Inclusive development vital for individuals with autism

THE Society for the Management of Autism Related Issues in Training, Education and Resources (Smarter) Centre will focus on "inclusive development" for individuals with autism as the theme for this year's World Autism Awareness Day, which falls tomorrow.

Inclusive development includes family members and teachers in any development planned by agencies for individuals with autism, Smarter President Malai Hj Abdullah Hj Malai Othman told The Brunei Times yesterday.

"Our vision is to create an autism-friendly nation. We are not just a piece of jigsaw that has to fit into society. They (society) must meet us halfway and adjust themselves in a way where they can include individuals with autism," he said.

Malai added that society needed to be "flexible enough" with autistic individuals. He explained that autism was not a disability, but was a "diffability", as in "of different ability".

"Autistic children do not have weaknesses, they just need areas of improvement," he said.

He urged relevant authorities to view individuals with autism and their families as part of the community, and not "exclude us from any programme".

"Put us on the radar. It is about time the right agencies included autism as a special case. In the UK, Australia and even the US specifically have laws for autism," he said.

Being a parent of an autistic child, Malai explained how he could not obtain an allowance for his child from the government, because he said the government only funded a pool that was distributed to a "disability" group.

"Smarter has zero funding from the government, and my child does not receive an allowance because he is not categorised as deserving enough," he said.

To heighten awareness of autism, Malai gave a presentation to some teachers at Jerudong Primary School yesterday.

He encouraged them to involve parents in autistic programmes. "Parents are not the problem, they are the solution," he said.

Stressing the need for inclusive development, Malai said it all boiled down to preparing an individual with autism for employment.

"The system here does not support employment. When a child goes to school, he is asked to do a roll call every day. What we need to do is to teach them how to register themselves with the class teacher so they know what to expect when they enter into the (workforce)," he said.

The society president explained that individuals with autism could not accept change easily and had a delayed development process, which was why they had to be taught certain things from a young age to prepare them for the future.

Jerudong Primary School kindergarten teacher Hjh Rambunai Hj Burut, who has an autistic student in one of her classes, said the presentation had taught her a lot about teaching autistic children.

"Teachers who deal with autistic children need to have training, to know the methods to help them learn," she said, adding this was because many teachers currently did not understand behaviour patterns of children with autism.

Smarter Centre has been celebrating World Autism Awareness Day annually since the global day was established in 2008.

However, Malai said it should be an ongoing process of creating awareness all year round, instead of just acknowledging it on April 2.

This year, Malai said the non-governmental organisation was planning to organise a cyclathon from Kuala Belait to the capital.

There are currently 84 individuals with autism registered at Smarter. The society has three centres to help individuals with autism at Sengkurong, Jerudong and Kuala Belait.

The Brunei Times