“What do you know about Autism?”
About a year ago a number of my friends did not know what Autism was. Some thought it referred to a disease that could be treated like the flu, while others thought it was a disease that caused people to be lonely.
Autism is a disorder of neural development identified by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communications and repetitive behavior such as fluttering of the arms. Usually a child can be identified of being autistic before the age of three, and though there is no treatment, early detection helps reduce the severity of the symptoms and hopefully helps the child integrate into the community.
A year and a half ago, I started volunteering at Abu Dhabi Autism Center in Al Mafraq area. The Center has about 50 Emirati children, and I have loved every second of my time spent there. The children are adorable and the management is very supportive and welcoming of volunteers and those who want to support the children.
In addition to enhancing the children’s skills, the center also helps integrate the children into the community, by enrolling them in government schools, and by providing them with vocational training.
I personally believe that there is no better form of awareness than a visual one, and I loved the recent awareness public service advertisement of the center which will be played in VOX Marina Mall cinemas theaters prior to the movie, throughout the month of September.
If you would like to know more about the center and want to volunteer when you have the time, then check out their website www.zho.ae
By Manar Al Hinai
