Manama, April 1 (BNA): Bahrain joins the world in celebrating the World Autism Awareness Day, which was approved by the United Nations in 2008 and is celebrated on the second of April every year. This year’s theme, “Transformation: Towards a Neuro-Inclusive World”, aims to shed light on the concept of autism, help overcome challenges and raise awareness of the right of people with autism to receive the necessary care.
On this occasion, Minister of Social Development Osama bin Ahmed Khalaf Al-Asfour stressed the importance of people with special needs in the social fabric, pointing to the government’s keenness to provide them with high-quality health, educational and cultural services to actively involve them. the society. He affirmed the Kingdom’s commitment to the values of justice and equality and promoting the full participation of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He stressed the Kingdom’s keenness to provide a role model in health and social care.
The minister indicated that within the framework of the government’s interest in providing all support to people with autism spectrum disorder, the ministry is working to support non-governmental rehabilitation centers responsible for providing special services for this group. He added that the number of beneficiaries of the ministry’s support for these centers is 300 students with autism. He pointed out that the total number of autistic students registered with the ministry is 1,286 beneficiaries of the monthly disability allowance.
The Ministry of Social Development stressed that raising awareness of average autism is everyone’s responsibility and requires more concerted efforts to diagnose cases and ensure their early detection, in addition to adopting comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation programs and integration into community programs.
AOQ