. A slew of programmes are planned by the South URC as part of Autcare. These include public awareness programmes that help in early detection of autism and interventions, setting up a databank of autistic children through a software so as to be of help in their training and treatment in future, making available training now provided at the autism centre in homes, seminars, visits to autism centres in other parts of the country to adopt best practices, family get-togethers, scientific training for teachers, sports and arts festivals, and medical camps and treatments. A short film that documents the life of autistic children, their abilities and talents, training, and the family’s experiences is also planned.
