The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Awareness on autism needs to be raised’

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Saturday, Jan 12, 2008
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‘Awareness on autism needs to be raised’

Staff Reporter

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Unveiled: Director of NIMHANS D. Nagaraja (second from left) releasing the postal cover at the inauguration of the two-day conference on autism in Bangalore on Friday. Secretary, Women and Child Development Shalini Rajneesh, District Governor of Rotary West Rajendra Rai and Rudresh Murthy, official of the Department of Posts, are seen.

Bangalore: The need for prevention and early intervention; the dilemma of parents about the well-being of their autistic child after their death; lack of services for children with development disabilities and dearth of manpower to train autistic children were some of the issues raised at the international conference on “Autism – the future defined” here on Friday.

The two-day conference has been organised by the Rotary Bangalore West, Autism Society of India and Information and Resource Centre for Autism and other Developmental Disabilities.

According to a pilot study done by M.V. Ashok, paediatric psychiatrist at St. John’s Medical College Hospital and his team, and presented at the conference, only about 20 per cent of persons with autism needed direct help for self-care while 14 of the 50 respondents could manage on their own. While 10 per cent had behavioural problems that were difficult to manage, around 30 per cent developed anxiety and such situations were stressful to family members.

The survey revealed that 40 per cent had cordial interaction within the family. The main concern of parents was the fate of their autistic children after their death.

A speech written by Krishna Narayan, and read by his mother, Jalaja Narayan, gave a glimpse into the thinking and feelings of an autistic adult. “Autistic people have normal emotions and feelings and romantic thoughts, but their lack of etiquette, hyperactivity and lack of social skills come in the way of their interaction with people.”

He said that there was a need for public awareness about the disorder to help autistic persons come to the mainstream. A postal cover to mark the occasion was also released in the presence of Rudresh Murthy from the Department of Posts.

Shalini Rajneesh, Secretary, Women and Child Development, announced that the State Government planned to establish a national centre for multiple disabilities to promote research that would help in prevention and early intervention.

The department was training various groups, including anganwadi workers, to identify and detect children with development disabilities early.

Jayshree Ramesh, president, Rotary Bangalore West and specialist in development disabilities, said there was a dearth of manpower to work with persons with autism and this issue had to be addressed urgently.

D. Nagaraja, Director of NIMHANS, was present.

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