SHILLONG: Autism is ‘baffling’ not only for the family members of those with the condition, but also for school teachers and even doctors. Still yet to be fully understood, SAN-KER organised a symposium on autism awareness in the city on Wednesday.
The main points to emerge out of gathering of around 50 people were that members of the public need to be more understanding and accepting of autism and children with autism need to be diagnosed as soon as possible.
“Autism is a very complex developmental disability,” said Dr. Arvind Nongpyiur, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, NEIGRIHMS.
Autism is characterized by social and communicative impairments as well as repetitive behaviour. The condition was most famously brought to the public’s attention through the Oscar-winning film Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman. However, in that film, Hoffman’s character displayed characteristics of an autistic savant, a very rare form of the condition where the person affected also has extreme mental abilities.
The prevalence of autism is society ranges from one person in 38 in South Korea to just one in 350 in Brazil. However, greater awareness of the disability in Korea may account for some of the higher prevalence, while access to doctors who can diagnose the condition may also play a part, said SAN-KER’s Naphisabet Kharsati, another speaker at the symposium.
There are no figures available for India and Dr. Nongpyiur said that most people with autism in the country go undiagnosed.
While autism has a strong basis to a person’s genes, it is a complicated relationship. “I would go as far to say that most pediatricians don’t know enough about autism,” Dr Nongpyiur added.
Boys are four times more likely to develop autism, although girls display more severe symptoms, the doctor added.
Although it cannot be cured or prevented, Dr. Nongpyiur stated that detecting autism early is key to improved chances of management.
“It is important to catch them young. It is far better, from a therapy perspective, that a child be diagnosed at three years old rather than five years,” Dr. Nongpyiur said.
Besides doctors not being capable of making a diagnosis, parents may be reluctant to bring their children for testing out of fear or simply because they do not realise what the symptoms are pointing to.
Another speaker at the symposium was Z Ali of Dwar Jingkyrmen. Ali, whose family has a history of autism, said, “People with autism, unlike those with physical disabilities, for example, can sometimes go hidden. We want our children to be in the mainstream. Having a child with autism is challenging but ultimately very rewarding.”
She also urged parents to bring get their children tested early on if they suspect autism.
“When children come in (to Dwar Jingkyrmen) at 12 or 13 years old, it is hard to begin treatment at that stage,” she said.
The gathering was mainly made up of school teachers and it is in the schools that inclusion of children with autism becomes important. Members of the audience include Ali’s husband Sajjad Ali and Carmo Noronha of Bethany Society.
In general agreement, they felt that children with autism can be successfully included in mainstream schools so long as the institution is alert to the child’s uniqueness and willing to be flexible. “All children can learn,” Noronha said. “Parents and teachers are letting the system take us for a ride. We have to change the system, not force change on the child.”
